How to Promote a Delicate Issue Your Nonprofit Organization Supports

Promoting a delicate issue with your nonprofit group can be a difficult task, only made easier with open communication and thoughtful planning.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Mission statement

1. Find out, if you're new to the organization, what the sensitive issues are by asking tough questions or even conducting a formal survey or focus group. For example, if your organization caters to the elderly and your delicate issue is Alzheimer's, find out if it's acceptable or not to mention the word frequently in your publications.

2. Learn about the subject you are dealing with and make sure that you know statistics, recent studies, cures, fatality rates and any other important information that will allow you to speak intelligently about your delicate issue. Have a fact sheet ready and don't leave anything to chance.

3. Put your research into writing with insightful informational pieces on the subject. This is invaluable in a crisis, when you might have a hundred other things to do and can't stop to talk to the press.

4. Make sure that your mission statement is on everything you give the general public. If you have a delicate issue that your organization handles, make sure your mission statement reflects thoughtfully what you do.

Tips & Warnings

• Get your statement out to the public and the media in a way that lets them know what your organization is and does.
• When it comes to your members, volunteers and donors, the more information someone has and the more educated they are about any subject matter, the better they will feel about the issue and the more educated they can, themselves, speak about it.
• Know your facts. There is no worse situation than being in front of a reporter, print or otherwise, to discuss a delicate issue and not know the facts. Don't ever leave it to them or the general public to fill in the blanks. The worst kind of press on a delicate issue comes from a reporter who has not been well-informed by the organization's PR person. Have a fact sheet ready with the stats of your organization and don't leave anything to chance.