"Arpy Shively is a versatile, skilled writer and thinker...bright, intuitive, diligent and very personable. She is able to take a complex job and work through it with enthusiasm and skill. She has brought an incredible breadth of knowledge and experience to every project."
Paul Kelly, Paul Kelly Fundraising
What are you saying?
I know you’ve got an important message about your charitable cause or campaign, your unique product or service. But with all the noise out there, can the people you want to hear you, hear you?
I can help, with writing that speaks to your audiences in a clear, authentic voice. I can find the meaning in your message, and be a storyteller for your brand or cause. Keen to avoid jargon and cliché, I aim instead for ‘practical poetry’, with language everyday audiences can relate to.
As a result, I can give you fresh website content and blog posts, absorbing articles and compelling fundraising materials. Working as part of your team, or by myself. Delivering to time and on budget.
What am I working on right now?
* A blog post about restoring trust in charities
* A case statement for a non-profit helping grassroots orgs in Ecuador
* A fundraising bid proposal for a social network dedicated to creating social change
Speaking of me
My name is Arpy Shively. I research and write content for a range of websites and blogs, fundraising materials, and travel/lifestyle articles.
My greatest strength is in writing for and from a human perspective, with warmth, wit and empathy. So whether it’s about women working to end child marriage in Zambia, a yoga retreat in deepest Andalucia, or food and wine anywhere, I can find the angle that helps you connect your cause, product or service with your selected audience.
Other passions/writing wishlist: Women’s issues; social and cultural issues, books, films, dogs, homes and gardens, women’s wellbeing, food.
I also blog about women’s challenges in the developing world at: http://www.womanworks.org.uk
I'm happy to share my full CV with you by email.
Contact me and we can start a conversation:
arpyshively@gmail.com Tel: +34 610 615 923
What have I written and for whom?
Here are a few 'soundbites' from a wide variety of clients and causes I have written for. I’m happy to share with you the full article from which each extract is taken – please email or call me: arpyshively@gmail.com
CAUSES AND NONPROFITS
LOST GIRLS FINDING THE LIGHT (Blog post)
(A National Geographic magazine photo): In Ghazipur landfill outside Delhi, seven-year old Zarina sifts through a sea of landfill. She is looking for anything she can sell, so that she and her family can eat that day. I gaze at this young girl gazing at the distant city high-rises, and try to foresee her future…
UN GLOBAL GOALS: ARE WOMEN WINNING? (Blog post)
Millions of women worldwide still have no say in sexual relations or how many children they want to have. They can’t access contraception or advice on family planning. Desperate to avoid having another child they can’t feed, they are unable to get safe abortions. Trump’s signing of the ‘global gag rule’ in 2017 deals the most devastating blow to family planning. It will definitely have a negative impact in this area, including more – and more dangerous – abortions.
Domestic abuse is one issue that is common to all regions, with highest levels in Oceania (excluding Australia and New Zealand). Countries where men hold economic, political and religious power offer little or no protection in law for victims of abuse. In many countries, rapists can escape prosecution if they are married to or agree to marry their victim. In others, the rapist goes free and the victim is punished. It sounds like a cruel joke, but it’s all too true…
THE NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY: FACING HISTORY (a case statement)
“I don’t mind an ugly hero. I just want an interesting one. What we see is a man who, I think, doesn’t want to be painted. He’s blanking Holbein. He’s blanking us. That interests me. What’s he hiding?”
(Hilary Mantel, author of Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies, on Holbein’s 1533 portrait of Thomas Cromwell)
Hilary Mantel's immersion in Hans Holbein's portrait of Thomas Cromwell created nothing less than literary alchemy. In her Booker Prize-winning novels, Mantel transforms a mediaeval mystery man into a complex and compelling personality.
From the funeral effigies of 13th century British monarchs to an evocative 2011 portrait of singer Amy Winehouse, the faces of historical and cultural legends displayed in the National Portrait Gallery continue to hold or baffle our gaze. Clear across the centuries and decades, they speak to us of lives long gone or far different from our own…
NATIONAL IMMIGRATION FORUM (U.S.) (Fundraising materials)
Throughout the long history of immigration in America, preserving our nation’s precious promise of liberty has been an ongoing battle. The times may change, the issues shift, but each generation of citizens passes the torch to the next.
Now in the midst of our own generation’s struggle, the future of immigration hangs in the balance. Enormous challenges lie ahead, and the NIF faces strong opposition from formidable forces…
TRAVEL/LIFESTYLE
OUR LADY OF LANJARÓN (travel magazine article)
I am strolling down the tree-lined main street, Calle Real. Sunlight pours through the leaves like olive oil on salad. An old man with dirty bare feet and shining blue eyes sits on a folding chair in front of his house, weaving sage-green grass into intricate ribbons of matting. A mule laden with hay clops through congealing traffic, his guide as gnarled and knobbly as an olive tree. At the blue and white tiled fountain near the Hotel Miramar, a German shepherd dog stretches delicately up on his hind legs for a long drink of the town’s famous healing water...
ORTIGIA: A BRIEF JOURNEY THROUGH TIME (website copy)
One of those rare places where the distinctive threads of European civilisation are woven together in an elaborate tapestry of time. Carved in stone, inscribed on papyrus or stroked onto canvas. Hammered out of gold, or glaring in neon; Ortigia tells the story of 3,000 years of culture in a single morning’s stroll.
VIVA VALENCIA! (travel magazine article)
Steering your car through Valencia’s evening commute provides all the machismo and high drama of the bullring, fuelled by big-city adrenalin. Multi-lane one-way systems hurry you past magnificent civic buildings and frothy stone fountains. In the gaps between ducal palaces and florid Art Nouveau apartments gleam towers of sheer glass and steel. We’re heading for our hotel, not far from the toytown-smart Estacion del Norte train terminal near Valencia’s historic centre…
Clients past and present include:
• We Make Change.org (Content provider for cause-related social network startup)
• Stoutzker Fundraising Partnership (Writer/Associate)
• Lonely Planet (researcher/writer – Spanish destinations)
• THINK Event Marketing Ltd (Events and forums)
• Authentic Marketing (Brand identity development)
• Acompalia (Hospice Charity)
• Garfinkel & Associates (Washington D.C.-based writing agency)
• Preservation Magazine (Washington D.C. - internship)
Some Client Kudos
Hewlett-Packard Co. "We wanted to record and thank you for all your work toward the success of Hewlett-Packard's Telecom event in Geneva. In particular, your focus on internal communications helped us achieve this success; many people commented how effective the internal communications program was in delivering all our objectives." Director, Brand & Company Communications
Commonwealth Heads of Government Conference. "CHOGM has been heralded as a major success ... what a pleasure it was to work with you and Fred. Thank you for your tireless efforts - sometimes at short notice...'. Peter Bolton, Executive Producer.
Paul Kelly Fundraising. 'A good fundraising writer can solve problems, motivate action and tell a compelling story. Arpy Shively is a versatile, skilled writer and thinker. She has helped me craft strong and effective fundraising materials – ranging from fundraising proposals and case statements to blogs and websites. I had the pleasure of working with Arpy on a number of important assignments – including the National Portrait Gallery and ACS International Schools – and found her to be bright, intuitive, diligent and very personable. She is able to take a complex job and work through it with enthusiasm and skill. Arpy brought an incredible breadth of knowledge and experience to every project, and I am grateful for the high quality and effective work that she always delivered.' Paul Kelly
Education
Open University: BA (Hons) First Class - Literature (2014)
In 2017, I completed 'International Women's Health and Human Rights' (IWHHR), an open online course offered by Stanford University. The comprehensive course covers the challenges facing girls and women in the developing world, from conception to old age. It also describes the organisations large and small who are working to create positive change. It has given me a sound basis for my cause-related writing.
I'd welcome the opportunity to work with you as a writer on your next project. Contact me and we can start a conversation: arpyshively@gmail.com or call me on: +34 610 615 923