Nonprofit PR Done Right

In this episode of the Nonprofit Hub Podcast, Rhiannon Hendrickson, founder and senior strategist at Orapin, unpacks the often-overlooked role of public relations in a nonprofit’s communication strategy. From building authentic relationships with reporters and pitching stories that connect to larger community conversations, to preparing spokespeople and crafting clear talking points, Rhiannon shares practical guidance for earning meaningful media coverage. The conversation also dives into crisis communications—why “no comment” can do more harm than good, how transparency builds trust, and what every organization should include in a crisis PR plan. Packed with actionable insights, this episode equips nonprofit leaders to move from reactive, ad hoc publicity efforts to a more strategic, credibility-building approach to PR.

Transcript

Sponsor & Host Welcome

SPEAKER_02 0:00

This episode is sponsored by Firespring. Firespring is a brand experience company that specializes in nonprofits, delivering integrated marketing and websites that do more than look good. From appeals and annual reports to seamless giving experiences, Firespring helps nonprofits turn clicks into real impact. Learn more today at firespring.com slash nonprofit hub. Welcome back to the Nonprofit Hub Radio Podcast. I'm your host, Megan Speer, joined today by Rihannan Hendrickson, who's the founder and senior strategist at Oropin. And we're going to dig into, to be honest, a topic I don't know that we've talked about on the podcast at least as long as I have been its host. And that is kind of the PR side of communication. We talk a lot about marketing. We talk a lot about fundraising. But the PR side, which the public relations, for those who might be unfamiliar, and we'll dig into that a little bit too. So we're going to look at that side and its important role in the nonprofit communication strategy. Very excited to have her here. Rihanna, welcome in. Thanks so much for having me, Megan. I'm glad to be here. Yeah, absolutely. So tell the audience a little bit about yourself and your journey that brought us to the conversation today.

SPEAKER_01 1:10

Okay. Well, I mean, I'll try to keep it short because it's been a winding journey. But I started my career in nonprofit communications. Actually, got my foot in the door doing fundraising. And within, I don't know, six months or so, the director of communications left. And I raised my hand and said, I do that. I would like to do that. So I was juggling fundraising and marketing and communications, all of the things, and loved it. I loved the opportunities that I got just to try and test new things, start email newsletters, pitch media, organize press conferences. I mean, you name it. The executive director was very generous in just letting me kind of play. But I was young in my career and wanted to try something else and did a total 180, went into entertainment publicity and corporate communications and realized very, very quickly how much I missed the mission-driven storytelling. You know, when you're part of a nonprofit, everything is tied to the mission. You eat, sleep, breathe, everything's mission-driven. And then to do a total 180 and Debbie talking about celebrities and red carpets and you know, pitching TV shows that I just didn't relate with, I realized I really need to get back to my nonprofit roots. So went to went into agency role, helping small businesses and nonprofits tell their stories, create awareness, that kind of thing. And then ended up out on my own. And I've been consulting for the last 16 years. And we work with mission-driven organizations, both nonprofits and for-profits, that are looking to do good in the world. And we help them, you know, boost their visibility, bolster their reputation, create credibility and influence around their cause. Yeah. So it's been a long journey, but love where we are today.

Why Media Doesn’t “Just Show Up”

SPEAKER_02 3:01

That's awesome. Okay, so I'm excited to dig into this because I do feel like there's a common theme that I hear working with a lot of nonprofits, right? And I it actually just came up not too long ago. I got asked to sit on a committee for a local nonprofit here in Pittsburgh that was about to be hosting a fashion show. Right. And so they it was like a big fundraiser for them, and it was kind of kicking off their fundraising program, but it was also really getting people on board with the mission. And we sat in this meeting and they were like, Well, how do we get the press to show up? Like the the press should totally cover this. This is a really important story, and they should absolutely be here. And so I asked the question, Well, who do you like, who do you have a relationship with in that local news community? And they all just stared blankly and they said, Well, can we just call the station and ask them to come over? So, well, I mean, we can talk about that. So I think sometimes there's this maybe this idea that the work that a nonprofit is doing is so important that automatically the press should want to cover it, right? It should automatically get media attention because it's so good. And that is it is true that the work is good. Right? But so is the work of a hundred other nonprofits in every city, right? So let's talk about what public relations is and what it isn't. And if somebody finds themselves going, oh, that's me, right? I I think that the press and the media should be covering the work that we're doing. But we've never reached out to them. We have no strategy, we have no plan. If somebody is, let's start there. If somebody is starting from square one, where do we even begin to dip our toe into understanding PR and how to get started?

Building Reporter Relationships

Tie Your Work To Bigger Stories

SPEAKER_01 4:54

Great question. Um, and I hear that all the time. I uh work with organizations and I'm pulled into conversations all the time of, hey, we've got this thing coming up. How do we get press? Great. Or yeah, you know, such and such organization is doing great work, but we're doing it, you know, better, different, whatever, and nobody's covering us. And my question to them always is well, did you reach out and like introduce yourself to the media? Um, because yeah, you're as you're to your point, there are so many great stories, but reporters don't have the bandwidth to go find them. You have to bring them to them, you have to put in the effort to build the relationship. So for organizations that have never done anything with PR, I would suggest starting by building a list, finding those local reporters who maybe have covered stories in the past, have covered your issue or cause in the past, maybe not about you know your organization directly, but what's your organization's mission is though? If you're working to help the unhoused population, if you're working, you know, to help with food insecurity, what are reporters like start reading and paying attention to the news and see what they're already covering. And then it's a great opportunity to reach out to them and say, I just saw this story that you did on X, Y, and Z, and our organization is doing something to help in that area too. Would love to connect and just tell you more. Start building those relationships well in advance and getting on their radar well in advance of your big event of the fashion show. Because if the first time you're reaching out to them is you know, at the moment where you absolutely want them to cover you and they've never heard of you before, it's gonna be really hard to get their interest and get on the radar. The other thing that I would say is feeling like even before you start chasing media or chasing press, really understand why you want to do it in the first place. Just because, you know, oh, the media should cover us. Okay, but why? And what story do you actually want them to tell? And if they did tell that story, what will that do for your organization? How will you use that placement or that TV spot or that article to advance fundraising, to help, you know, people get a better sense of who you are and what you do? Because if you know that it's one article or it's one TV segment, and your audience maybe didn't see that. Maybe they missed it for whatever that reason. You know, they you should be promoting those on social media, including them in donor communications. Having the media tell your story for you is a great way to build that third-party credibility and that trust. It's very different when you're saying what you do and how great it is versus somebody else saying what you're doing and how great it is.

SPEAKER_02 7:51

That's great. So I think it's interesting to think about the way that our stories as nonprofits tie into the bigger story. Right. Because I think that's an that is a mistake I see people make most often is that they assume they go into it assuming that they are the story.

SPEAKER_00 8:09

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 8:10

Right. And I've seen it happen. I've worked in in communication for long enough in my career. I have seen it happen repeatedly where people reach out to folks in the media as if they are the savior coming in to deliver them a story, right? There these folks have plenty of stories. They are getting countless press releases every day for all sorts of things that are good that they could go cover, right? And so I really like the call out of you know, relate it to something they've already talked about. Talk about how you're a part of the story, not just expecting to be the whole story.

Hosting Media Onsite Like A Pro

SPEAKER_01 8:46

Yeah. And I think when you do that and you build that trust with that reporter and essentially help them do their job better. So they're already writing about, you know, X, Y, and Z. Hey, here's some, you know, research that we've done, or here's some stories that we've seen, or here's some clients that we've helped, here's whatever it is, and here's how we can help, we can give you more information, more background on what you're already covering. Build the relationship and the trust that way, help them understand who and who you are, what you do, and the impact that you have that way. And then it might lead to maybe a feature story on your organization. But if you pitch the feature story in and of itself at the beginning, it's gonna be really hard for them to get excited about it when they have no context or background.

SPEAKER_02 9:40

That's so good. I was talking to somebody not too long ago, actually, who they do some work here in Pittsburgh with the unhoused population. And she said a reporter called them because they were working on a bigger picture of like a bigger story, right, on homelessness in the Pittsburgh area and called for a quote. Just like, hey, what do you here's something that's happening? What do you think about this? Fantastic. We love to see it, right? Yeah. And that's another when you position yourself as helpful, yes, right, then you become part of the thing, the people that they call to get quotes, right? We have to stop looking at this as a what can the press do for me, instead of how can I build a reciprocal relationship. Exactly. Because that's where exposure comes from.

SPEAKER_01 10:31

Exactly. I mean, at the heart of PR, it's about relationships, it's public relations, it's building relationships with different stakeholders, whether that's your donors, your volunteers, your clients, or the media. And when we think about how do I want people to build relationships with me, it's not by jumping in, introducing themselves, and pitching their service or whatever. Sure. Like, help me do understand my pain points, help me do my job better, be a good resource and someone that I can trust and lean on and see where it goes. Because yeah, just this the jumping straight into don't you want to do a story about us? Are so overwhelmed. They have, to your point, so many stories. They're navigating way too many things. Um, if you can offer up support and help, like, hey, I know this thing is coming up, and you're probably doing a story about it. And here's you know our perspective on whatever it is, and based on X number of years of experience and being in the community, whatever it is, they love to have different perspectives and angles. You don't have the time to go search for them.

SPEAKER_02 11:46

That's so good. So let's say we have done that, we've laid the foundation, we've built relationships, and we get a reporter who does come to cover an event or come to check out what we're doing. Talk to us about some best practices in those scenarios, right? Because I think sometimes when people and I've seen it have but I have some friends that are news anchors here in Pittsburgh and reporters, people get really tongue-tied around them. Right. And we they want them to come, they wanted them to be there. And then as soon as they walk in the door, we get a little like, oh it's like a celebrity factor. The local celebrity. Talk to us about best practices of once you get that face-to-face. Once somebody is is there, they've come to your event, they've come to cover something about you. What are some really good ways to handle that situation so that it works best for everybody?

SPEAKER_01 12:44

Sure. The number one thing is get really, really clear on what your message is. Understand what is the story that they're there to cover, what's the angle that they're looking to take, and you find that out through conversations before they arrive or through how you even pitch, how you might have even pitched the story. And then think of, you know, three, maybe five max, but probably three key takeaways that you want to ensure make it into the story and practice. Practice saying those, like actually saying those messages out loud. Practice just the repetition of saying it again and again will be helpful so that you know that as they're interviewing you, you're making sure that those messages are getting into the story. And then logistic, I mean, even at the end, reporters will typically always say, Is there anything I missed? Is there anything you want to make sure that you know I say or that I write or whatever? Reinforce that again and just make sure that that's that you have those talking points really clear. Logistically, one thing that I was actually talking with a client um a couple months ago, she was doing a grand opening and we were talking about, you know, okay, the check-in and just the logistics and where she was gonna be and how she was gonna manage, you know, having this the CEO come talk to the reporters, etc. And I said, Are you going to be at the check-in table? Like when you when people arrive, will you be standing there? No, I'm gonna be doing X, Y, and Z. I said, okay, then you need to make sure that the folks that are there understand that media might be coming and who they are and that they need to let them in. I've actually had talk with clients in minute events where the media got stuck because the check-in desk volunteers didn't know that they were allowed to come in. And so they're just standing there like trying to come in and cover this, and they won't let me in. So, like even just logistics, like really tactically, make sure that you know you're there to greet them and that you know, someone is there to guide them around and introduce them. And a lot of times, I mean, oftentimes media, you know, they work really independently, and sometimes they're like, I'm good, I'll just get some sound bites, I'll grab some people. And I always make sure I'm like, hey, let me know, I'll kind of hover, grab me if you need me. But I always like to try to host them and make sure that they're taken care of and they have everything that they need. And then also make sure that you have like printed materials. Like if you have a press release, print it out. If you have a fact sheet, print it out. Yes, you can email them, but their inboxes like all of ours are crazy. It's sometimes nice just to get them something that they can hold in their hand.

SPEAKER_02 15:30

This episode is sponsored by Firespring, a brand experience company trusted by thousands of nonprofits to amplify their message, strengthen supporter connections, and grow their mission. Firespring delivers nonprofit websites and marketing that do more than look good. From appeals and direct mail to annual reports and seamless online giving, everything is built to tell your story, engage supporters, and make giving easy. The result? Real, measurable impact for your organization. Learn more today at firespring.com slash nonprofit hub. The one other piece that I think gets overlooked often, and I would say it's maybe the the darker side, right? It's the side that none of us want to be on, I would say, right? Is that all of a sudden you have reporters calling you because something has gone wrong.

unknown 16:34

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 16:35

Some sort of scandal has erupted, some sort of something has gone down, and it's never the pr that's not the press we want, right? Um but I do think it's important for folks to have some sort of crisis PR plan in place that says if something happens, here's who talks to the press, here's how we handle it. So what needs to be included in that plan? Because I that's something that I think every organization should have in a binder on a shelf immediately, ready to go, just in case. God forbid you ever have to use it. But in the off chance that you do, this is not something that you want to be scrambling to try and figure out in the heat of the moment. So talk to us about that side too. What should be in kind of the crisis PR plan?

SPEAKER_01 17:25

So before we talk about like the like what's actually in the plan, make sure that your spokespeople are media trained. Make sure they understand how to talk to the media, what it looks like to answer tough questions, how to bridge a conversation back to the talking points you want to be talking about away from things that maybe they're leading you to that maybe you don't want to talk to them for you know very specific reasons, or that's just not with the conversation you want to have. You want to be focused on this thing over here. I think to your point earlier about like that celebrity kind of oh my gosh, I for leaders that haven't had much media experience, they can get tongue-tied and they can kind of feel intimidated. So giving them, you know, a media one-on-one. Here's how you know the media works, here's how they cover stories, here's the things that they're looking for. Here's what to say, what not to say, just kind of giving them that broad or you well before it's like in the heat of the moment. It can just help them have a little more context, be a little bit more grounded. Also, the you know, never saying no comment, thinking like having a statement that says, you know, to your point about crisis comms, develop some statements of like think through the top five to 10 things that could potentially go wrong from like minor, you know, situations to like full-blown crises, and here graph some statements that are just you know, like templates that you can start from. Let's say, like, here's what we know, here's what we're still trying to find out, here's when we will have it more information, and here's the actions that we'll be taking. Even just having those templated statements that you can build from in the moment can be really helpful. And then most importantly, know who your go-to spokespeople are going to be for X, Y, and Z situations. Maybe it's the CEO for everything, but maybe not. Maybe it's your program director that needs to speak out depending on what's going on, and having a clear line of the decision-making tree, or you know, if you will, who decides what and who calls who, that type of thing. Just so everybody's in the loop and everybody knows what's going on and it's ready to act. Because the sooner you can provide reporters with information, even if it's just we're working on it and we will get back to you and then make sure that you actually get back to them, that's a way to just handle it so it's not it doesn't feel so scrambled or so in the fire, if you will.

“No Comment” And Better Options

SPEAKER_02 20:02

Yeah. Let's go back to something you said about no comment. Because I feel like that's an important point that I would really like to reiterate with everyone. Yeah. No comment has never made anything better. No. Right? No, it just doesn't. It does not make anything better. So dig into that one a little bit more for me so that we really understand why and what some better alternatives would be.

SPEAKER_01 20:26

Yeah. I mean, if you think about if somebody, if you read in a story that, you know, X, Y, and Z, you know, we reached out to X, Y, and Z organization and they had no comment, you're gonna fill in the blanks and you're not gonna fill them in favorably. That's that doesn't lead you to assume that they didn't do anything wrong. Um, I think organizations oftentimes say that not because they did do anything wrong, but because they don't know what to say yet. So tell the reporter that. Tell them what you do know, tell them what you are doing, tell them what information you're still gathering, reinforce, you know, how the audience feels. I mean, if this is we understand, you know, how our employees are feeling or how our clients are feeling, and go back to your values and we value X, Y, and Z. And so we're digging into this and we're gonna find out whatever information we can. It's when you say no comment, it just leads people to instantly speculate and go to probably places you don't want them to go to.

SPEAKER_02 21:35

Yes. In the absence of information, people will always fill theirs in.

SPEAKER_01 21:41

Exactly.

SPEAKER_02 21:42

Yes. And we don't want to open doors that way.

Choosing The Right Spokesperson

SPEAKER_01 21:44

Exactly. And I think you know, transparency builds trust. And I think even if you don't have all the answers up front, give people what you do have and be committed to. Finding out more and being open and honest with the communication. That can go a really long way. The other thing I'll say about crisis comms is yes, obviously the reporter is coming to you. You want to address that, but you also, you know, don't forget about your other stakeholders. Be sure that you are clearly and consistently communicating with your staff and with your partners and with your donors and have a decision-making tree on like which stakeholders get what information. Because the media is coming to you, you don't want you know your staff to hear about this through the press. You want to be the first one to tell them. And same thing with the messaging. Here's what we know, here's what we don't know, here's what we're working to find out, here's when we'll be we'll when we will give more information.

SPEAKER_02 22:47

That's so good. And I think it's a good call out to you because you don't want your donors to find out that way either, right? If you have a donor to your organization who turns on the nightly news and realizes that there's a situation, that's really hard to come back from and retain that relationship.

unknown 23:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 23:07

Totally. And I mean, sometimes timing is tricky, and sometimes maybe they are gonna find out that way, or even maybe you find out that way. I mean, it's it happens, but the as quickly as you can to get a message out that says, hey, this is what's going on, and this is what we're doing about it, and you know, we value you and want you to be in the know. I mean, I think that can go a long way. Again, transparency builds trust.

SPEAKER_02 23:35

So within that, uh I know you said sometimes it it should be the CEO or the executive director who's kind of the main person. Is it help us figure out who else should be on that roster, right? Is because sometimes uh I have seen instances, right, where the CEO is maybe does not have any sort of media training, right? Where they would have been better served to let the marketing director handle all of that, right? Or somebody who is used to the messaging, right? Instead of or somebody on the board who maybe has a corporate comms background is a better fit. So how do we make sure that we have the right person in the seat? I could see where some CEOs or executive directors would really feel like they should be the person.

unknown 24:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 24:26

Right? When that is not always necessarily the case. So how can we navigate that a little bit?

Services, PR Coaching, And Resources

SPEAKER_01 24:32

I mean, if we're talking crisis comms, I think it should most often be the CEO andor the chair of the board, um, or even you know, those two together. If we're talking about all other kinds of, you know, like if it's an event, maybe it's the development director who's the one that's planning the event and that's you know most directly tied to the event. If it's something around, you know, launching a new program, I think it should be that, you know, give others the opportunity, give the program director a chance to speak. Um, I think having a media trained and ready and willing CEO is probably the best option who can speak across the organization. But if you're doing you know an interview with a reporter on very specific data that came from the program team, let it be the person who knows that data inside and out. But in general, I would say you're the CEO executive director should be the primary person who's media trained and ready to speak across the organization. And the, you know, the marketing director, the cons director, I think they should be really involved with messaging and ensuring that there's a piece of message, a clear message. We have those talking points we know the CEO wants to be saying and kind of coaching them. But in general, I would say it should be the CEO, executive, or executive.

SPEAKER_02 25:58

That's great. Um, okay, so if somebody's listening to this and they think, oh man, this is definitely an area that we have not done well or where I need some more resources or a plan or some help. Tell us a little bit about the work that Oropin does and how we can learn more and connect with you guys.

SPEAKER_01 26:15

Yeah, so we work with organizations, both large and small, across the country and everything from one person, you know, marketing, communications, fundraising, who's wearing all those hats, to, you know, a more well-established organizations team. On one end of the spectrum, we offer, I offer coaching, PR coaching for those small teams who are doing PR on their own, but need some strategic guidance and accountability and best practices to the other end where we serve as their done for you, full service PR partner, developing the strategy and then executing it for them. Um, I also send out a weekly email called the Monday morning PR Minute, which gives marketing and communication, mission-driven marketing and communications leaders a quick PR tip each week. It's meant to be read in under 60 seconds. So it's one thing to think about or to do each week to advance your PR efforts forward to help them become more strategic, more intentional, less ad hoc, less you know, random acts of PR, as I say. Um, so you can sign up, go to my website at Oricon.coor a p-in dot co and sign up there. I'm also really active on LinkedIn and post a couple of times a week. And so if people want to follow me there, I encourage you to reach out.

Book Pick: Life Of Pi & Story Power

SPEAKER_02 27:43

That's great. So as we close out our closing question this season, we're looking at it as the year of learning. So I'd love to know what your recommendation would be for a book that everyone should add to their reading list that maybe really impacted you either personally or professionally. What would be your recommendation for everyone?

SPEAKER_01 28:02

Okay, great. I love this question. Um, and thought about this. And Life of Pi is the book I came to. Um, it is one of my all-time favorite books. But the reason I love it is that it just demonstrates that it demonstrates how powerful storytelling can be. And if you haven't read it, it's a book about um a teenager, an Indian teenager who is on a cargo ship with his family. They are moving from India to Canada, and there's a shipwreck, and he ends up on a lifeboat, stranded at sea for months on a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger, and it's his adventures and survival story. And it's it's a really it's it's so heartfelt, but it also just shows how there can be two different stories, one reality, but two different stories. And you can choose two, you know, you can choose the brutal survival story, or you can choose the heartfelt um spiritual parable. It's the same, it's the same thing happening, but told through two different lenses. And I think that you know, from a storytelling standpoint, from a mission-driven and nonprofit storytelling standpoint, yes, you have the stats, the figures, the impact that your organization does. But if you can tell those in a way that is heartbelt and gets people to feel something, that's where the real magic happens. But if you get people to care, that's how you get the I love that answer.

SPEAKER_02 29:34

And I will say, having read the book and seen the movie, I highly recommend just reading the book. The movie was good, but the book is so much better. This is one of those instances for sure.

SPEAKER_01 29:45

I agree. I was lucky enough this past fall to see the play. There was a touring play, and it was beautiful. And they had just, I think the show that I was at was the last one that they were wrapping up. But if it ever goes on tour again, highly recommend checking out checking it out. It was just so beautifully done.

SPEAKER_02 30:04

Nice. That's great. I love that answer. Well, Rihanna, thank you so much. This has been fantastic and really practic. I love when we can have conversations that give people really practical steps of things they can do. And I think this episode was trapped full of that. So thank you so much. I really appreciate it.

SPEAKER_01 30:20

Thank you so much for having me. It was great to be here and to chat.

Closing Thanks

SPEAKER_02 30:24

Yeah, absolutely. Thanks so much. This has been another episode of the Nonprofit Hub Radio Podcast. I'm your host, Megan Spear, and we'll see you next time.