Articles, Letters, and Other Media for Lay Publication

Articles and letters in the lay media can create awareness of the condition your group supports, and that awareness can come back to you in many ways. It can reassure individuals with a connection to your condition but who do not feel the need to actively seek information. It can alert potential members to the existence and contact information for your organization. And it can inform potential donors of expertise and money.

One place to start is the health section of your local metro daily newspaper. Newspapers are responsible for reporting on studies and new treatments and for explaining the impact of legal and scientific news on individuals. They are eager for sources that can share the human dimension of this kind of news, so staying in touch with them - and knowing the kinds of issues that your group's subject is relevant to - can yield excellent access to free publicity.

Publicity can lead to donations in many ways: by informing potential donors or your organization, by informing the community about special needs or initiatives of your group, and by forming materials that can be used in future press kits. Those kits, in turn, can enhance the value of a pitch to a potential donor or sponsors as well as offering your membership ways to share your group's message and to see the kind of work you are doing.

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