PR Lessons Learned From Aboite New Trails
Congratulations to Executive Director Lori Keys and the board and staff of Aboite New Trails. They provided Journal Gazette readers with some positive news on the cover of the Sunday paper, at a time when positive news is in very short supply around here. Here is a link to the article.
For nonprofit communicators, the article is a good case study, because it's rare to see such a substantive article on Page 1 with so much coverage that is beneficial to a nonprofit. It pays to assess such success stories to try to identify "what works."
If you don't live in Aboite, you may not know that the trails are nice asphalt (I guess?) surfaces that enable walkers, bikers, parents pushing strollers, and roller-bladers, to safely amble considerable distances through Aboite, in and around the schools, the YMCA, etc., without worrying much about traffic. Check out the excellent before-and-after pictures at the top of the organization's Web site.
So how does a 5-year-old organization that offers what could be considered a discretionary recreational trail compete for the public's attention and dollars when other nonprofits are feeding the hungry, clothing the poor, transporting seniors to medical appointments, and providing health care to the needy -- to name just a few? When you put it in that context, Aboite New Trails' communications success is even more remarkable.
From what I read in The Journal Gazette, my sense is that Aboite New Trails garnered the positive coverage because of its storyline that ties the system of recreational trails to economic development. They treat the trails like a business, not a charity. Although they raise nonprofit dollars, they offer donors a social and economic return on their investment. They have a compelling story to tell, and they tell it well. That's no accident; that took effort and vision. In the current economic climate, think of how easy it might be to dismiss the trails as a luxury, in favor of funding direct services to Allen County's poorest residents. That is, until you consider their story:
"I am thoroughly convinced that there is no other single improvement that the city of Fort Wayne and Allen County could make that would resolve or remedy so many of our community’s problems," Aboite New Trails President Lynn Reecer wrote on the group’s Web site, as quoted in The Journal Gazette.
The article says, "Reecer ... says the group’s success isn’t due to its location in a more affluent part of the community, but rather its vision: a regional trail system that benefits all of the Fort Wayne area by promoting economic development, facilitating health, improving pedestrian and cyclist safety and expanding recreational options."
Tad Frank, director of marketing and promotion for Indiana’s NewsCenter, which provided $10,000 to Aboite New Trails, said in the article that the trails provide free, safe bike travel for those who don’t want to spend money on gas, give families another way to spend time together and encourage residents to fight obesity and become more active.
I can't testify to all those benefits, but they seem like valid points to me. Most significantly, it seems very clear that the trails would prop up the home values of all the houses within walking distance of the system. I don't live in Aboite, but I use the trails when my son practices PAL football near Homestead High School and I have two hours to kill, three days a week. I really enjoy being able to get some exercise and enjoy the sunshine and fresh air. I wish there was such a trail system near my house. A home near such a trail would be very attractive to buyers and thus worth more money. All of those Aboite homeowners reap the financial rewards, whether they use the trails or not.
I can think of two take-away lessons for nonprofit communicators.
- One, craft a compelling story that shows how your organization affects the larger community, not just in terms of your mission -- that's not enough -- but in financial terms or social enhancement. Just as Aboite New Trails does, treat your story like a business story, not like a story about a charity expecting handouts. You offer the community a great value in return for the donations you receive -- quantify that message, and that's your story.
- The other lesson is this: A story like the one on the front page of The Journal Gazette comes along rarely in the life of a nonprofit. No matter how positive the coverage, the story is here today and gone tomorrow. Depending on media coverage to get your message out is not a viable strategy. In fact it's not a strategy at all. It's like buying a lottery ticket. But many nonprofits (not yours) are still living in the 1970s when it comes to press relations. Instead of relying on the media, in today's environment you have to control your communications yourself, to assure that people who need to know about you get the word directly from you, with proper frequency, throughout the year.
