College Classes Seek Nonprofits Needing PR Help

For the Spring 2011 semester (starts January 19), I will be teaching two Public Relations/Marketing Communications (marcom) classes at Emerson (downtown Boston) and one at Bentley University (Waltham, MA).

As a Service Learning/final project in each class, small teams of students will be developing a PR plan and materials for lesser-known nonprofit organizations. I'm looking for nonprofits in downtown Boston (or an easy T ride away) and a few in/around Waltham.

You can see media coverage about the project at http://observer.bentley.edu/issue/fall-2010/departments-and-features/promoting-skills

This is not an internship. The students serve as external consultants to the nonprofit. They're not regular volunteers for the organization - this is not "free help" or even a "street team."

Is Your Organization A Good Fit For This Project? Here are a few guidelines and qualifications:

• Legal U.S. nonprofit registration/ designation is a requirement (501C3 is preferred).
• Benefits delivered/felt on a local level are a big plus, but not an absolute requirement. Students seem to favor helping out close to home.
• Grass roots/small organizations are preferred. One that has already "been discovered" by the media, received much coverage, or is already working with an ad agency or PR firm is not a great fit.
• No religious/faith- based or political affiliation.
• The organization should be located near Emerson or Bentley, ideally with an actual office. Most students don't have their own cars (won't go near buses), and work part-time. Travel/commute time is a concern - being on the Green line, Red line, or Orange line is strongly preferred for Emerson. Being no more than a 20-minute drive from Waltham is preferred for Bentley.
• The organization must already have a Web site up and running.
• A primary contact from the organization - preferably an officer - must be able to be part of a 90-minute nonprofit panel on February 2(noon or 2 PM for Emerson, 5 PM for Bentley) as part of the selection process. This should be the same contact the students would work with during the semester if your nonprofit is selected by the students.
• The contact must be available to communicate with students a few times during the semester, and willing to attend one formal presentation at the end of the semester (early May at Emerson, May 5 at 2 PM for Bentley).
• The nonprofit must also be willing to make a commitment to fast response time to student/team e-mails (within 36 hours including weekends and holidays). Please understand that students often don't keep the same hours as people who have full-time jobs. A typical student's day tends to start much later, with schoolwork often done very late at night or on weekends.

If interested, please E-mail me at your earliest convenience and I will e-mail you details about the project.

Jon Boroshok
jb (AT) TechMarcom.com