Joel Eaton

Owner/Designer

Clear communication for meaningful work

At Preface, I help nonprofits and mission-driven organizations communicate clearly with donors, supporters, and stakeholders. My work sits at the intersection of fundraising, marketing, and design. The goal is simple: help the right people understand your mission and feel motivated to support it.

Whether you are planning an annual appeal, refreshing your donor communications, or telling a clearer story about your impact, I focus on practical marketing that supports your annual fund and long-term relationships.

You work directly with me from strategy through execution. No handoffs. No unnecessary layers. Just thoughtful work built around your goals.

How I work

I take a collaborative, practical approach. I ask questions, listen closely, and help clarify what matters most before anything is designed or written.

My role is not just to make materials look good. It is to help you communicate more clearly, reduce friction for donors, and present your work with confidence.

This approach works well for organizations that value clear thinking, thoughtful execution, and direct collaboration.

Who this is a good fit for

I work with nonprofits and mission-driven teams who want a hands-on partner and a streamlined process. Organizations that care about clarity, storytelling, and donor experience tend to be a strong fit.

If you are looking for an agency-style engagement with multiple layers of approval and long timelines, I may not be the right fit. If you want to work directly with the person shaping your message and designing your materials, we will likely work well together.

What clients are saying

“Joel Eaton does fantastic work. I’ve had the pleasure of partnering with him to design annual fund, major gift, and capital campaign fundraising materials for a number of our ministry and nonprofit partners. What I enjoy about working with Joel is that he’s smart, creative, engaged, responsive, and delivers a great final product that helps raise significant revenue for our clients.”

I had the pleasure of working with Joel for six years during my time at The Salvation Army, where he supported our design and website work. Throughout our long partnership, he was consistently reliable, timely, and responsive, always delivering high-quality work and meeting deadlines with care and professionalism. More than a vendor, he was a true partner—collaborative, thoughtful, and genuinely invested in our mission and success.

“We’ve worked with Joel for the last year, and his knowledge and creativity have been a great help to our marketing and fundraising efforts. We also really appreciate that Joel is easy to work with while driving the production schedule. He has our deep respect and appreciation.”

“I have been blessed to work with Joel on many fund raising and marketing projects over the last five plus years. Joel is one of the most creative people that I have ever worked with. He is able to take my initial thoughts and ideas on a project and translate them into an actionable document. His creativity, quality and timeliness are second to none; he is a true professional and easy to work with.”

“Joel was instrumental in a re-design of the Five Stone Media website, clarifying the messaging, and in general, making it much more attractive to view and understand. And because of the new messaging and design, it makes it much easier to approach potential donors, and have the confidence that we can be competitive in the non-profit market place. We continue to use Joel for this purpose.”