What is a media/press kit?
A media kit is an effective tool that can raise awareness of the issues and your efforts as well as serve as a medium for expanding your base and networking with possible funders or other partners.
What is in a media kit?
A media kit contains four important pieces that can be stored in a simple folder with your organization's name or logo and delivered to anyone who is interested in learning more about your organization:
- A brochure or position paper that outlines the programs that you offer as well as the mission/vision of your organization.
- A fact sheet that illustrates the community issues that your organization addresses—for example, a chart that describes local education funding trends over the past several years or a fact sheet describing the local impacts of No Child Left Behind.
- Short biographies of key leaders or members of your group and their contributions.
- A press release that describes some special event, such as the launch of a new initiative or your group's receiving a grant, etc.
Don't forget to include a business card for the lead contact person at your organization. This should be someone who's going to be around for awhile.
In addition to these, you can also include:
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Recent newsletters
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A summary of upcoming events
Why use a media kit?
A media kit gives your organization the opportunity to make others aware of the positive work you are doing. If you are interested in promoting your efforts in order to increase the number of participants, drop off your media kit at any media outlet (newspaper, television, radio) with a press release about the beginning of one of your initiatives.
If you don't need to "publicize" your efforts, then you can use a media kit to send to potential partners. For example, a media kit is an easy way to give potential partners information about your organization at a conference or meeting.
Finally, you can use a media kit to acknowledge the accomplishments of your participants. For instance, a press release sent to a community publication could result in an article highlighting the accomplishments of a recent group of parents working on a particular issue. In general, think of the media kit as one more way to "talk" about your group's efforts.
Timing
Make sure all media contacts receive updated media kits at least annually (although quarterly is recommended) with new releases, calendars, etc.... Follow-up calls can be made 3-4 days after the kits have been sent out.
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