Public Relations Guide for Rural Housing Organizations (manual

INTRODUCTIONThis guide is aimed at organizations – small or not so small, private, public, or nonprofit – thatare working to increase the stock of affordable housing in the rural United States. Theconsistent dedication and hard work such organizations bring to bear against seeminglyinsurmountable odds are admirable; anyone doing such work is a miracle worker and deservesas much help as possible.The major premise of this public relations guide is that there has never been a more importanttime to focus on public relations (PR) because of increasing challenges in the housing business.At the same time, public relations work is becoming more powerful due to techniquespresented by new information technology (IT). Tried and true steps can be combined with thenew IT to accomplish more than ever.The common theme expressed by the organizations surveyed for this guide is no surprise: thereis not enough time to do PR work. In addition, funding is rarely available to hire the staffneeded to do PR. This guide points out PR techniques that are effective and require little timeonce established.This guide has six sections: 1) an overview of public relations work including definitions ofbasic public relations concepts; 2) a step-by-step guide that comprises a timeline for gettingstarted with public relations and serves as a checklist for anyone who needs fresh inspiration;3) a list of basic PR tools; 4) a list of PR tools for special occasions; 5) advice on planningevents; and 6) new PR tools provided by the Internet and new communications systems. Thereare three appendices: templates for specific tasks, a chapter devoted to website developmentincluding free sources and services, and overviews of six case studies.Housing Assistance Council 1