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A Public Relation Plan

Prepared for:

Big Brothers Big Sisters

Big Brothers Big Sisters is a nonprofit organization created to increase mentorship and
education within communities across the country. BBBS relies on volunteers, donations and
partnerships to bring its mission to life. The mentorship program is set in place to create and
maintain relationships between positive role models and children in need. BBBS wants to use
this PR plan to reach the students of Kennesaw State University and get them more involved in
the program. The children can benefit from the college students by realizing that they can
achieve their dreams and improve the quality of their life. This plan will help the students of
KSU give back to their community and create awareness of the program.

Situation Analysis
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What is Big Brothers Big Sisters?

Big Brothers Big Sisters is a nonprofit organization that creates mutually beneficial
relationships between a mentor and a mentee. The mentor is an adult and the mentee is a child
from underprivileged or single-parent families.

Who does BBBS help?

BBBS serves adults and children all over the country. The focus is helping children find
mentors to have fun with and to confide in while in a safe environment for a minimum of one
year. All participants come from diverse backgrounds. The children in the program either come
from underprivileged, single-parent families, military families and families including an
incarcerated parent. The mentors range in age, race, occupation and lifestyle. Diversity is
important to BBBS.

Overall Goals of BBBS

BBBS wants to develop and maintain one-on-one relationships that benefit both parties
involved. It wants to provide the children with positive and consistent role models to improve the
quality of the childs life. Accountability is placed on both the mentor and the mentee.

History

The nonprofit organization was founded in 1904 by businessman Irvin F. Westheimer in

Cincinnati, Ohio. The organization grew fast and quick to reach all areas of the country. The
supporters of Big Brothers Big Sisters saw its value in mentorship and education. Over the years,
it has been evident that the children of the mentorship program are less likely to participate in
illegal drugs, consuming alcohol, skipping school and partaking in violence.

BBBS holds many diverse partnerships and programs. They are as listed:

Programs:
Community-based
Children of Military Families
School-based
Children with Incarcerated Parents
Bigs in Blue

Partnerships:
Corporate:
ReedSmith
Jack in the Box
Comcast

Foundation:
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Bank of America Foundation

Duke Endowment
Government:
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
Community:
Multiple churches
Fraternities
Sororities

Competition

There are currently not any competitors that offer the same quality of service as BBBS,
but there are mentorship programs regardless. They all have the same goal in mind, but Big
Brothers Big Sisters have the advantage by being the oldest and biggest nonprofit organization to
provide mentorship programs to diverse communities.

These organizations are:

The Mentoring Project

The Mentoring Center
Sisters of Hope
Boys and Girls Club

Needs/Problems/Opportunities

BBBS needs a PR plan to raise awareness and engage the students of Kennesaw State
University. Even though BBBS knows students have busy schedules due to school, work and
social activities, BBBS thinks that the children and the students could benefit from each other in
the mentoring program. The nonprofit has a low budget and must rely on volunteers to help
execute the plan. Reaching the philanthropic community of KSU will help greatly.

Scope

This PR plan will be prepared as a volunteer effort that will span the course of ten
months. It will start during the Fall semester and continue through the Spring Semester. (August
2017- May 2018) The plan is only a suggestion. Any part can be used as a whole or individually
depending on the specific needs of the organization. All events will include donations from local
venders and restaurants to stay in budget.

Research

Since this plan is focused on reaching students of KSU, the research will be conducted three
ways on campus. The research will be conducted at the beginning of the plan in August and
again in May of the next year.
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The research will be conducted in the following ways:

Conduct focus groups composed of diverse students from both campuses of KSU
Survey students anonymously about what activities interest them, what days and times of
the week they are available and their perception about mentoring
Interview current mentors with the same demographic qualities and obtain their feedback
about what is effective and not when reaching other mentors

Target Audience

The target audience is the student body at KSU. Female and male students between the
ages of 20 and 25 primarily. BBBS wants to reach both commuters and students who live on
campus. Since it is reaching commuters, BBBS is reaching out to Cobb, Paulding, Fulton and
Cherokee counties. A narrower target audience is the philanthropy community at KSU like the
fraternities, sororities and honor societies.

Theme

Meet, Mentor and Matter in a Childs Life Today!

Key Messages

Big Brothers Big Sisters wants to encourage the students of Kennesaw State University to
actively participate in their community by mentoring a child that is facing adversity and
build a mutually beneficial relationship with the child.

Big Brothers Big Sisters is a nonprofit organization that wants to bring together children
and adults in a healthy, positive environment that can improve the quality of life for both
the mentor and the mentee.

Mentoring a child can change a life and leave an everlasting positive impact of them.

Goal

The primary goal of this public relations plan is to raise awareness and increase
participation with the student body at Kennesaw State University.

Objectives

Increase participation between KSUs students and BBBS by 20%

Increase awareness of BBBS on the KSU Kennesaw and Marietta campus
Increase student donations by 5% from last years donation total
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Strategies

To strengthen the relationship between BBBS and the students of KSU

Create and maintain a visual presence on both the Kennesaw and Marietta campus
Use social media to raise awareness of the mentorship program among the student body
of KSU

Tactics

Strategy- To strengthen the relationship between BBBS and the students of KSU
Get involved with the fraternities, sororities and honor societies to hold events
Events could be fundraisers like a 5K, dance-a-thon or a community outreach table on
the green to help raise awareness.
Host a party and invite all the students who live in the dorms.
This tactic gets students in the door to have some fun and learn about the organization
at the same time. Surveys could be given out at the beginning and at the end to obtain
perceptions of BBBS.

Strategy- Create and maintain a visual presence on both the Kennesaw and Marietta
campus
Create flyers
These flyers can be distributed around campus and pinned to bulletin boards around
the campus.
Set up a booth on the green during activity fairs.
These booths can provide reading material and merchandise for students use. To stay
under budget, the merchandise could include buttons, pens and Frisbees.

Strategy- Use social media to raise awareness of the mentorship program among the
student body of KSU
Create a hashtag that can be shared among multiple social media sites like Facebook,
Twitter and Instagram
The hashtag can be a slogan for the PR plan and a way to measure impact.
For example: #MeetMentorMatter
Use the local KSU radio station to play service announcements about upcoming BBBS
events on campus
This tactic is important since it can reach the commuter students who listen to the
radio while driving to and from the school.

Evaluation

Were student donations increased by 5% from last years donation total? If so, what
medium was more effective in receiving donations, the events or booths?
Was participation increased by 15% from last year?
Compare surveys from the beginning of the PR plan and at the end. Were students more
aware and inform about BBBS?
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Was the hashtag effective? How many times was it used and shared?
Were events successful? What was the attendance like at each event? Was one event more
effective than another?

Timetable

August
Conduct research on campus

September
Create and distribute visuals
Set up a booth at the Fall semester activity fair
Begin creating a social media presence, #MeetMentorMatter

October
Host a party in the dorms

November
Begin to post on social media regularly and be consistent with commenting to
students

December
Get Dunkin Donuts to donate donuts and give them away with a flyer on campus
during Finals Week

January
Partner with a student organization to host a 5K as a fundraiser

February
Set up a booth at the Spring activity fair

March
Create a contest on social media

April
Host a party on the Green and invite all students

May
Big Brothers Big Sisters 5K
Conduct research again on campus
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Budget

Visuals

Flyers $50

Buttons $50

Pens $50

Frisbees $50

Events
Dorm Party $50.00

Big Brothers Big Sisters 5K $200.00

Party on the Green $50.00

Use of local media

KSU radio station announcements $00.00

Social media efforts $00.00

Total Cost of PR Plan: $500