Writing for Non-Profit Organizations
Artifact Overview
Blog post writing for a non-profit that captures the audience.
Skills Demonstrated
Professional Writing, Audience Awareness, Persuasive Communication, Nonprofit Communication, Strategic Messaging, Advocacy Writing, Editing, Organizational Communication
Artifact
Contextual Statement
This was a project for ENGL-398N, or Professional Writing for nonprofits. Each student came up with a hypothetical program for their selected nonprofit organization, and then had the choice to get the information out via press release or blog post. Blog post was the best choice, especially considering I chose an audience centered around youth. I utilized information from a nonprofit I have worked and volunteered with for many years, since I am familiar with their priorities and audience. The program I chose was centered around a Queer Interfaith Internship, since I did research and saw that the organization Keshet didn’t have much outreach efforts beyond Jewish groups. Although that is their focus, I wanted to come up with an idea to expand their efforts to other queer youth. We had to make the information digestible, clear, and grab readers attention.
The order in which I listed the “5 Reasons why you should apply” was carefully crafted to begin with reasons that would grab the attention of young activists, and end with reasons that are more concrete. I began with Experience and Opportunity, and ended with how it would build ones resume. This blog post shows that I am able to understand different audiences, tailor information to their needs, and engage with persuasive media to garner engagement. This shows my expertise in organization as well as categorizing relevant information. Putting this in my portfolio is beneficial considering it is one of many professional writing assignments that prioritizes a different area of writing- since professional writing is most useful when many areas are delved into.
Reflection
It helped me learn more about what would grab the audience’s attention. The nonprofit I chose is one that I have been involved with in the past, and that I’d like to work for in the future, so this was good practice for what might eventually be a reality.