Contents
What Is a Nonprofit?
How to Define Your Mission
How to Choose and Protect Your Nonprofit’s Name
How to Set Up Your Board
How to Write Your Articles of Incorporation
Nonprofit Tax Matters
How to Write Your Bylaws
Nonprofit Management and Operations Issues
Insurance for Your Nonprofit
Nonprofit Fundraising Basics
Nonprofit Publicity Basics
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Nonprofit Publicity Basics
Though most nonprofits recognize the importance of raising their visibility in the communities they serve, few take the time to consider carefully what they want to get out of the raised awareness. Consider the following questions:
- Do you want to build deeper relationships with journalists so that they’ll offer continuing and favorable coverage of your activities and events?
- Do you want to lay the groundwork for a major fundraising campaign?
- Do you want to educate the public about your cause?
The answers to those questions should guide not only the publicity tools you use but also the segments of the population to which you direct your messages. Some of the most common publicity tools include:
- Press releases
- Newsletters
- Annual reports
However, anything bearing a message about your organization or fundraising can serve as a publicity tool.
Public Relations Tips
Try the following tactics when planning and organizing a publicity campaign.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 having a strong web presence is crucial: many people of all age groups are now internet savvy, and 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.
- Your website should be well designed and user-friendly. If money is an issue, look for volunteers or students who are technically inclined and willing to do the work for little or no money. In addition, sites such as www.charityfocus.org offer free web design services to nonprofits.
- A good way to enhance your online presence is to utilize networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace to spread the word about your cause. Millions of people use these sites every day, upping your chances of being seen and, hopefully, heard.
Important Public Relations Tools
The more visibility your nonprofit has, the more funds it will raise and the more successful it will be. Your nonprofit should always have the following written documents on hand meant to promote the organization and raise its visibility.
Document |
Description |
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Letterhead |
This formal stationery includes your organization’s name, mailing address, web address, phone number, and fax number. A letterhead helps convey a professional image. |
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Backgrounder |
This document gives an overview of your nonprofit’s mission, services, and history. It can be printed on your letterhead or in a glossier brochure format. In either case, it’s a valuable document that can help staff, volunteers, prospective donors, clients, and other key constituencies get to know your organization. |
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Press release |
These documents, which are usually no longer than a page, are distributed to the media or posted on your website to alert interested parties to key events or accomplishments related to your organization. One aim is to capture the media’s attention so that they’ll use you as an expert resource for future stories or write about your organization directly. Another aim is to communicate to the public via your website. |
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Annual report |
This document is an important tool for communicating with past and prospective donors. It often provides an overview of the nonprofit’s achievements during the prior year, recognizes past donors, includes a financial statement and one or two paragraphs explaining it, and presents the executive director’s (or another leader’s) thoughts about what lies ahead for the organization. |
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Newsletters |
Newsletters serve a similar function as the annual report but are published more frequently. They provide another opportunity to remind prospective donors and other key audiences of your work and successes. |
| Acknowledgments & Disclaimer |
