by John Paul Bruno

With the economy in its current condition, many Americans feel the need to cut back on expenses and save money. While this is an excellent idea, nonprofit organizations across the country rely on sponsorship, donations and grants to stay in business and better the community. PR has become a major resource for these organizations to stay in touch with the community as well as promote their cause or service. To maintain economic stability, some nonprofits are making great use of PR tactics instead of spending large amounts of money on advertising costs.

Nonprofits are not only competing for donors, but also are in competition with disaster relief efforts with the recent earthquakes in Haiti and Chile. These efforts are affecting nonprofits, especially smaller ones, by taking away smaller donations that bring in extra income.

The Theatre in the Park, located in Shawnee, Kan., is a nonprofit theatre organization whose mission is “to enhance the quality of life in our community by providing a variety of entertainment programs in a park setting through public and private partnerships.” As a smaller nonprofit, The Theatre in the Park relies tremendously on the generosity of the community. Maria Tapia-Belsito, marketing and development coordinator, has noticed a decline in donations since the recession began.

“It is more challenging than ever to get sponsors for our program, and it is difficult to renew sponsorship,” said Tapia-Belsito. “We need to work harder to get the same amount of results.”

Being a smaller nonprofit, TTIP uses PR strategies to maintain financial support. “We are being creative with our marketing budget, which is very limited, and we are relying more than ever on trade agreements with local newspapers and magazines, as well as other theatre companies,” said Tapia-Belsito.

TTIP also noticed changes with donations due to current natural disasters. “Many of our past donors have decreased their funding as they are contributing to catastrophic world issues, such as Haiti, or pressing local issues,” said Tapia-Belsito.

While some organizations have seen major decreases in donations, others are maintaining donations through new strategies.

Parent Advocates Down Syndrome, a nonprofit located in central Alabama, “believes individuals with Down syndrome will excel, discover a hopeful future and enjoy life in an inclusive and supportive community.” This organization relies heavily on generous donations in order to promote awareness and acceptance of individuals with Down syndrome.

Recently, PADS found that by using new strategies for promoting its events, it is consistent in receiving donations. Sue Tolle, executive director, said, “We have done something new this year. We have been cluster advertising, which means we send out an announcement for a specific event and mention other upcoming events for the organization.”

Through this new strategy, they managed to avoid any monetary loss and actually received more donations. “We have received an increase in smaller donations this year, but there has been a decrease in larger donations,” said Tolle. “By advertising earlier for events, people are able to plan out when they are able to donate to our organization.”

PADS has also been making good use of local and free advertising, which gives more money to the organization and less to advertising. “We have been using all sorts of free publications this year,” said Tolle. “We are even using publications that don’t necessarily apply to our cause and it seems to be working well.”

PADS has not seen any decrease in donations due to the recent disasters in Haiti, which could be because they are ahead of the competition. During this time when people are constantly being asked for donations, publicity is key in keeping a solid base for donations, and PADS is taking full advantage.

Karen Jeffreys recently wrote an article in The Nonprofit Quarterly that outlines her experience with communications working at Rhode Island Coalition Against Domestic Violence. She stated, “Some organizations are fortunate to have a dedicated communications staff. It is important to remember, however, that an organization communicates with broader publics through thousands of daily encounters — e-mail, faxes, phone calls, face-to-face conversations, meetings, letters, meeting minutes, and legislative alerts. Every organization member and staff person is a communicator, not just the official communications staff.”

By taking advantage of PR personnel, nonprofit organizations are able to save money and continue to allow themselves to be heard in the community. Using tactics such as press releases, newsletters and special events, nonprofits can still maintain their image without spending money that could be used for day-to-day operations.

How can companies and organizations benefit from using PR during the current recession?