The Role of Public Relations in Fundraising

Fundraising is an activity that involves soliciting voluntary financial contributions from individuals, corporations, and government agencies. It is usually done by nonprofit organizations. 

In the past, fundraising was done by going door to door. However, this is very time-consuming and not guaranteed to find and nurture the new leads. That is why fundraising needs a good public relations (PR) strategy.   

The Role of PR in Fundraising 

Public relations is a strategic practice to build and maintain a good reputation and relationship by generating media coverage and social trust. 

This can be done through an attractive press release, engaging social media content, exciting events, etc. Doing a good PR strategy can help increase fundraising as per below:   

1. Create and Demonstrate Social Proof

Media coverage proves that your work is important and that your organization is a leader in its field. It also explains why your cause is important to the public. This coverage can be a press release or a short video from the local media. 

When approaching new prospects, show them this media coverage as social proof to overcome their objections and persuade them to donate their money willingly. 

2. Increase Visibility 

You can create a campaign with some key opinion leaders (KOL) to promote your company through social media. This campaign will allow your company to reach a wider audience. Sure, you need to send them a full content brief, but remember to let them be creative with their content.   

Also, invite them to an event you are hosting or participating in. This will increase your chances of being seen by their followers and viewers. Ask them to include a link back to your platform, either your website or social media. 

Outside of social media, you can also ask some qualified bloggers to write related content and include a backlink to your website. This will increase your SEO score and expose your website to a wider audience.  

3. Increase Donor Engagement 

The ultimate goal of a fundraising PR strategy is to raise funds from prospects. To achieve this goal, every organization needs to create exciting volunteer activities to get to know them better, build engagement, and maintain the relationship for the long term. 

During these activities, you can gather feedback and suggestions on how they would like to see your company grow. These activities can be done both online using polls and/or quizzes with unique rewards for some lucky audience members. It can also be done offline by holding fun and exciting events for the donors, such as: gala dinners, meetings, etc.

4. Manage the Crisis 

A crisis is unpredictable. It could be a natural disaster, an epidemic, or something your company did wrong. Whether it is your fault or not, you can definitely use PR strategy to work on your reputation by correcting course and doing damage control.      

This can be done by issuing an engaging press release, sending emails and newsletters, and running social media campaigns. Be straightforward, transparent with the public and state the solution. This will affect the public's confidence in your credibility. 

Conclusion 

An ideal PR strategy will help increase your fundraising. It can be used to build your credibility and inspire people to donate. Start brainstorming your PR strategy now and build the right one for your organization.