Using PR to fundraise for nonprofits

Unlike for-profit businesses, nonprofits have the additional burden of fundraising money from the pubic, business and government organisations to sustain themselves and their work. To achieve their fundraising goals, nonprofit organisations will benefit from using public relations to get the media and the public to pay attention to their activities. A targeted approach to public relations can enhance a nonprofit’s fundraising efforts, giving them more financial flexibility. Here are a few ways to use PR to fundraise for your nonprofit:

Communicate and coordinate

The fundraising team and the PR team should be in constant communication with each other. They both should be on the same page regarding the key messages that are being divulged to supporters and the public. A coordinated communication strategy will result in PR and fundraising teams to be pulling the audience in the same direction. This is why is important and share information regularly and be included in each other’s planning sessions.

Give people a reason to support your cause

We all know there are many charities and nonprofits working for various causes and issues, and they’re all working to get people’s attention funding. This is where PR can come in handy. PR can use case studies and data to show people and companies how their funds can make a difference in concrete terms.

This means showing supporters how every dollar they put into the cause is being contributed to create an impact. Being able to demonstrate the impact clearly in quantitative and qualitative terms goes a long way in allowing supporters and people to feel like they are an important part of creating meaningful change. A feeling that encourages and empowers them to donate and raise money.

Making the best of social media for fundraising

It is undeniable that PR professionals are social media pros, so fundraising teams should use this to their advantage. Right now, there are about 500 million tweets per day on Twitter and people spend a lot of their time on Facebook and Instagram. Therefore, using these channels to raise money would only make sense as they are one of the best ways to reach out to people.

However, it’s not just about posting something and hoping for the best. Fundraising via social media should be carefully planned with creative content and skillful execution. Think about things like – who do you want to reach, what do you want them to know, how do you want to inspire. PR teams will be valuable in creating content that increases visibility and awareness of the cause, as well as motivate people to invest their time and money to the cause.

Target the right media outlets

Media outlets can be a great resource – however, it’s important to find the right reporters and journalist to target. This requires research into reporters and media outlets. PR teams are usually equipped with media contacts and good relationships with journalists. PR and fundraising teams can work together to get stories about the organization and the work it does out there.