Real Client Stories: Testimonials & Case Studies
Across food, agriculture, and sustainability sectors, our clients are growing their visibility, attracting new funders, and making their missions impossible to ignore. Whether you need nonprofit communication strategy, grant writing support, executive ghostwriting, or AI-powered efficiency tools—Silver Maple Strategies brings clarity, momentum, and results.
Testimonial: Content Strategy & Messaging
How Silver Maple Helped Missouri Life Integrate Sustainability into Sales & Editorial Strategy
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“At Missouri Life, we wanted to begin integrating social impact themes—especially sustainability and environmental stewardship—into our business development and editorial. Our market research shows our audience of 115,000+ Missourians cares about these topics. We hired Nate to help us map out a comprehensive social impact strategy spanning sales, marketing and editorial storytelling across our broadcast, digital and print media platforms. Without his strategy and consulting support, we would have been swimming without a clearly defined direction. With Nate’s help, in less than five months we’re now generating regular sustainability editorial and adding five-figure sponsorships in the sustainability impact category to meet our audience’s needs. Together, we get to spotlight Missouri’s environmental leadership and opportunities for continued growth and investment. Thank you, Nate and Silver Maple Strategies!”​ —Deborah Marshall, Director of Sales and Marketing, Missouri Life
"Working with Nate has been a true pleasure. His deep domain expertise, vast network, and collaborative style have had a meaningful impact on my journey into regenerative agriculture. He has helped me develop approaches to be more effective with my public communication, as well as partnering with me on how I can best present myself and my work in 1:1 communications. He has helped me grow my network by connecting me with leaders in regenerative agriculture. Beyond this, he has been a positive and constructive thought partner on how I can achieve impact with my work, always giving important feedback but doing so in a way that helps me move forward and grow."
Case Study: Grant Proposal Development
Emily Lehning, Roots & Legacies Consulting
Roots & Legacies Secures $5M USDA Grant with Strategic Proposal Support
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When Emily Lehning’s company, Roots & Legacies Consulting, was working with a West Coast-based processor interested in pursuing grant funds, she reached out to Nate Birt at Silver Maple Strategies.​
“The problem we needed to solve was to help our client get clear about what they were asking for and align it with the request for proposals (RFP) requirements,” shares Lehning, referencing a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) grant opportunity they identified as a good fit for their client.
Learn how Roots & Legacies partnered with Silver Maple Strategies to develop and successfully submit its client's grant proposal.
Case Study: Annual Report Development
Ryan Slabaugh, Founder, Think Regeneration
Think Regeneration Clarifies Impact with Public-Facing Annual Report
Helping farmers transition to regenerative agriculture and building regional food systems are among the top priorities of rapidly growing nonprofit Think Regeneration. To support its continued impact in literal fields and communities across the U.S., Think Regeneration needed an annual report to tell its story and clarify its key differentiators for current partners and prospective funders.
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That’s when founder Ryan Slabaugh reached out to Nate Birt at Silver Maple Strategies.
"The real thread of all our programs needed an outside voice to clarify, 'Here's what you guys are really doing.' It may sound trite and overly simplistic, but that's the essence," Slabaugh recalls.
Here's how Think Regeneration partnered with Silver Maple Strategies to plan, research, and write its annual report.
Case Study: Fundraising & Business Development
Lesli Moylan, Missouri Environmental Education Association
Jamin Bray, Missouri Environmental Education Association
MEEA Builds Fundraising Systems to Support Environmental Education
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A strong desire to secure funding to maintain and expand programming and resources for formal environmental educators, nonformal environmental educators, and young leaders led co-directors Lesli Moylan and Jamin Bray of Missouri Environmental Education Association (MEEA) to contact Nate Birt at Silver Maple Strategies.
“It was definitely capacity,” Jamin says. “We have a lot of things that we need and want to do that we just did not have enough money for.”
Together, Lesli and Nate co-created a two-month Fundraising Support Engagement spanning weekly sprint-based coaching calls, monthly skills-building conversations, a Fundraising Wayfinding Workshop with MEEA’s Board of Directors, and 24/7 support for updating conference sponsorship, fundraising, and marketing materials to advance MEEA’s goals.
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Here's what that collaboration made possible.
Case Study: Nonprofit Book Coaching
Kevin Payne, Author & Marketing Expert
Silicon Valley Marketing Leader Publishes Memoir with Editorial Coaching from Silver Maple
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Several years ago, Kevin Payne started writing a book about his career in tech marketing in Silicon Valley. He wanted to share his experiences and learnings about how technology and marketing evolved over that time. He finished the draft manuscript toward the end of 2024 and prepared to start the publishing process.
“Nate’s contributions and suggestions far exceeded my expectations,” Kevin says. “Not only were they thorough and comprehensive, but his edits sounded like I would have written them. It was almost like he was inside my head–in a good way. Nate captured my voice, my style, and my sense of humor.”
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Learn more about how Kevin leveraged Nate's step-by-step book coaching system–and the benefits he experienced as an author.
Ready to Write Your Own Case Study?
If you're looking for strategic communication support that leads to real results—from grant funding and thought leadership to stronger messaging and team alignment—let’s talk.