With over 1.5 million of them in the United States, nonprofit organizations are familiar entities that have been in existence since a long time. Unlike other big corporations and for-profit companies, nonprofits like churches, schools and religious organizations are largely dependent on donations and grants for which they need to reach out to the public and promote their cause. Whether it’s raising awareness about your mission or sharing a story, a strong public relations strategy is the path to increase visibility and engage more donor base. Other than opting for a great donor management software, letting people know what your organization does is certainly a great way to get more donation and support. There is much more to Public Relations for nonprofits than just drafting great press releases. With this article, GiveCentral attempts to lay out a few points on how a strategic PR Plan can help your nonprofit gain more coverage by maximizing its presence.
Communication
It is commonly said that a good communication is key for any relationship, so is the case here; develop a communication strategy to help bridge the gap between you, your cause and your donors. This can be done by targeting the right audience, strategize in such a way that there is something for both sides of the party. The medium of communication should also be chosen depending on the target audience; some like to communicate through emails while others like to be informed through texts.
Spreading awareness
Creating a blog for your nonprofit and making sure that it is rich in content with the right keywords is definitely a great way to get noticed. Write about trending stories regularly and share links to those stories on your social media handles, this will engage help in engaging more audience.
Maintain old bonds while initiating new drives
PR for nonprofits also focuses on member relations; this includes tending to the old donors while maintaining and developing relations with new donors. Keeping in mind that one of the main goals of publication relations is to you help in fundraising for nonprofits, donor packages can be sent out. Inorder for your donors to empathize better with your cause, member relations can implemented and monitored via newsletters, magazines, online seminars, or outdoor/indoor events.
Media engagement
It is the responsibility of the PR team/ person to form connections with the right journalists and websites. When pitches and press releases are written in such a way that it is easily promotable and consumable, then there are higher chances of getting increasing your visibility.
Public relations to a nonprofit organization is likely to require additional spending, yet the ROI reflects much more than in financial gain. Dan Pallota, the humanitarian activist puts it this way, “so the next time you’re looking at a charity, don’t ask about the rate of their overhead. Ask about the scale of their dreams, their Apple-, Google-, Amazon-scale dreams, how they measure their progress toward those dreams, and what resources they need to make them come true, regardless of what the overhead is. Who cares what the overhead is if these problems are actually getting solved?”.
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Last modified: October 25, 2018
