FPRA - Florida Public Relations Association Blog

This breakout session featured a panel of speakers:

Jennifer Bush, Manager of Special Projects, Publix Supermarkets
David Clark, APR, Director of Development, Children's Home Society
Rick Oppenheim, APR, CPRC, Principal, Senior Counselor, RB Oppenheim Associates

The inspiration for the panel was a session that was supposed to be held by PRSA in Jacksonville, but was canceled. A number of people felt the topic was good enough to develop a breakout session. The issue is dealing with pro-bono clients and not-for-profits, on both sides of the equation.

First up was Rick Oppenheim, APR, CPRC. Rick detailed the current pro-bono and not-for-profit that his firm handles. It's a delicate balance. The work is rewarding and allows his agency a way to give back to the community that he has been a part of for his entire professional career. One overlooked type of pro-bono work is involvement in associations such as FPRA. All the panelists are here today on their own time. In many cases, time is the primary commodity that an agency has.

One creative way to work with pro-bonos is to link existing clients with the agencies in need. Many times an existing client can provide a service that is needed by the pro-bono. Or the best situation is to have an existing client assign you the work, or in other words, pay you to work on behalf of the non-profit.

Next up was Jennifer Bush from Publix. Corporations want to support their local communities and she is fortunate to work with such a wonderful company that does support the community. Jennifer relayed a short story about George Jenkins, the founder of Publix. Somebody once asked Mr. George, "You've given so much money away, how much would you have if you never gave anything away?" His response, "Probably nothing." That's a message the resonates within Publix.

Supporting the community is good economics for a company.

Publix receives a large number of requests for donations and support. For example, on a slow month they receive 2000 requests, on a busy month the number can approach 10,000 requests. Unfortunately they can't fulfill every request.

Jennifer suggests that you do your homework. Before sending a request to a company, call them, find out if they have areas of interest. Use the web to learn more about the corporate giving programs that are offered. For example, you might learn that a particular firm takes four weeks to process a request. Use that information in your planning.

Always plan ahead. Your lack of planning puts corporations on the defensive. They want to help, but sometimes 24 hours notice is not enough time.

The final panelist was David Clark, APR. David quickly surveyed the room to find out the audience make-up. The overwhelming majority of the attendees at the session represented not-for-profits. The first two panelists spoke from the corporate (or giving) side, David is speaking from the recipient side.

First up, always be honest and upfront about your requests. Don't ask somebody to serve on your board when you really want them to assist with other matters. When you are asking for general funds, be specific with what those funds will be used for. Explain how your budget process works and why you need support.

Don't steal it. When a not-for-profit has a strong, existing relationship with a local firm, don't break that up. You might serve your short-term needs, but ultimately it will harm your agency and your community. Nobody wins.

You must always remember to thank the donor. But remember to find out how they want to be thanked. Some organizations don't want publicity surrounding a gift. They are afraid that any media coverage will lead to more requests. Remember to always thank organizations for the opportunity to even ask for money. Thank them for their involvement in the community. They may not support you, but they support others.