Comments on Classmates Blogs

This week I chose to comment on Katie Warner’s blog. Her blog focus is non-profit public relations. This is also my blog focus and I thought it would be interesting to compare. Katie’s blog focused on how non-profits do not use social media as much as other for profit companies do. This is a major disadvantage because they are missing out on an array of new potential donors who use social media. Social media is very prevalent in today’s society and it is important that non-profits jump on the bandwagon in order to ensure that they are reaching a wide range of potential donors. I did not realize this when I was doing my blog on non-profits and thus it was interesting to learn.

I also chose to comment on Alexis’s blog on fashion public relations. Her blog focused on the importance of surveys in determining the newest fashion trends. In fashion surveys they tend to use words such as love and hate. This is acceptable because the designers want to know if people love a design so much that they would buy it. In most surveys however researchers are taught to stay away from strong words such as love and hate.

I found it interesting that survey research is literally used in every aspect of public relations. Whether it is using a survey in non-profits or surveying people about the latest fashion trends. Surveys are very helpful because they can reach a large demographic of people and the results are easy to analyze and can usually be projected onto the larger population.

 

Experimental Research

Experiments are very important in public relations research because they determine causation. Non-profits especially can use experiments to help them in their cause. A recent article focused on a new non-profit that used an experiment to test their idea for a non-profit Panera restaurant.  The non-profit tested whether people would take food for free if there were only suggested prices for food at Panera. The experiment showed however that people paid what they could and did not take food for free. This demonstrated that people were generally honest when it came to how much they could or could not actually spend. People who had more money were willing to pay more for a cup of coffee because it was going to a good cause. People who normally could not afford to go out to dinner were able to pay what they could and enjoy a nice meal out.

The experiment showed Panera that their non-profit would work. People would not be over ordering and then paying less but rather would pay what they could. This shows the effectiveness of the experiment. It also demonstrates an example of how non-profits can use experiments to test their campaigns or research plans.

This article was very fascinating because it showed that a corporation could use its national name for good use. Panera is coming out to help people who could not normally afford a meal out. It shows that corporations can be philanthropic and use their money for good use.

Surveying Non-profits

Non-profits are essential in making the world go round. This is because they help people in the community who without their help would be lost. Some non-profits are more successful than others and some programs are more beneficial to the community at large. How can non-profits then who are not as successful improve their skills so they can better help the community?  A survey was done to answer this very question.

Blackbaud is a company that for the past six years has conducted surveys across North America on the non-profit Industry. The survey asks questions regarding general operations, fundraisings, and technology in non-profits. The main purpose is to see nonprofits managerial strategizes and what changes they anticipate for next year. The survey is very helpful to non- profits in that it provides them with reports on how other non-profits are run, in order to compare their company with others.

Non-profits from Canada and the U.S were asked to participate in the survey online during the month of June and July. A total of two hundred and forty five individuals completed the survey. The results thus provide a basis for analyzing how non-profits are run. The results however may not be projected onto the entire non-profit community as a whole in North America.

The survey allowed Blackbaud to reach a substantial amount of people for a relatively low cost and gain fast responses. The survey itself was useful to the non-profit community in determining what they need to improve, how to improve and how they fair compared to other non-profits. 

Comments on Blogs

This week I commented on Vanessa’s blog. Her blog focuses on Public Relations in France. This week specifically the blog discussed a place in Paris where focus groups can be held. This blog was very interesting because like Vanessa, I did not know that there were buildings designated just for focus groups. I visited the website that discusses the facility and noticed that the building looked very nice and would be a wonderful place to conduct a focus group. Vanessa’s blog also got me wondering if there are focus group facilities in the United States.

I also chose to comment on Jame's blog. His blog this week focused on qualitative research. He summarized a focus group that he saw on YouTube about Nike shin guards for soccer players. When describing the focus group it seemed that the moderator followed many of the proper procedures. He tried to elicit discussion between the participants and also asked questions to get the people speaking. James did a good job of providing an example of a focus group. He also clearly explained how the focus group was conducted and what he believed the outcome was.  Overall James blog helped me to gain a better understanding of what occurs during a focus group.

Qualitative Research

Research is very important in any field of public relations but especially in nonprofit public relations.  This is because nonprofits rely on research to help them see who is donating and why people are donating. In addition research is helpful in assessing what groups of people need the most amounts of help from the nonprofit, in what areas help is needed and the reasons for the help. The importance of research in nonprofits is essential in maintaining that the nonprofit is helping the community and their target audience. It was shocking to find an article that discussed that although nonprofits do research that they do not use their research. In addition the article stated that nonprofits are not collecting data that is helpful to the community. This stems from the fact that many people in nonprofit public relations do not know how to properly conduct research. One of the areas of research that can be helpful in nonprofits and that nonprofit employees need to work on is qualitative research.

Qualitative research involves collecting data on people and finding common themes and relationships between small groups of people. An example of qualitative research is a focus group. A focus group would be extremely helpful for nonprofits. They could for example organize a group of about eight to ten people (the normal size of a focus group) discussing donating to nonprofits. The focus group would be led by a moderator and later his or her notes would be transcribed and themes and relationships would hopefully emerge from the data. This research could be very helpful in finding who donates and why. It would aid nonprofits when they need help finding donors.

Thus research, especially qualitative is extremely helpful to nonprofits. It is very important that non profits learn how to research correctly and use their data to benefit their community.

Comments on Blogs

 This week I chose to comment on Kevin Mahoney’s blog. His blog focuses on social media. This week his blog discussed an upcoming event at Quinnipiac. The event is a media breakfast, which will feature speakers discussing the important role of social media in public relations. The blog was very interesting to read and clearly expressed the importance of social media and the details of the media breakfast.  It listed explicitly when the event would be held and where it would be.  It made me see the value of social media and helped me to see how I could learn more about social media.  I also commented on Kayla’s blog. Kayla’s blog is about fashion public relations. The blogs main focus this week was on how fashion experts determine what styles are in for the fall and winter season. It was fascinating to learn that fashion experts use unobtrusive research to find out the season’s trends. Kayla’s article was very informative in providing a real life example of how unobtrusive research is used. It was also clearly written and showed the value of unobtrusive research in everyday matters such as choosing what to wear to class.

Unobtrusive Research

A main component of nonprofit public relations is looking at who is donating and how much they are donating. Nonprofits need to make sure they know who are their donors and make sure that they become annual donors. In order to see who is donating or why people are not donating, a nonprofit could perform unobtrusive research. Unobtrusive research is a form of secondary research, which involves no interference with the subject being studied. By analyzing past records of people and corporations who donated over a period of years, researchers could see who stable donors are. If the same people have donated the past 5 years it is likely that they will continue to donate.  It is very important to see who is an annual donor because it saves 20% of money that it would cost to find new members. An article on donators explains the importance of donators, how to increase donors and the importance of keeping existing members. By using the unobtrusive methods it will be easier to come up with an estimate of who donates annually. It is less bothersome, then calling up past donors and seeing if they will donate again. Phoning people may be seen as hassling which could lead to fewer donations. By looking at the tables of donors, one would also be able to see how much they usually donate without actually speaking to people. Once again this could be more accurate than say surveying people and seeing how much they usually donate. This is because people may not remember how much they donated or they may feel pressured to put a higher number than they actually donated. This could then lead to skewed results. Unobtrusive research could then be helpful in estimating who is consistent donors and how much they are likely to donate.

What do Meg and Paige think?

This week I chose to comment on Paige Weiners and Meghan Parmentier’s blogs. Paige’s blog focuses on public relations fashion. Her blog this week focused on the results of research in fashion. Her blog was very well written and made me see that there is a lot of hard work that goes into marketing clothing. I found it interesting that she included tips on what is too much information to give the general public. It is important, as Paige pointed out to know your audience not only when you are seeking research but also when you are presenting results.  I also enjoyed how Paige used the example of Tory Burch’s new rain boots to demonstrate that not all results are relevant to a consumer. Meghan’s blog focuses on food and public relations. This week specifically she spoke about research results and what occurs when these results are inaccurate. It was interesting to learn that by publishing inaccurate results it can affect the population as a whole. When information is misleading or completely false it can cause the public to worry as Meghan pointed out. It is very important then to make sure results are accurate so they do not cause harm to people. Meghan’s blog then made me think about where I retrieve my information from. I am know going to make sure all my information comes from reputable sources and am going to double check that information against other sources. Overall both blogs were interesting to read and made me reconsider the positives and negatives of research results.

Research Results

Research is crucial in nonprofit organizations. This is because research needs to be conducted in order for the organization to find who is donating and why. Research is also important to see what the company needs to improve and what areas they need to be focusing on. In addition, research helps nonprofits see who needs help and in what ways. The most important part of the research process is the results because this helps nonprofits continue successfully in the future.

A specific instance of research and the importance of the results are shown in an article on the Habitat for Humanity website. The article discusses the importance of having a home and the benefits.  The fact that Habitat for Humanity has done research, which yielded results that proved home ownership has benefits, is very helpful to Habitat. This is because potential donors know for a fact that their money will help people buy a home. This in return will help people and children in the long run. The research points specifically to the benefits of having a home for children. Children are able to have a place to do their work and not be distracted which leads to increases in percentages on standardized tests. Specifically children of homeowners score nine percent higher on standardized math tests and seven present higher in reading. The results also show that children of homeowners have less behavior problems.

The results of the research are extremely important for Habitat for Humanity. It helps them spread their message of the importance of affordable housing. It also shows that if people donate or volunteer to build the houses that they will directly be aiding members of the society.  Thus the research can help in gaining more donations, which will help in buying building supplies. As a new intern at Habitat for Humanity I can see the importance of research and the results that come about. It is always important to gain more donors and volunteers.  By having research that proves the importance of homeownership it is sure to increase donors and volunteers which is always needed.

Nonprofits and Ethics

In the nonprofit world it would seem that unethical behavior does not come into play. Non profits are working for the people. It would not make sense, to do something that would hurt the very people they are aiming to help. Unethical behavior however, does exist in the nonprofit community. In fact many nonprofit agencies are falling behind when it comes to ethics. An example of this is seen in the article  “Ethics and Nonprofits”. This article focuses on unethical practices in nonprofit organizations. One organization in particular that the article focuses on is the Red Cross. The Red Cross is a well respected organization. I have donated to the Red Cross in the past because I felt confident about where my money was going.  I however did not realize that the Red Cross has not always been accurate with telling the public where their money is being placed. An example of this occurred after September 11. Many people donated money to the Red Cross. They believed that their money was being donated to families of the victims. Not all the funds however were sent to the victims’ families. In fact the Red Cross put aside more than half of the 564 million that was donated for other operations and future reserves. People were unaware of this until the Red Cross issued a report detailing this. People were outraged by this and as a result the Red Cross image took a hit. This is because the Red Cross did not do a clear job of showing were the funds were being placed until after the funds were donated. Their report was not properly made and thus many people were not aware of where their money was actually being placed.

Another area where ethics comes into play is in the research phase. Research ethics focuses on proper conduct during the researching phase.  This means that when nonprofit agencies conduct research they need to adhere to certain standards. An example of unethical research would be surveying people on why they do or do not donate and then changing the answers to please your boss. Another example could be misleading people on what the actual survey is about.  Although the Red Cross example does not exactly focus on the research phase it does show the end results of research which is a report. Since the Red Cross report was unclear and also unknown to many people it led to unethical behavior. People who were doing research on where the money was going did not know that it would not all go to victims families. This is because the report was not published and previous research on where donations go was not available. The Red Cross then in essence withheld certain parts of their research and was also not clear in their practices which are unethical.

The idea of people being unethical in nonprofits is a very scary concept. Non profits are the organizations for the people by the people. If these organizations are unethical it leads me to believe that other more business orientated organizations are unethical as well.

Non Profit Public Relations

Nonprofit organizations are very important in today’s society. Through non profits, all groups of people, ranging from age and race are able to receive different types of funding or aid that they cannot seem to get on their own. There are thousands of nonprofit organizations across the world. Some of the nonprofit organizations are better known than others. A nonprofit company differs from a profit company in that a nonprofit organization does not distribute its surplus funds to owners but rather, invests the money back into the organization. Behind the scenes of a nonprofit are the people who keep the agency afloat, by promoting it to the community and by gaining donors. These people are public relation professionals.


In this blog I will be discussing the roles of a public relations professional in a non profit. I will be highlighting how they manage to keep a nonprofit company alive and what tools are needed to do this. I will also examine different nonprofit organization, their missions and what leads to their success. Through this blog I hope to explain to others the importance of nonprofit public relations and the hard work public relation professionals put in each day.

Below you will find a link to a nonprofit organization in New Haven, Conn. This is just one of the many organizations that are helping to make the world a better place.

http://poverty-action.org/