The Art and Strategy of Nonprofit Communications Campaigns
Published on April 16, 2025, at 10:15 p.m.
by Ava Stevens.
Public relations campaigns are objective-driven practices that aim to maintain positive relations between a brand and its public. With nonprofit organizations having limited resources, how exactly do they drive change?
Brainstorming process
When it comes to creating campaigns, Amy Diaz, senior director of marketing communications for ASPCA, explained the importance of having an organized approach to the brainstorming process.
She collaborates with marketing, branding, editorial and external professionals to brainstorm high-level campaign ideas in a judgment-free space.
“First, we identify the problem, audience, objective and goal that the campaign needs to address,” noted Diaz. “We then address our needs as an organization, define our budget and list the most efficient ways to attain the results we are looking for.”
Once these factors are decided, research can be conducted to learn what primary form of media the target audience consumes. Then, organizations can put plans together based on what can be created within the walls of the budget.
Ashley Cornelius, director of resource development and marketing for Boys & Girls Clubs of West Alabama, discussed crucial assets for succeeding in the communications department as a nonprofit organization.
“Sponsorships, press releases and media relationships are powerful tools for creating campaigns,” said Cornelius. While usually operating as a “one-person show,” Cornelius has built her own “organic team of people” that she can rely on for honest feedback.
For Cornelius, the creative process behind campaigns adjusts according to the organization’s expectations; she must adhere to brand guidelines during her brainstorming process.
While working almost 11 years for Tuscaloosa’s One Place, A Family Resource Center, Cornelius designed campaigns with full creative freedom. This freedom allowed her to create a branding kit where she was able to develop the logo, font, tone and image completely on her own.
In contrast, Boys & Girls Clubs of West Alabama has strict national brand guidelines that Cornelius has to consider when developing campaigns.
“It has been a challenging adjustment but also has its benefits,” said Cornelius. “On one hand, it’s been difficult to take a consistent visual and make it my own, yet at the same time, I can get content out quickly because I don’t have to generate something completely new.”
So, why do national organizations have strict guidelines? According to an article from Fifty & Fifty, consistent branding and messaging has proven to increase credibility for nonprofit organizations, and credibility is the foundation for driving action.
Audience engagement
As stated by Fifty & Fifty, maintaining the attention of target audiences “has never been more intense.” Adjusting objectives based on data from previous campaigns is crucial for increasing audience engagement.
To measure the success of PR campaigns, Diaz explained how each ASPCA team — marketing, editorial, branding, creative and communications — sets their own key performance indicators that provide a benchmark for assessing results.
Through evaluation, Diaz concluded that paid search and YouTube have been the most powerful digital tactics for driving change among ASPCA’s target audience: adults 25 to 50 with an affinity for pets.
Success can be measured in a variety of forms. Cornelius noted that social media interactions, event turnout, merchandise sales and registration rates are informative data points that evaluate the success of campaigns.
Facebook, Instagram and organic reach have proven to be the most powerful media for Boys & Girls Clubs of West Alabama. Cornelius said that the response rate for the organization’s newsletter averages at about 45%.
“These trends are pretty consistent among nonprofits,” said Cornelius. Each of these media forms engages a different age demographic, allowing campaigns to reach a wide range of people.
Successful campaigns
One of ASPCA’s most successful campaigns has been its “umbrella campaign” called “The Rescue Effect.” ASPCA collaborated with Subaru to help inform audiences that adopting an animal does not only benefit them; adoption can change the owner’s life for the better, too.
“We have launched many smaller and one-off campaigns, such as “Find Your Fido,” which was successful,” Diaz said. “However, after seeing how much our messaging resonated with our target audience, we decided to launch our first large, national campaign with multiple calls to action, which is how ‘The Rescue Effect’ began.”
Partnerships and collaborations can be an impactful way to expand the reach of PR campaigns. According to Alter New Media, “When two brands collaborate, they tap into each other’s customer base, which can seriously boost their exposure.”
Cornelius dove deeper into the impact that collaborations can have through building sponsorship levels. One of Cornelius’ most successful campaigns was the annual Tinsel Trail for Tuscaloosa’s One Place, A Family Resource Center. This event has become a fundraising tradition for the Tuscaloosa community; local businesses and sponsors decorate over 200 trees, and event proceeds help fund TOP’s family and parenting programs.
Building something from scratch has its challenges — people find it hard to envision something that has not yet been created. The first year of Tinsel Trail concluded by giving away free trees, while the most recent Tinsel Trail had extreme success with community impact and awareness for TOP.
“Once Tinsel Trail had a couple years under its belt, we connected with companies that had previously supported the event to see if they were willing to take their sponsorships to the next level,” said Cornelius. “It takes years to establish an event but doing so builds credibility for the organization.”
Alter New Media also touched on having a respectable reputation; collaborating with credible companies for campaigns can help both organizations thrive.
Other campaign considerations
Nonprofit organizations have the responsibility of making their communications accessible to all audiences. Visuals, font size, copy and color are only a few of the campaign aspects that need to be considered in the creation process.
“Designing creatives can be challenging,” explained Cornelius. “There was a beautiful graphic made by a University of Alabama student; however, it was light yellow text on a white background. This contrast would not work for people with visibility issues.”
Additionally, the standard readability for body copy is an eighth grade reading level. According to Readability Formulas, it is the “most effective way to engage everyday readers,” since it is inclusive to a wide range of individuals.
These considerations are crucial during the campaign creation process. Nonprofit organizations have the challenge of sustainability while working within the means of their resources — making communications campaigns a crucial asset.
