Why there's been no post for a week:

Making the Most of Your Resources

Doing public relations for nonprofit agencies is no different than working for large corporations with the general exception of the size of one’s budget. But one must realize there are other kinds of resources beyond money, including people, time, and talent. Chapter 7 (of my nonprofit p.r. textbook) discusses how “with good leadership and the right commitment, even a volunteer team operating on a minimum budget can achieve good media coverage.”
First, one should start by thinking creatively as to where money is available for nonprofits. Many large national and community foundations provide funds; one should investigate local foundations grant guidelines for eligibility. Individual donors may also be able to support media efforts with in a nonprofit organization. Corporations will also share some media time or space with nonprofit organizations – at the end of a radio advertisement or a small print ad.
People power can come from several places. First, local colleges are a great place to find potential interns who are willing to work for free in order to gain experience. It’s important to remember that interns are not experienced and do require supervision and support. They are not to be thrown in to a p.r. job and expected to know exactly what to do. Executive loan programs allow nonprofits to benefit from the experience and expertise of corporate CEOs who take a paid leave of absence to work with a nonprofit organization in order to take a break from their daily routines. They are more likely to be found in Fortune 500 companies. Retired journalists and media executives are another place to look when searching for people who have experience working with the media. Pro bono advertising and public relations support provide a final place to find money to spend in communicating with the media about an organization.
For small volunteer nonprofits, in order to implement a good strategic communications plan, a media committee should be established along with a committee chair. This person should be given authority to recruit others to serve on the committee who would be able to write, edit, proofread, create media kit, do graphic design and desktop publishing and use computer databases or the Internet for research. The chair would also need to develop a list of media contacts and encourage people on the communications committee to use personal connections they already have established to help earn media coverage. It is also important to have an answering machine for the committee chair in order for media to have a place to call. One should also check to find any used electronic equipment (i.e. computers, printers, scanners, etc.) that could be donated or purchased cheaply.
For midsized nonprofit organizations, it important to have a communications person who reports directly to the executive director, not three or four levels below. A communications person is going to need to be able to get approval quickly and easily, so making him jump through hoops of extra people in a hierarchy, not only wastes the communications person’s time, but also hurts the overall public relations effort for the organization. These nonprofit organizations should also learn to delegate responsibilities to people who are capable of completing the task well.
Large nonprofit organizations have the benefit of have a considerable budget to drawn upon for strategic communication. These nonprofits are able to use bimonthly polls or focus groups to get information that can be disseminated to smaller levels of the organization.
Teamwork is a great way to do public relations in a small nonprofit organization. According to Denise Cavanaugh of Cavanaugh, Hagan & Pierson in Washington, D.C., when running a press operation, “managers should try to create a team of people with interchangeable skills.” Each major activity should be included in an overall project work plan that designates the task, the person to whom it has been assigned, the priority it has been accorded and the deadline.
Finally, in working in teams, it is important to celebrate the team’s successes and evaluate its performance in order to find areas of improvement. Also important is the ability to remain flexible with the process of strategic communication as the industry is perpetually changing in order to adapt easily to new circumstances.

Dedicated (and submitted tomorrow) to Jennie Straight and members of my nonprofit public relations class.