Finding the public….

A problem that I have run into as far as FHCC goes,  is finding out who are public is and who we are trying to target. I understand that they want more donors/volunteers, but I feel like that is such a broad are esp. when it comes to a health clinic. There are so many people you can ask for time, money, and products.

What is more important,  do you need more money, volunteers,  doctors, or pharmacy reps to donate drugs.  We are working on branding right now and I am finding it hard to pick a specific public. It is very key when picking your tag-line, and image, you want to use something that catches the “right eye”

I think that we def. need to talk to Megan and see what she needs most. Also we need to keep an open mind and use something that works for everyone but, at the same time use something that really stands out to the most important donor.

I think that after we get all the “little” stuff taken care of, it would be awesome to have some kind of benefit that ALL public’s can come to-including volunteers,  money donors,  doctors, nurses, pharmacist’s, pharmacy reps, and all of prospectives.  This would be beneficial for several reasons. 1. To show them that we care and appreciate what they are doing. 2. They can see how much time, money, help it really does take to run this clinic. 3. Get the potentials to talk to the people that are already doing stuff, and get them involved.  4. You would be able to show people some stats/results that will let people know a. there time/money is really worth while and b. FHCC does need help and it takes a lot to run.

Thoughts/Ideas for FHCC

I found a great website that has some good stories, and ideas for non-profit pr. It is called http://www.nonprofitpr.com/     I found some great tips we should look at while trying to help build FHCC. We need to continue to remember to look at things from the DONORS eyes. Sometimes it is easy to get caught up worrying what the org. wants when that is not what is most important.  Take things slowly first ask ourselves, who are we trying to communicate with (specifically).

Another problem they said that non-profit pr have is that the story is not always straight if you talk to everyone involved in that program including the boss, volunteers.  Quoting the website: If someone came to your organization and talked with 10 people separately (the executive director, staff, volunteers and board members) and asked the question “What does your organization do and why should I care?” – would all of the answers be the same? Or, at least be close to the same?

Now I don’t think we would have a really big problem with this because there is not a lot of people to ask but…..I thought it was interesting.

They also said finding the “right words” to make your message clear and important is key. Which is what we are working on right now with the branding. 
“Self-praise is for losers. Be a winner. Stand for something. Always have class, and be humble.”
John Madden

2 ideas…..

So, after class on Wednesday I have been doing some research, and looking at a lot of health clinic websites.  I think that as far as volunteering the website is a very important aspect. They have places to find out more information, donate, or sign up to volunteer time.  I think that one thing that this clinic is really lacking is information availability. Not only do volunteers not know about the clinic once they find out there is not a lot of information available to the general public on it.

It is hard though because how do you try to get lots of donations and volunteers without getting tons of new clients, that you are going to have to turn down.

For a slogan I thought of, “Helping the Uninsured, to Ensure a Healthy Life.”

I also think it would be a good idea for them to get a business card or brochure that is flashy so if a donor see’s it it really catches their eye.  There are a lot of causes people can donate to and they need something that will really say “hey pick us”

“Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some hire public relations officers.”

Post of Pro Bono PR

After going to the Flint Hill Community Clinic I saw how badly this company needed pr and how they need not have the time or money to afford some good pr help. I am so glad we are doing this for them because it is well needed and well deserved. But, it got me to thinking about how many pr firms do pro-bono cases, and what about non-profit firms how much of their donations goes to advertising and marketing…. Now maybe pro bono is just popular in the law world, but I think overall it means giving your services for free to a well deserved recipient. I hope that if I ever do make it big in the pr world, I am able to help places like FHCC and get them some good pr for free.  I think it would also be cool to set up a pro bono pr website and have people who need pr who cannot afford it go on-line and submit an application of request and then other pr firms can get on and look at the request and pick to see who they might want to help.

“The caterpillar does all the work but the butterfly gets all the publicity.“
George Carlin

Where is all that $ going….

Tax and Deductable giving….

After talking about “ethics” this week, I got to thinking that people prob. take advantage of giving to a cause so they can’t get a reduction on their taxes. I mean who would you rather give to…the government of a great cause?  I just wonder how far people take it, is buying a ticket to a fund-raising dinner considered deductible? How much can people give? Could a volunteer count their time as a deduction?

 According to ato.gov.au/nonprofit :  The price paid to attend a fund-raising event is NOT considered a deduction.  

The qualifications of tax deductible gift:

be made to a deductible gift recipient

really be a gift

be a gift of money or a certain type of property, and

must comply with the relevant gift conditions.