Public Relations within Awareness-Based Nonprofits

DEFINING AWARENESS-
BASED NONPROFIT PUBLIC RELATIONS

Awareness-based nonprofit public relations can be defined as the practice of public relations within the context of a not-for-profit organization that specializes in the communication of different ideas, facts, issues, and precautionary information.

More concisely put, a public relations specialist working within or for a nonprofit manages and forges relationships between the nonprofit and that nonprofit’s stakeholders. Some of the stakeholders could include donors, government officials, and the target audience of the message trying to be communicated.

For example, if a nonprofit mainly focuses on anti-human trafficking efforts, and one of their main tactics is to educate at-risk populations, they would be considered an awareness-based nonprofit and would need a public relations specialist to best reach the population and effectively raise awareness and safety measures.

Nonprofits are extremely important to the overall social structure of our world, and therefore have a great need for public relations. As Betty Jane Richmand stated in her book, Counting on Each Other: A Social Audit Model to Assess the Impact of Nonprofit Organizations, “Nonprofits can be characterized as key producers and distributors of social goods, mobilizing and directing resources that add to the social capital in their communities. They exist in complex and interdependent relationships with the public and private sectors, and they are important players in their national and local economies.”

DIFFERENTIATING AWARENESS-BASED NONPROFIT PUBLIC RELATIONS

Public relations within the nonprofit sector as a whole differentiates greatly from other sectors. One of the biggest differences is the assets available. Usually, there are less financial resources available to a public relations professional working within the nonprofit industry.

While a PR professional working at a nonprofit may, on average, not receive as much financially to accomplish PR goals, this does not mean that they are not a force to be reckoned with. In a study conducted by Johns Hopkins University confirmed, “the enormous scale of the nonprofit workforce. U.S. nonprofit establishments employed nearly 10.7 million paid workers in 2010. This accounts for 10.1 percent of our nation’s total private employment and makes the U.S. nonprofit workforce the third largest among U.S. industries, behind only retail trade and manufacturing.”

Furthermore, a different kind of asset is more readily available in the nonprofit sector. That is the asset of storytelling and emotional responses. While there may not be as much money to spend on a campaign, there is usually more content available that pushes people to action.

Within the subsector of awareness- based nonprofits, the PR specialist has even more of an impact on society, as the goal of the organization is community betterment through communication. In nonprofits that center around awareness, public relations becomes the main function of that nonprofit. Instead of PR being a pillar of the organization, it becomes the foundation.

In order for a public relations specialist to thrive in this setting, it is important that they receive the training necessary. This, of course, includes a proficiency in public relations as an industry and practice, but it also includes a comprehensive understanding of whatever community the nonprofit is trying to reach. Without this understanding, all communication will fall flat and the nonprofit as a whole will not accomplish its goals.

Nonprofit public relations also has a special significance to society. Nonprofits are usually directly aimed at the betterment of communities. While for-profit PR, when done correctly, is also a tremendous benefit to society, PR, also done correctly, benefits communities more directly and effectively.

The PR professional working within the awareness-based nonprofit has the ability to shift culture and shape lives. Through a media release, they can prepare citizens for an incoming flood. Through after school initiatives, they can teach children about how to safely walk home from school. Through a social media campaign, they can show teenagers the dangers of drug and alcohol abuse. The PR professional has the ability to shape lives and culture for the better.

AWARENESS-BASED NONPROFITS WITHIN PR

While many definitions of public relations have been put forth, for the purposes of this article PR can be defined as the science fused art of building meaningful relationships between an organization and the public through generating goodwill, strategically and creatively maintaining organizational goals, and managing ethical transparency and communication in order to achieve the betterment of all parties involved and to positively influence the world.

Awareness-based nonprofit public relations fits well within this definition. The goal of a PR professional within this sector would be to build relationships in order for the communication that the organization puts forth to be best received by their various publics. In order to do so, PR professionals in this sector also generate goodwill, manage organizational goals, and manage ethical and transparent communication. All of these facets of PR are instrumental in effectively practicing public relations within the context of an awareness-based nonprofit.

WORLDVIEW AND AWARENESS-BASED NONPROFITS

As with any profession, public relations and the way in which it is practiced is deeply influenced by the worldview that the practitioner holds. However, some worldviews hold to the standards of public relations more cohesively than others. In the Christian worldview, ideals such as honesty, advocacy, and making the world a better place.

All three of these examples are deeply held values within the field of PR as well. In the PR Code of Ethics, there are values such as advocacy, honesty, expertise, independence, loyalty, and fairness.

The integration of what one believes and what one does is one of the most important things one can do in order to holistically care for one’s soul. According to a study conducted about healthcare professional burnout, one of the top reasons for burnout is the loss of personal efficacy, depersonalization, and exhaustion. All of these things can come from the feeling that one is doing something outside the parameters of their worldview.

Personally, the industry of awareness-based nonprofit public relations is very important to me, as I believe that I have been called to it, and my Christian worldview shapes how I see it. I believe that Christians are called to help and love people. One huge way of accomplishing this is bringing issues to light. If I can help one person through creative and excellent public relations not be trafficked, or have a lifesaving preparedness plan, or to stop an instance of cyber-bullying, then I would consider the time dedicated towards the craft of PR to be very worth it.

God has called each of his children into a different place in the world to accomplish the good plans he has for his people. I believe he has called me to help nonprofits effectively communicate messages to the public and forge meaningful relationships that benefit everyone involved in order to make the world a better place, one person at a time.

Resources

Lee, Y. Y., Medford, A. L., & Halim, A. S. (2015). Burnout in physicians. Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, 104(7).

Salamon, L. M., Sokolowski, S. W., & Geller, S. L. (2012, January). Holding the Fort: Nonprofit Employment During a Decade of Turmoil. Nonprofit Economic Data Bulletin, 39.

Richmond, B. J. (1999). Counting on Each Other: A Social Audit Model to Assess the Impact of Nonprofit

PRSA Code of Ethics (n.d.). In Public Relations Society of America.