Social Media for Nonprofits Closeup: RVA Media & PR Gurus
On March 19, 2015 ConnectVA presents the Social Media for Nonprofits Conference 2015 – “Mobile Technology for Social Good” featuring Heather Mansfield, founder of Nonprofit Tech for Good at WCVE Community Idea Station in Richmond, VA.
Register here for $65-$75 – tickets almost sold out!
“Engaging the Media to Promote Your Cause”
During the Conference, we will hear from local media and PR personalities about the best ways to engage the media! This dynamic discussion, led by Judi Crenshaw, will bring up topics like, “how is the media landscape changing?” and “what are some tools and etiquette to get media attention?” Get a closer look at the panelists, and don’t miss this one-of-a-kind learning opportunity!
Ross Catrow, Owner/Publisher, RVA News
Ross Catrow is the owner and publisher of RVANews, a local, online-only news magazine.
How does your work or organization help empower individuals, advance organizations and strengthen community? We hope to tell stories that matter. We not only want to tell those stories to Richmonders, but we want to share Richmond’s stories with the rest of the world.
What are the top 3 things you want people to know about RVANews?
1. If you’ve got an interesting story (and everyone does), please, please, please send it our way!
3. We love Richmond, like, a lot.
How do you interact with nonprofits?
Well, I read all of their emails, which is an admittedly pretty passive means of interaction. Also, I enjoy using all of the contacts I’ve made over the past decade to help connect people–a lot of times this is sending people to nonprofits or sending nonprofits to people.
Follow Ross: @rosscatrow
Lisa Schaffner, PR-Marketing Director, UNOS
Lisa is the PR-Marketing Director at United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), a role in which she’s served since 2008. Before UNOS, Lisa was a broadcast news journalist for 25 years, and she continues to write a regular column for The Boomer Magazine, Giving Back, which highlights non-profits and how Boomers can volunteer. Lisa lives in Midlothian with her two children.
How does your organization help empower individuals, advance organizations and strengthen community?
Nothing is more empowering than knowing the work you do at UNOS is work that saves lives through transplantation!
What are Top 3 things you want people to know about UNOS?
- Great people, Great place to work!
- UNOS matches lifesaving organs to patients on the national waiting list 24 hour a day/7 days a week. 79 lifesaving transplants take place daily in the U.S.
- One organ donor can save 8 lives.
What do you love most about PR work for a nonprofit?
What we do makes a difference—we save lives. It’s passionate work with passionate people.
Follow Lisa: @UNOSNews
Scott Wise, Director of Interactive Media, CBS6
Scott Wise is a great dad. He is so sweet and very kind. He always introduces us [his kids] to cool music, games and activities. In his spare time, he leads the online and social media effort at WTVR CBS 6 [bio as told by his kids 6 & 8].
How does your work or organization help empower individuals, advance organizations and strengthen community?
WTVR CBS 6 highlights organizations, community members and events during its nearly six hours of live television programming each day and to a local, regional, national and international online audience. By sharing uplifting stories and holding leaders accountable, our work can truly strengthen the community we serve.
Top 3 things you want people to know about CBS 6:
- We truly enjoy sharing positive community news and highlighting people who make a difference.
- It is not hard getting your event covered. Just be smart about it, set reasonable expectations.
- It is so very important to connect with us on social media.
How do you interact with nonprofits?
Non-profit groups are consistently featured on Virginia This Morning and during various television newscasts. In the fall, our social media team partnered with HandsOn Greater Richmond for a volunteer project that attracted more than 70 WTVR CBS 6 employees, viewers and social media fans.
Follow Scott: @Scott_Wise & @CBS6
Cameron McPherson, Account Manager, The Hodges Partnership
At The Hodges Partnership, Cameron leads national and international media relations for client ChildFund International. While he spends a good deal of his time pitching media across the globe, he regularly executes local PR campaigns for clients in Richmond. Recently, he assisted Maya Smart with media relations support during her record-breaking Richmond Christmas Mother campaign which raised more than $300,000. On a volunteer basis, he offers his PR expertise to ROSMY, OutRVA, Family Lifeline and Cookies for Kids’ Cancer. Cameron was named one of Style Weekly’s “Top 40 Under 40” in 2014. The Public Relations Society of America Richmond chapter named him a Rising Star in 2011.
How does your work or organization help empower individuals, advance organizations and strengthen community?
We help a variety of clients – from Fortune 500s to nonprofits – tell their unique stories through media relations, social media and content marketing. For nonprofits specifically, we help organizations with messaging, media training and conveying their stories through the news. Our PR work raises awareness for nonprofits, so they can focus on what really matters: supporting the community.
What are the top 3 things you want people to know about The Hodges Partnership?
- Founded in 2002, Hodges is named after Gil Hodges, the manager of the World Champion 1969 Mets. All of our meeting rooms are named after common baseball terms – from the Skybox to the Dugout.
- We own a gong. Every time there’s good news to share – from media placements to pregnancy announcement – people bang the gong.
- Read our latest musings on PR and donuts at our Gong blog at hodgespart.com/gong.
How do you interact with nonprofits?
I love any chance to work with Richmond nonprofits, whether professionally or on a volunteer-basis. They’re doing great work in our community – so there’s always great stories to tell. For the past four years, I’ve managed media relations efforts for ChildFund International, which involves everything from supporting the organization during emergencies like Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines and the ongoing Ebola outbreak in West Africa, to helping the organization promote unique child development programs in developing countries. Typically, whether it’s a local or a national nonprofit, I help the organization identify stories that would resonate with the media and then make connections with journalists.
Follow Cameron: @cammunications
