Can someone recommend a good book or website which describes how to put together an attractive and informational press kit, especially for a non-profit organization? Are there some good online press kits someone can recommend as examples?
No recommendations, but some suggestions:
First, it all depends upon whether you are having a press conference for a particular purpose, or just want to send out informational kits to the media. In any case,
As a nonprofit, you don’t want to give the impression that you are wasting money on too elaborate material. A nice cardboard folder to hold the material with a label on front will suffice.
Rather than putting too much on any one sheet of paper, include several, nicely typed or computer printed, with heading, address, phone numbers, website, email address and contacts, at the top. Double space, reasonably wide margins, print on only one side of each sheet.
One sheet will provide the purpose of the organization, the officers, the background and history, and accomplishments to date.
If it is for a specific purpose, a press release outlining what that is all about.
If appropriate, 8x10 photos pertaining to the event.
If nonspecific, photos of the officers if desired, or at least of the CEO or president. Very brief biographies of the officers and/or staff.
A list of achievements, awards, commendations grants, donations (if donors willing), etc.
If you have any letters of appreciation from satisfied clients, include a few of them (only, of course, if you get permission from the writers).
Eschew letters of complaint.
This is basic stuff. You may want to give out theme-appropriate trinkets at a press conference if you want (I think it’s tacky), but I never knew a reporter to refuse any low-value item. More expensive gifts should be taboo, as some media outlets have restrictions on what may be acceptable.
Moved to IMHO.
-xash
General Questions Moderator
If you have access to a CD burner, I’d also suggest burning all of your information onto cheap blank CD’s and including that into the packet. It doesn’t need to look super-professional, but we in the press business have stuff to do, and if we’re just typing up a brief or something, we like having it in data format rather than hardcopy - it saves us ten minutes typing your stuff up and makes you more likely to get your information into the paper.
My two cents as a newsroom clerk.
~Tasha