Non-Profits Need a PR Campaign
Non-Profits Need A Serious Public Relations Campaign
So I’m reading Chapter 10 (“Infrastructure Organizations”) and I’m making my way through the material and, with each page turned, I am growing in my understanding of infrastructure organizations, how they serve the non-profit sector as a whole and how some of them serve individual non-profits and their staff.
Then I get to the section of the chapter that provides a history of the public policy challenges that IOs have faced since the 1950s and it becomes very clear to me that the third sector has been seriously attacked over the years and accused of everything from being “un-American subversive activities” to money laundering and tax evasion. The Cox Committee, the Reece Committee, Wright Patman, the one-two punch from the Reagan administration, and the Istook Amendment all represent times in American history when the non-profit world faced incredible problems.
While history also shows us that non-profits have defended themselves against these accusations, I am surprised that no one in the non-profit world has simply launched a common sense campaign that holds the figurative mirror up to the collective American ‘face’ and shows us how much our daily quality of life has been vastly improved (in major and minor) ways as a result of the work of non-profs.
In particular, on p.350 of the chapter, when the authors include the “need for a convincing rationale for the nonprofit sector” as one of the current challenges, I find this incredible. Given all that we enjoy today as a result of the work done by non-profits, how could we possibly question the need for a nonprofit sector? Domestic violence, child abuse, drunk driving, AIDS, the promotion of women in the workplace, the civil rights of minorities, the accurate representation of ingredients in foods, breast cancer, reproductive rights, the protection of our natural resources, forest fires, tobacco products and smoking, literacy, and the beautification of America are just a few of the major issues taken on by non-profits. How many of us are safer, healthier, smarter, happier and more aware today because of the work done by non-profits on these and other issues?
I think the authors present some very good solutions to this challenge; uncover the basic information about the sector and its contributions to society, make sure that nonprofit leaders gain a good grasp of the research-based information that exists, close the culture gap between researchers and practitioners, and identify the unique contributions of nonprofits and justify their special tax treatment.
To these recommendations I would add that the non-profit sector, the IOs in particular, should find a group of talented public relations professionals to plan and implement a long-term campaign that tells the story of what non-profits have accomplished.
Until the non-profit sector becomes better at showing their worth, they will continue to come under the attack of those in positions of power who just don’t understand.
So I’m reading Chapter 10 (“Infrastructure Organizations”) and I’m making my way through the material and, with each page turned, I am growing in my understanding of infrastructure organizations, how they serve the non-profit sector as a whole and how some of them serve individual non-profits and their staff.
Then I get to the section of the chapter that provides a history of the public policy challenges that IOs have faced since the 1950s and it becomes very clear to me that the third sector has been seriously attacked over the years and accused of everything from being “un-American subversive activities” to money laundering and tax evasion. The Cox Committee, the Reece Committee, Wright Patman, the one-two punch from the Reagan administration, and the Istook Amendment all represent times in American history when the non-profit world faced incredible problems.
While history also shows us that non-profits have defended themselves against these accusations, I am surprised that no one in the non-profit world has simply launched a common sense campaign that holds the figurative mirror up to the collective American ‘face’ and shows us how much our daily quality of life has been vastly improved (in major and minor) ways as a result of the work of non-profs.
In particular, on p.350 of the chapter, when the authors include the “need for a convincing rationale for the nonprofit sector” as one of the current challenges, I find this incredible. Given all that we enjoy today as a result of the work done by non-profits, how could we possibly question the need for a nonprofit sector? Domestic violence, child abuse, drunk driving, AIDS, the promotion of women in the workplace, the civil rights of minorities, the accurate representation of ingredients in foods, breast cancer, reproductive rights, the protection of our natural resources, forest fires, tobacco products and smoking, literacy, and the beautification of America are just a few of the major issues taken on by non-profits. How many of us are safer, healthier, smarter, happier and more aware today because of the work done by non-profits on these and other issues?
I think the authors present some very good solutions to this challenge; uncover the basic information about the sector and its contributions to society, make sure that nonprofit leaders gain a good grasp of the research-based information that exists, close the culture gap between researchers and practitioners, and identify the unique contributions of nonprofits and justify their special tax treatment.
To these recommendations I would add that the non-profit sector, the IOs in particular, should find a group of talented public relations professionals to plan and implement a long-term campaign that tells the story of what non-profits have accomplished.
Until the non-profit sector becomes better at showing their worth, they will continue to come under the attack of those in positions of power who just don’t understand.
posted by Anonymous @ 12:08 PM
4 Comments:
At 4:47 PM, October 29, 2006,
austin said…
"[F]ind a group of talented public relations professionals to plan and implement a long-term campaign that tells the story of what non-profits have accomplished."
We heard from the horses mouth about the situation with 2 charities in the same city working to benefit the same cause. If nonprofits in the same community cannot come together to work towards the common goal, how can we expect nonprofits from around the nation to come together to work on a campaign highlighting the importance of nonprofits. And what nonprofits do we tell the story of. Certainly there are nonprofits that don't need to be in existence and that criticism will arise no matter how well a public relations campaign is conducted.
"Until the non-profit sector becomes better at showing their worth, they will continue to come under the attack of those in positions of power who just don’t understand."
Rather than conducting a national campaign, should the campaign not focus on the positions of power who don't understand. And how many positions in power really don't understand. The landscape for nonprofits could certainly be improved with a campaign, and I would like to see it happen. But from listening to people speak of how national public relations firms work, I don't think a marketing campaign will improve the landscape. If each nonprofit justifies its existence to its community, then I am happy.
At 1:35 PM, October 30, 2006,
Giselle said…
I agree with the sentiment and intention behind Gina’s idea for a “common sense” PR campaign for non-profits; however, given the sheer number of non-profits and the number of varying publics that they serve, it’s just not feasible. This can certainly be done on a smaller scale by individual organizations, who would be foolish to not publicize just how they’re making an impact. In fact, as there are so many competing non-profits in the marketplace, it would be to their benefit to get the word out as extensively as possible about how they effectively serve their target public.
It all goes back to accountability; if a non-profit cannot show in quantitative, concrete terms how exactly they’re fulfilling their mission, then how are they going to attract new donors and volunteers, much less explain their worth in a public relations campaign? The need for accountability should push non-profits to higher standards, which they can then use to promote themselves. Quite frankly, if an organization cannot respond decisively to criticism about their effectiveness, then perhaps the organization should take a long, hard look at themselves and what they’re really accomplishing.
At 4:59 PM, October 30, 2006,
Paul Jonas said…
I think a non-profit campaign would and could work if done right. I see it as being something similar to the cotton campaign. There are a ton of different sectors that use cotton, but they all share one common thread.
I have not seen anynumbers on the efficacy of the campaign, but many of us have seen the commercials.
I don't think that a campaign would solve many problems, but it would be a start of information awareness to the general public, who I am not quite sure are all that tuned out. It would be interesting to see what people that use NPO services know of other realms of the nonprofit sector.
Once that general awareness is created in the public it could bring more light to the case and perhaps change the viewpoints of those questioning the worth of non-profits.
On the otherhand, we are a rather reactionary society, perhaps America needs to have a scrooge-like experience to see what would happen had they never existed. (was that scrooge?)
I do see that a call to action is warranted and I agree in many ways with what Austin said about nonprofits needing to work together. In this day, the nonprofit sector is very similar to the business sector in that when it gets too big people either need to regroup or fall apart. Look at all the mergers, etc that have had to happen. Instead of losing the organizations' identities they may need to sacrifice some of their mission to survive.
That is an interesting paradox. NPOs need to stick to their guns and avoid mission creep, but if they remain that rigid, they can't change. I think this is a case where we are seeing the effects of that.
"
At 6:07 PM, October 30, 2006,
Evelyn said…
I can’t agree more with Gina. Nonprofits do need better PR professionals to work on their campaigns. Sometimes nonprofits try to call people’s attention by presenting shocking images and videos of the cause they serve. These images or videos sometimes are not the best defense of the cause because they are very shocking (think about Peta or other organizations that deal with people dying of hungry in Africa). The product of some PR campaigns is related to poor planning; coordination and application if tactics, but I also think that sometimes nonprofits focus on the sensationalism side of the cause that they present.
I have found good communication campaigns made by nonprofits such as CARE. If you have a chance please take a look at their Web site to learn more about their campaigns at http://www.care.org. Some of their tactics (videos, brochures, testimonies, etc) are very educational.
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