Fundraiser Publicity Tips
Try the following tactics to increase awareness of your fundraiser and your organization.
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Keep tabs on similar organizations: Keep a file with articles you’ve seen about other nonprofits in your area. These clippings provide examples of the types of stories the media is interested in, contain the names of the reporters who have covered nonprofits in the past, and give you an idea of the type of information you need handy to make a compelling media story.
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Save your clips: Also keep track of past news stories about your own organization so that you can develop relationships with the journalists who have covered you in the media before. If you provided them with valuable information in the past, they’re likely to be receptive when you call again.
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Pitch timely news: Local media outlets are often starved for news. Each day, reporters are on the hunt for something new and compelling that their competitors haven’t gotten wind of yet. That means there are plenty of opportunities for you to get coverage if you focus on delivering story ideas with fresh angles, new data, and unusual insight.
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Cast a wide net: Your local daily newspaper is an obvious target for press releases and story idea pitches, but also consider college papers, trade publications, neighborhood weeklies, regional magazines, ethnic-oriented publications, websites, and freelance writers who may live in your area and write stories for national publications.
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Cover all angles: When pitching story ideas, break out of the box of standard local news coverage. Consider other angles, such as profiles of the event’s key organizers, business-section coverage of unusual ways that companies have contributed to the campaign, style-section reporting on gala attire, or arts-section stories on the event’s performers and decorators.
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Enhance your online presence: Many organizations fail to consider their online presence. But more and more donors take websites into consideration when making donation decisions. Some prospective donors look up the charity online as a credibility check instead of making donations over the phone. Others may stumble upon you while conducting searches online. In either case, you want to make a positive impression.
