PR for Nonprofits: Big Stories & Shoestring Budgets
In my experience, the media is pretty friendly with nonprofits. So, if you are running a charitable organization and a little nervous about how to drum up a little media attention, allow me to put you at ease: You already have what the media is looking for.
When it comes to spinning a story the media will want to run with, your organization probably has plenty at the ready even if it isn’t obvious…yet.
With a story in hand, your real challenge is going to be simply communicating with the media, knowing what to say, when to say it, and who to say it to.
In this post I’ll go over a few tips to help you get the word out there.
1. Find the Best-Priced PR Strategy
I know most nonprofits are trying to keep their operation costs super low so they can devote more resources to their cause. I get that.
But if you have ever tried to hire a publicist or PR firm, you know they can be super expensive. At the very least, they usually expect hefty retainers and a minimum commitment of 3-6 months.
For bigger organizations, this might be a reasonable expense. After all, you get a team of people working on your brand every day.
But for a lot of nonprofits, hiring a PR firm is simply not in the budget.
The good news is that a tight budget does not prevent you from getting media attention. You can execute an effective PR strategy all on your own.
Remember when I mentioned that the media is pretty friendly with nonprofits? This gives you an inherent advantage if you know how to use it.
And if you don’t quite know how to use this advantage, you can learn all the ins and outs of how the media works and how to make it work for you in my Foundations Course.
(Psst… it’s a lot cheaper than hiring a firm.)
2. Tell Your Impact Stories
The best stories from nonprofits are about how they’re making a difference in the world.
The more grounded and specific that story is, the better. In fact, a lot of these super-specific impact stories naturally convert into great human-interest stories.
I think it’s helpful here to compare how different this is from a for-profit company. Typically, a business turns their product or service into a story. Think of the direct-to-consumer company, Casper, which spun their product (a soft white slab) into the story of a sleep revolution.
But with nonprofits, the “product” is the impact. It’s authentically engaging and just what the media needs to publish to capture the interest of their readers.
3. Take Advantage of Your Thought Leadership
I always recommend my nonprofit clients put forward a CEO or executive director as a thought leader.
Thought leaders are a little different than a spokesperson and can open more opportunities. Where a spokesperson will give comments on the organization’s position, a thought leader provides insight on specific issues across the industry.
To illustrate this, let’s say you work for an environmental nonprofit and have been in communication with a local news source. When the reporter is writing about a new regulation impacting the climate, they may call your thought leader to get an insider’s perspective and learn more about the regulation.
The best part about this type of media attention is that even a small quote in a larger story adds a lot of credibility and authority to your brand.
4. Invite the Media
This one should be obvious. When you have an event, send the media an invitation.
Now that a lot of events are happening online, you have even more reason to invite the media. It’s so easy to pop into a virtual event! Without the time, expense, and hassle of travel, you can even widen your invite list to include reporters from all over.
5. Don’t Hold Back
One hesitation I hear is that it may not be the right time or the right story to start engaging with the media.
Let me bust this myth right here and right now: the best time to start media relations is yesterday.
Look, it might take a while for the media to pick up your story. But the more you are on their radar, the more likely they are to know who you are and care about what you are doing.
My advice is to not hold back. You probably have more stories ready to pitch than you realize.
If you:
Hire a new board member, tell the media!
Hit a fundraising goal, tell the media!
Launch a new program, tell the media!
This way, when the “real” story comes around, it won’t be the first time they’ve heard of you. Big or small, keep them up to date on how you are growing and improving your cause.