A press release is an important step toward marketing a new fundraising campaign and an upcoming event, communicating the need for urgent funds, and more. This guide will help you get started with writing a press release and provide you with a free template. Read on!
Although press releases might seem more the domain of big corporations, celebrities, and politicians, they can be a great tool for nonprofits to grow and inform their audience. Press releases are not only useful for publicizing and advertising events. They keep your nonprofit in the public discussion and spread the word about your good work.
If you’re starting a nonprofit, press releases can help your nonprofit take off.
Nonprofit press releases are short, factual news stories written in the third person and given to the media to encourage editors/journalists/broadcasters to feature the nonprofit’s story in their publications.
Not every piece of information is newsworthy.
If you’re not sure whether you should send out a press release, here are a couple of signposts (although there can be exceptions to the rule):
Press releases generally follow a standard format and for a good reason.
Journalists are bombarded by dozens or hundreds of press releases every day, and if a press release isn’t properly written or formatted – they will simply dismiss it.
So, how do you write a good one?
A well-written nonprofit press release needs to start with a strong opening sentence. Readers should be able to read the first sentence and understand what the press release is about.
Your opportunity to grab potential donors’ and media attention is right at the beginning. The best way to do that is to humanize your story and engage readers in your first paragraph.
The way you do this will depend on the aim of your nonprofit press release and your target audience. Nevertheless, your first one or two sentences need to be catchy and compelling. They should create curiosity in readers and compel them to read more.
Your lead should pass the “so what” test: is the story interesting enough to people outside your own nonprofit? If it isn’t, you should reconsider distributing a press release.
“XYZ Nonprofit Organizes a Gala Dinner“
Why is it bad?
It isn’t immediately clear why the reader should care about this statement, or why this information is important to people outside of your organization.
Write this instead:
Headline: “XYZ Nonprofit Organizes their Annual Gala Dinner”
Subheadline: “Raises 1 Million to Support the City’s Homeless Veterans”
Why is it better?
There is information about what the nonprofit will be using the money for, not just the fact that they were able to secure the donations. It provides a reason for the reader to click on the link and continue reading and doesn’t feel insufficient.
Every good nonprofit press release is, in its own way, a story. A nonprofit press release can speak about your local or global impact, but in a way that’s relevant to your audience.
You can talk about the “why” of your nonprofit – why it does what it does and where your mission came from, but don’t lead with or focus on your mission statement. Reporters generally don’t care about an extensive background story of your nonprofit.
Make a reporter think “That’s interesting!” or “I didn’t know that!” and save the background story of how and why your nonprofit was founded for the very bottom of the press release, if at all.
This background story/about the company is called boilerplate information. You can put your company’s achievements here but don’t make it too long. Otherwise, you are at risk of sounding like you’re writing a sales pitch.
Boilerplate information gives journalists something with which to offer readers context.
E.g. Founded in February 2004, Facebook’s mission is to give people the power to share and make the world more open and connected. Anyone can sign up for Facebook and interact with the people they know in a trusted environment. Facebook is a privately held company and is headquartered in Palo Alto, Calif.
It’s easy to fall into the trap of elaborating a lot when writing a press release.
After all, when you do something you’re proud of and deem noteworthy, it’s hard not to talk about it.
Keep your press release concise, simple, and supporting your lead sentence(s)/introductory paragraph.
If your nonprofit press release is succinct and focused, you will increase the chances of your readers grasping the message you want them to and staying on the topic.
Keep your paragraphs short (around 30-35 words). Also, try to keep the whole press release to a single page.
Take your audience into consideration when writing. If it is meant for the general public, you may need to define technical terms or any other industry-related jargon. Language should also be professional and resemble the writing style of the journalists you are targeting.
Press releases might follow a pretty strict format, but that doesn’t mean they should not account for the rise of social media and the Internet in general.
Here are some tips to make your nonprofit press releases more social and shareable:
It’s a good idea to focus on the distribution of your nonprofit press release: reach out to specific journalists and share your coverage.
Once you have some coverage, do as much as possible to amplify it. If your press release is being covered on radio or TV, tweet about it, post about it, and cross-reference it to your website. Tweet directly to relevant journalists and use hashtags.
You can segment your database to make this process faster and easier each time.
There are several things you can do to add that ‘extra something’ to your nonprofit press release.
Powerful and relevant quotes can make or break a nonprofit press release. Depending on the press release, let your leaders, your staff, your volunteers, or your beneficiaries take the stage. Quotes can give a human element to the press release, and be the ‘summary’ or source of information on their own.
When using a quote by someone in your nonprofit press release, make sure to use their title/position. Sentences in quotes should be short and to the point.
To further add to your story, use case studies and testimonials. Fill your press release with hard numbers that support your announcement. If you’re claiming a trend, you need proof to back it up. Quantify your argument and it will become much more compelling.
Photos and videos are always a bonus too!
Journalists and editors decide whether to publish your nonprofit press release. Building good professional relationships with them matters.
It all starts with seemingly basic rules:
Basic professional courtesy can go a long way in building relationships.
A fun way to explore what NOT to do when pitching to journalists is to look through the @DearPR Twitter account.
Your press release should answer the following:
You can use these six big questions to guide your press release. It’s ‘journalism 101’ and many journalists will argue your story isn’t complete until you answer all six questions. Even if you disagree, this concept helps create a roadmap for a good nonprofit press release.
These 5 Ws and H should be plain and obvious in the press release. You might even want to consider writing them out in the ‘Notes to Editor’ section of your nonprofit press release.
Having answered the ‘5 W’s and 1 H’ questions, it becomes easy to form the body of a good nonprofit press release.
For best results, use the inverted triangle/pyramid template.
The inverted pyramid is a writing style used by public relations professionals, journalists, and other writers to illustrate how information should be prioritized and structured for the reader. It leads to the most important, or most newsworthy, information first.
By using this method, you minimize the time a journalist has to search for the newsworthy angle in your release – since you’re doing that for them. This way you also show that you know what you are doing and that you value the journalist’s time.
You want to make it as easy as possible for a journalist or an editor to publish your press release. The best way to do that is by minimizing their editing time, and this is what the inverted triangle method does.
1. When the release can be distributed
(e.g. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE or FOR EMBARGOED RELEASE – a date on which the press release is to be published)
This can be put above or below the headline and can be on either side of the page.
2. Headline
Your headline should be centered across the top of the letterhead.
3. Organizational info:
Can go above the headline or below. Usually appears on the left side.
4. Contact information:
Can go above or below headline; and on the right or left side of the page. Check out various
samples to see the variety of formats.
5. Place, day, date
Start the first line of release.
6. Body of release
The first paragraph should contain all of the relevant information. It should contain who, what, when, where, how, and why. Always assume the first paragraph is all readers will read, so you should inform them as much here.
The succeeding paragraphs should support everything you wrote in the first paragraph. Each paragraph should be no more than 4 to 5 sentences and separated by a space.
This is where you should include any supporting data: quotes, case studies, and testimonials. If you have them, include in the body any hard numbers, such as statistics, that you may have.
7. Information about the nonprofit organization
This information should be structured as a boilerplate that you will use on all future press releases.
8. Signal the end of the release
Center ### just below the content of the release and signal the end of the release.
9. Notes to the editor
To avoid going into the fine details in the core release body, ‘notes to the editor’ are often used to summarise the core facts and provide any more relevant information like what else you can offer – Interviews, more images, statistics, etc.
These 3 nonprofit press release examples will give you an idea of how you should write one, what to avoid, and what to mention, and may clear your remaining doubts about a typical nonprofit press release.
UniteWeStay is a Los Angeles-based nonprofit organization that keeps the public informed about immigration advocacy news through storytelling. When they launched their website for undocumented Americans, they issued a press release to spread the news.
This is an awareness press release that is completely focused on the new website, what it will offer to the general public, and why it was created in the first place. In the last paragraph, they also make it apparent how people can volunteer, share their own stories, and make donations through the same website. Check the press release here.
This can be the perfect example for you if you too have a piece of news to share. It can be launching a new website, opening a new unit at your shelter, an upcoming fundraiser, an impact report, the need for funds for an urgent rescue operation, or anything that sounds like news to you.
Albertsons Companies is one of the largest food and drug retailers in the US. In partnership with the EI Paso Community Foundation, they hosted a fundraiser for the EI Paso shooting victims. The press release was to share the news that customers visiting the Albertsons, Safeway or Vons stores would be able to donate at the register.
This press release is not directly from a nonprofit but if you’re an individual or an organization working in tandem with a nonprofit to create a fundraising event, this is how you go about it.
Friends of Beverly Animals and Chet’s Video (a video store) partnered to host a raffle fundraiser in Marblehead, MA. The press release was issued to inform the public about this upcoming event. The raffle was held so the participants could be aware of the adoption and fostering procedure of animals at the various animal groups involved in the event.
This is quite a simple approach to a fundraiser-specific press release. This can be handy if you intend to make the public aware of your upcoming events and programs. Check the press release here.
The quality of your press release decides whether your news will sound as exciting to the local media and newspaper readers as it is to you. This downloadable nonprofit press release template along with a sample press release will help you get started.
Please note that in this template, we have assumed a specific type of nonprofit to convey the idea. You should be able to refer to it for writing yours in the future.
There is a lot of debate about whether or not press releases are still worthwhile for nonprofits. Although there are good arguments on both sides, and it’s one of those tactics that could be a hit or miss, if it hits, it could result in a major press launch for your nonprofit.
Furthermore, if a nonprofit press release is engaging enough, it also can do the following: generate social sharing; direct targeted and organic traffic back to a website; and create journalistic interest at home and abroad. All of this makes crafting a nonprofit press release worthwhile for your nonprofit.
Donorbox has several blog posts to help nonprofits with marketing, social media, and fundraising for their cause. You can find them and many other resources including free templates and samples to improve your donor management and fundraising efforts at the Donorbox Nonprofit Blog.
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Ilma Ibrisevic is a content creator and nonprofit writer. She’s passionate about meaningful work, sustainability, and social movements. If she’s not working, she’s obsessing over coffee or cooking. You can connect with her on Linkedin.
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Ilma Ibrisevic