Giving Season is now less than two months away, and as your organization prepares, it’s a good idea to step back and look at your marketing plan. You’re likely ready to post regular content on social media, ensure prompt distribution of direct mailers to your base, and create fresh blog content to drive SEO. But are you forgetting a nonprofit public relations strategy?
Last year, China Llanos posted on J.P. Morgan:
In more recent decades, Americans have been driven to donate in record-breaking numbers. Since 1977, charitable giving has increased nearly every year with few exceptions. In 2019, U.S. donations amounted to $449.64 billion and individual gifts increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Today, about 60% of Americans participate in charitable giving.
Overall, this is fantastic news for many great causes. However, this also means that for potential supporters, there’s a lot of noise, a lot of asks, and a lot of options for their donations.
Implementing a Nonprofit PR Strategy
Find the right agency: Your mission and message are sensitive, and you need to work with a team that understands that. Whether your goal is the conservation of a struggling wild species or driving awareness of the harm done by rampant factory farming, it takes an agency specializing in nonprofit public relations to ensure your story is delivered in an accurate and compelling way.
Start Now: When is the best time to introduce a PR strategy into your marketing plan? Yesterday! Good, proactive public relations should result in earned media placements that add credibility to your organization. That credibility can enhance all your other marketing efforts, so start now to give your entire push into Giving Season a boost.
Stay the Course: Unlike PPC, paid ads and other similar marketing efforts, public relations is a long tail game. Yes, it can immediately enhance your other efforts, but it also gets even better with time. A sustained earned media presence over time can keep your organization top-of-mind during the slower seasons and set you up for an even more successful Giving Season next year, too.
Don’t go into Giving Season without a nonprofit public relations strategy. Contact us at Orange Orchard here or by calling (865) 977-1973.