After some intense “Googling” for at least five minutes, it turns out there is not a ton written about communication and public relations in the non-profit space. I have a few theories as to why, but you’ll have to buy me a drink first.
The bad news - there is not a lot of guidance. The good news - I’m here! And our first blog together will explore what you need in your tool belt to facilitate basic communication for your non-profit.
For starters, it’s important to recognize the obvious. Unlike the for-profit sector, you aren’t calling upon your communications “team” for strategy and promotion. You. Are. The. Team. So, it’s time to get familiar with the phrase “work smarter, not harder." Let's put on your tool belt and get to work. This tool belt lends itself to creating processes that will help you streamline the mounds of work that seem insurmountable. Don't freak out. You can summit this to-do list mountain. And when you reach the top....well there will be more. But, the absolute greatest thing about non-profit PR is that its passionate work. Thankless, yes. But who needs thanks when you are supporting people who make this world a better place.
OK. On with it.
Here are the basics of your PR Belt:
A good press release template and media list.
Strategic calendar of communications topics. Start with it. Don’t necessarily stick to it. These topics are great “evergreen” ideas to proactively pitch to local media. Yep. Stick them in a press release with a few quotes from your CEO and a localized slant, you may just get your agency in the news with a positive story. Don’t give up after one iteration or pitch. Continue to feed ideas to your local media sources. They are always looking for stories to “pitch” their news managers. One will stick eventually.
Create a social media calendar - Remember that work smarter, not harder thing? Use that strategic calendar we just talked about to create a series of social media posts for the month (one to two posts a week will do.) Make a pretty graphic using a site like Canva.
A solid communications policy - No one should be making public statements, answering questions, redesigning your logo or doing presentations about your non-profit without expressed consent of your department. This seems so obvious, yet, as a non-profit, it’s often an all hands on deck situation. We forget that there still needs to be a certain layer of brand protection. Make sure the messaging and branding coming out of your agency is consistent.
Designated mediums for internal and external communication. Whether you do a brief monthly newsletter using Constant Contact or a blog on your website, it’s important to keep your stakeholders involved, engaged and informed on a consistent schedule. They should be your biggest advocates. But if they are not informed, they cannot advocate.
Your tool belt is now ready to help you reach the next peak. In future blogs I will elaborate a bit on some of these pieces because I know there are questions. But don’t overcomplicate it. If you run a non-profit, you can put these pieces together easily. It’s amazing what a little pro-active public relations and communications can do for your reputation.
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