Public Relations In Non-Profit Organizations

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Non-profit organizations are unique business institutions whose primary focus is the fulfillment of an organizational mission. A non-profit organization is truly only identifiable from a for-profit business by observing the eventual flow of money. This difference can be seen in both the flow of money into the organization as well as the resulting outflow of profits. Not-for profit organizations typically receive their funds from operations, donors, and memberships while recycling any profits back into the organization. While initially this may seem to be slightly in contrast with the ultimate objectives of a for-profit business, these non-profit organizations cannot achieve their goals without solid financial performances and bottom-line results. In order to do this, public relations plays a critical role in the daily operations of a non-profit organization while also presenting a variety of distinct challenges. Now more than ever, non-profits must stand out amongst the fierce competition for their publics’ money, time, and attention. In order to accomplish this, organizations must respond to those communication challenges in the most effective ways possible by engaging in informed and strategic public relations activities executed by trained public relations professionals. Competition among groups who are serving societal needs may seem like a strange concept however it is a real challenge facing non-profit organizations. Each group is competing for the same pool of donations and additionally must also stand out from for-profit businesses who are also vying for consumers’ dollars. The recent economic struggles have only made this competition stiffer and more challenging as charitable donations steeply declined from 2007-2009. W... ... middle of paper ... ...elation expenditures may not appear to directly contribute to the organization’s sustainability however as we have seen, a consistent and focused communications effort will do just that. Working under the umbrella of a non-profit organization can allow public relations professionals the opportunity to creatively approach their craft and tackle unique challenges within the workplace. Additionally, the chance to work towards a goal of completing a societal mission as opposed to a strictly bottom-line based approach may prove to be an even more rewarding experience. Despite charitable donations declining from their all-time highs of 2007, there is still an extremely large audience of donors and volunteers to be reached. The prospect to make the most of those publics could be a satisfying and exciting employment opportunity for anyone within the public relations field.

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