Eight Years with the ASPCA: A Nonprofit Media Training Case Study

Nonprofit media training teaches mission-driven organizations to package the work nobody sees into interviews that move people to act, and to include the donation calls to action that fund the mission. This case study spans eight years of work with the ASPCA, and it is the perfect story to share when I talk about working with nonprofits.

Here is a nonprofit that everybody recognizes, and everybody knows how important the work is. We have seen the commercials on TV, or we have a general sense that they look out for the welfare of dogs and cats and even other animals. But when these leaders came to the workshop, they felt the pressure of conveying all of the work people do not know that they do. That gap, between the work and what the public knows about the work, is the central problem nonprofit media training solves.

The stories nobody was hearing

Two examples from our workshops show what was sitting untold inside the organization:

• The carriage horses of New York City. Carriage horses pull tourists around Central Park, and the team was trying to get the word out about inhumane conditions. They even had solutions ready, including electric vehicles that look like storybook carriages that could take the horses' place. A vivid, hopeful story with a concrete fix, and most people had never heard it.
• Rescues with law enforcement. They told stories about homes where people had 50 or more cats or dogs, where conditions were terrible. Law enforcement officers went with members of their team to rescue those animals. Dramatic, important work, happening far from any camera.

Many of these stories never make it into a media interview. Together, we packaged them in just the right way, and with practice on video, the team was able to see themselves speaking confidently and succinctly, and including calls to action.

How much is one good interview worth to a nonprofit?

Here is the part of the workshop where all eyebrows went up. Nonprofits rely on donations, and not bringing that up during a media interview is a lost opportunity. In fact, bringing it up can mean tens of thousands of dollars. And many times more than that, because these interviews can be clipped and used strategically on social media, or even in electronic donor proposals. Taking that into consideration, just the right clip can mean millions of dollars in donations.

When I shared this with the team, they realized that the work they were doing in this workshop had a direct effect on those that they help. That reframe changes everything about how a nonprofit spokesperson approaches an interview. It is not a chore or a risk. It is a fundraising asset being created in real time, one that keeps working long after the broadcast, in clips, in posts, and in proposals.

Does this only work for famous nonprofits?

This story does not stand alone. I have worked with nonprofits in Michigan that help children. I have worked with nonprofits in Washington, DC that help communities hold on to land that is being preserved for human enjoyment and for endangered animals. I have worked with nonprofits that help senior citizens get important medicine at low cost.

The work nonprofits do is important, and most of it happens when nobody is watching closely. Being able to tell powerful stories and move people to take action can make all the difference. The organization's size changes the scale of the coverage, not the mechanics: find the untold stories, package them for interviews, practice on camera, and always include the call to action.

If your organization has important work happening while nobody is watching, our media training for nonprofits is built for exactly that. You can also see how the same systems worked for five doctors preparing for a conference and for leaders at the Social Security Administration. Ready to turn your stories into support? Get a quick quote.

Want to talk through a training for your team? Email [email protected] or call (646) 233-1424.

Not ready yet? Start with a copy of Media Secrets or the 7 Media Interview Secrets.