Give a Little: How you can Start your Career in Non-Profit PR

As an aspiring PR professional, there are many fields that you can chose to gain experience in.

Do you enjoy helping others? Are you passionate about fighting for social justice?

If so, non-profit public relations may be the field for you.

Some people chose fashion/entertainment PR, others chose agency, but if you answered yes to either of the above questions, you may just find your passion in the non-profit realm.

Even though the name suggests otherwise, non-profit organizations do have the ability to pay their employees. The name “non-profit” merely means that the organization isn't primarily concerned with making a profit for themselves (meaning they give their profits to other organizations or groups of people).

If you are interested in breaking into the non-profit PR field, volunteering is key.

It’s great to have an internship, but if you are an underclassmen or you don’t have the time to fully commit to one, volunteering can be your saving grace.

Also, in many cases, non-profit organizations look to people that they know are great workers when a job opens, and often times, the hiring manager looks at the organization's pool of volunteers.

The other benefit associated with volunteering is that you will be able to narrow down your field of interest even further. As there are many different kinds of PR, there are many different kinds of non-profit organizations.

Are you interested in helping people, the environment, or animals? What about all three?

Luckily, there are many different non-profits in the world, so you may be able to find your perfect match! By volunteering at multiple organizations, you may be able to narrow down your search and find the type of non-profit PR that is right for you.

The other great thing about volunteering is that you can still build your professional portfolio. Even if you don’t have a for-credit internship, any of the work that you do for the organization is yours to use professionally. Any types of press outreach that you do while volunteering can add to your qualifications.

Have you volunteered at a non-profit organization? If so, please share your experience below in the comments!