A few posts ago, I wrote about a powerful video PSA created pro bono by an advertising/communications agency for Family Services of Greater Vancouver. To further the conversation from the agency perspective, I submitted a comment to the Inside PR podcast.
I asked hosts Terry Fallis and David Jones (who are agency veterans) how they manage pro bono work and how a non-profit can best position itself to attract the support of a PR agency.
In summary, they believe that most pro bono work comes as the result of an existing connection between an agency staff person and a particular non-profit. Their advice to non-profits is to explore their networks for a possible PR agency connection. Perhaps the company of one of your board members uses a PR firm that would be interested, for example.
The podcast offers some other insights about pro bono work and what makes for a positive relationship between the non-profit and the donating agency. It’s well worth a listen if you work at a non-profit with a tight budget and are exploring ways to access some professional PR support.
Thanks to Terry and David for exploring this subject on their show.
message communications 
December 16, 2007 at 12:34 am
Deborah is correct. In many cases there is an already- existent relationship between non-profit agency and the pr firm.
In my case, I am currently handling pro bono promotion of a jazz/cabaret concert to benefit a particular high school chamber group that is attempting to raise enough money to travel to New York to participate in an exciting musical competition.
I decided to take this on because of how the request was handled. I was asked initially to determine what, if any, level of support I could offer. Options ran from advising/overseeing the pr campaign that would be executed by volunteers to handling it all myself.
The request came from someone who actually knew of the value of such services. So I selected to become involved and to work with a preferred new media list, leaving calendar listings, et al to the organization to handle.
And, in fairness, this person in the past has done some pro bono work for me, digitally recording a presentation I recently gave on the topic of “Generating Free (or Nearly Free) Media Visibility.
What goes around certainly comes around.
A word of advice for those who are considering making a request for pro bono services:
Please don’t underestimate the value of the good relations pr specialists develop and maintain, and, more importantly, don’t request access to the pr specialist’s media contact list.
Good luck to all!!!!!
kpgpublicrelations.blogspot.com
December 13, 2007 at 8:28 pm
Thanks for giving us such a good topic Deborah. Glad you’re listening…