1. Nonprofit Organizations20 C H A P T E R
Nonprofit Organizations

2. The Role of Public Relations
Nonprofit organizations are the source of many jobs in the public relations industry.
There are an estimated 1.4 million charities and religious organizations in the United States.
The crucial point about nonprofit organizations is that they are tax exempt.
Many nonprofit organizations could not survive if they were taxed, because they face the unending public relations task of raising money to pay for expenses and projects.

3. Basic Needs of Nonprofits
Nonprofit organizations engage in the same types of tasks in order to succeed:
Create communication campaigns and programs that
stimulate public interest in organizational goals and
invite public participation.
Develop a strong staff to handle the work, including
recruiting and keeping volunteers.
Establish a realistic fundraising goal and a plan to
attain it.

4. Membership Organizations
A membership organization consists of people with a common interest, in either business or social life.
The purpose of a membership organization is mutual help and self-improvement.
These organizations often use the strength of their common bond to improve community welfare, endorse legislation and support socially valuable causes.
Trade associations, labor unions and professional associations are all types of membership organizations.

5. Membership Organizations cont.
A chamber is an association of businesspersons, often joined by professionals, who work to improve their city’s commercial climate and to publicize its attractions.
State chambers of commerce and the Chamber of Commerce of the United States provide guidance to local chambers and speak for business interests before state legislatures and the federal government.
Often, the chamber of commerce is the public relations arm of city government.

6. Advocacy Groups
Advocacy groups often advocate for a specific cause, especially environmental issues and social and human rights causes.
Environmental groups, social issue organizations and other activists groups work to influence the collective conscience and enact a specific change.

7. Advocacy Groups cont.
Direct mail fundraising and publicity campaigns are basic tools of advocacy groups.
The principal ways that environmental organizations work to achieve their goals are lobbying, litigation, mass demonstrations, boycotts, and reconciliation.

8. Social Organizations
The term social includes social service, health, cultural, philanthropic, and religious groups serving the public in their various ways.
In general terms, nonprofit social organizations are of two types: services and causes.
Because communication is essential for their success, they require active, creative public relations programs.

9. Social Organizations cont.
Since these organizations are not profit oriented, the practice of public relations on their behalf differs somewhat from that in the business world.
For many nonprofit groups, obtaining operating funds is a necessity that dominates much of their effort.
Competition among nonprofit agencies for their share of donations is intense.

10. Social Organizations cont.
For purposes of identification, nonprofit social organizations and their functions may be grouped into seven categories:
Social service agencies
Health agencies
Hospitals
Religious organizations
Welfare agencies
Cultural organizations
Foundations

11. Social Organizations cont.
In general, nonprofit organizations should design their public relations to achieve the following objectives:
Develop public awareness of the organization’s
purpose and activities
Induce individuals to use the services the
organization provides
Create educational materials - especially important
for health-oriented agencies
Recruit and train volunteer workers
Obtain funds to operate the organization

12. Social Organizations cont.
Finding ways to pay the bills is a critical problem for virtually all nonprofit organizations.
Public relations representatives may participate directly in fund-raising by organizing and conducting solicitation programs or serving as consultants to specialized development departments of their organizations.

13. Social Organizations cont.
Philanthropic organizations raise funds in several ways:
Corporate and foundation donations
Structured capital campaigns
Direct mail
Sponsorship of events
Telephone solicitations
Use of telephone numbers with “800” and “900” area
codes for contributors
Commercial enterprises

14. Hospital Public Relations
The public relations staff of a hospital has two primary roles:
to strengthen and maintain the public’s perception of the institution as a place where medical skill, compassion, and efficiency are paramount
to help market the hospital’s proliferating array of
services

15. Hospital Public Relations
Because hospitals sell a product (improved health), parallels exist between their public relations objectives and those of other corporations.
They focus on diverse audiences, involve themselves in public affairs and legislation and stress consumer relations.
Hospital public relations programs have four basic audiences: patients, medical and administrative staffs, news media, and the community as a whole.