Free online PR training offered for nonprofits

Having worked as both a media correspondent and the executive director of a nonprofit organization, Antionette Kerr knows the two entities can have a mutually beneficial relationship. “The media needs stories and nonprofits have great stories to tell,” Kerr said. “Having worked in both spaces, it’s always my goal to see the two come together.” Kerr, co-author of “Modern Media Relations for Nonprofits: Creating an Effective PR Strategy for Today’s World,” will share her expertise on how nonprofits can leverage their stories to enhance their public relations in a free online event Thursday. The session on Facebook Live, hosted by the West Davidson Public Library, will be at 7 p.m. July 1. In addition to authoring a book, Kerr has provided training for nonprofits through Nonprofit Marketing Guide, National Council of Nonprofits and the Nonprofit Academy. In 2015, she received the inaugural Yale Publishing Course Innovative Leaders Scholarship.

“I think it’s important for nonprofits to understand the changing media climate and the best way to get your great stories told,” she noted. “Readers want to understand issues facing our communities and to learn more about how nonprofits and ministries are helping to solve them.” Kerr said human interest stories about people who are helped by nonprofits and ministries resonate with readers, who in turn often become supporters of the nonprofits once they realize the impact the organizations make in their community.

With the limited budgets of most nonprofits, Kerr noted advertising is not an option but free media coverage through good storytelling can enhance a nonprofit organization’s success in garnering community support. Kerr is also the co-founder of Bold & Bright Media, a publishing company, as well as co-founder of Davidson County’s newest news source, davidsonlocal.com.