the limits and rewards of non-profit PR

fellow PR nerds,

Today concluded the long journey that was the Seton Hall PR 2 campaign. As Kendrick mentioned, we celebrated PR with Seton Hall Alumni and active members alike. Representatives from New Jersey and New York's top PR firms was there, including Coyne PR and MWW. The PR greats that painted the pages of my PR weekly magazines all semester were now a networking opportunity.

My infatuation with PR this week has been a love-hate relationship. It was so refreshing to see PR professionals who have been in the field for decades, but still have a palpable passion for what they do.

Much of my passion in driven by the prospect of shedding light on a worthy cause through non-profit PR. This is both a huge challenge and reward. Our PR 2 professor announced that campaigns have "roped" in over $1.5 million. Wow. That's a whole lot of good assigned to prospective PR professionals.

The biggest challenge of working with a non-profit organization is the limited budget...or lack there of. One would imagine that this was a much more challenging task before social media shook the PR world. Why produce an expensive and controversial VNR when you can draw traction to youtube for free? Why pay for ads in teen magazines when you can create a facebook fan page for your product?

PR has a reputation of crazy spinsters who distort the truth. Those who actually practice PR know that honesty and transparency are two very necessary tools. Non-profit PR has developed into a less controversial, do-gooder field. I believe all PR demands honesty, but i have yet to meet anyone who is vehemently opposed to non-profit PR, unlike those sleazy "corporate" PR types. If it were up to me, I would have my own firm called Pro-Bono where every cause could receive PR for free.

Every good cause deserves a voice.

-k.