Sample County 4-H Public Relations Plan
Ami Neiberger, APR
Situation: You are a new 4-H agent entering a county where the 4-H program has been without an agent or program assistant for a long time. You have one secretary in your office to help you with all of your reports, meetings, enrollments, mailings, and more. There are only a couple of clubs functioning—one in livestock and the other in environmental education. Your extension director and district director both want for you to revitalize the 4-H club program and the school enrichment program. You are new to the community and don’t know anyone yet, other than your landlord and the customer service representatives at the electric and phone companies.
Research: You don’t have any money so you can’t hire someone to do research for you, but you can gather some observations from key groups in the community. So you draw up a list of questions you want to answer and draft your secretary to help take notes and write down responses. Questions include: what do you know about 4-H, what do you know about 4-H activities in our county, why are you involved in 4-H (if you are), or why not? What are the key issues for children and teens in our community? How can 4-H address these needs? Why do people join groups like scouts or other community organizations? Would people join 4-H for the same reasons? You’ll need to find out certain information about the research participants, so you do a short questionnaire for each person to fill out which includes their age, profession, where they live, volunteer activities they are involved in already, what they think 4-H is, what they think 4-H does in the community and what 4-H activities are available in their community. You also lead an open discussion with them about 4-H and some of these questions listed above.
You round up some parents and other adults through two local churches (one is a minority congregation) and you do 2 focus groups with 10 people each to find out what people think of 4-H in the community. You do two focus groups with youth separately. You individually interview the city manager, two members of the county commission, and your county extension director to find out more about how people in the community perceive 4-H. You also do individual interviews with the chief of police, the editor of the local weekly newspaper, two school principals and the elementary school PTA president. You also interview the two 4-H club leaders you have when they stop by your office to meet you. You also do interviews with their clubs. (Note: many of these research interviews also serve to introduce you to many of the key people in the community).
Research Results: You determine that while 85% of adults in the community that you interviewed know what 4-H is, only 10% can identify any of the programs 4-H actually does in the community. Youth in the focus groups talk about 4-H being for kids who live on farms and raise animals. About half of the teens said that it was “not cool” to belong to 4-H. Parents say that the key issues for young people in the community are not having enough stuff to do that is positive. The town was recently scandalized by a Rave bust where police found teens using the drug ecstasy. The Rave bust and some recent juvenile crimes have shaken parents’ belief that the community is safe. Teens and middle schoolers say that adults make too many rules—the high school recently imposed a closed campus policy and there is serious debate in the community about teen curfews and the local school dress code policy. One of the minority parents writes on her survey about a controversial decision in a 4-H public speaking contest 10 years ago that she feels slighted a minority child.
The newspaper editor says he sends a reporter to the fair every year and covers the 4-H swine show. Other than that, he knows little about 4-H and does not see it as relevant to his readers today, beyond a few “cute” pictures of kids with animals. The county commissioners both remember when 4-H was more active in the community and recall speaking contests, many clubs, and other activities, including an annual fundraiser that featured a drama show and singing by 4-H members. The two school principals sound open to having 4-H recruitment activities at their schools. The elementary and middle school principals still remember the 4-H/Tropicana Public Speaking Contest and speak positively about it. They are not sure about their ability to participate in other possible 4-H school enrichment activities (embryology, seatbelt safety, etc.) because they are busy with required testing preparation. The PTA president was a 4-H alumna, and she offers to allow you to speak to the PTA at its next meeting in a month.
Then you sit down and hammer out a few goals for a public relations program to affect the community.
Goal # 1: Improve visibility of 4-H in the community and position 4-H as an organization relevant to young people today.
Objective: At least 50% of the community will actually be able to identify activities that 4-H does in the community and know it is active in the community. This will be measured by 4-H volunteers doing a shopping mall intercept survey in 6 months.
Audience: General public both youth and adults.
Strategy 1: Launch a public relations campaign to increase 4-H visibility in the community and attract new members.
Tactic 1: Invite one of the 4-H club leaders and some 4-H’ers from both clubs to work with you on the campaign, as well as a member of your 4-H advisory committee. Form a committee that meets monthly to work on the campaign.
Tactic 2: Design the campaign. Call the IFAS communications staff (at the university), come up with a slogan and have them design a logo, some posters, and some fliers.
Tactic 3: Have a meeting with your 4-H clubs and leaders to explain the campaign to them.
Tactic 4: Produce materials and distribute them. Put posters in at least 50 businesses. You can’t afford much, but you can afford 11x17 posters that the IFAS print shop produces for 7 cents apiece. Of course, you and your secretary can’t do this alone, so your committee helps distribute the posters and fliers.
Tactic 5: Sponsor a 4-H reading program where 4-H’ers read to younger children once every two weeks at the library (this ties into the new state 4-H service project and gets your 4-H’ers more in the public spotlight). Use this time to promote4-H to library attendees. Have your teen 4-H’ers put up fliers on the library bulletin board and ask the library if you can have teens on the sidewalk out front of the library an hour before the reading hour to invite participants. Make sure all the teens wear 4-H t-shirts so they are easily identified as 4-H members by the public.
Tactic 6: Do a short two paragraph blurb about 4-H and how to get involved (with youth members or as adult volunteers) with camera-ready logo that you can send to local community organizations who have newsletters and for inclusion in church newsletters and bulletins. Send to at least 5 organizations and 20 churches. Make sure you follow up with phone calls and send a thank you note to those who run it.
Tactic 7: For National 4-H Week, a donor to the 4-H program has purchased a half-page ad for you in the paper, and you use this to promote 4-H and 4-H involvement, spotlighting a variety of 4-H achievement and activities. (note that this is not listed under strategy 2 because news coverage and ad buys should not be related for ethical reasons)
Tactic 8: During National 4-H Week, do a resolution with the County Commission recognizing the many educational opportunities available to young people through 4-H.
Tactic 9: Participate in the local high school homecoming parade with a 4-H float.
Tactic 10: Participate in community festivals with a display or booth. Have a person dressed as a 4-H clover distribute information about 4-H in the festival area. Have fun games for kids at your booth so families stop. Even if it is only coloring or other things.
Strategy 2: Establish a relationship with the news media that is beneficial to the county 4-H program and informs more of the public about 4-H.
Audience: News media representatives (newspaper, radio, television, internet)
Tactic 1: Take your campaign committee and have a breakfast meeting at the newspaper. Meet with the news editor, the editor in chief, and any reporters he/she wants to include. Talk about what 4-H does in the community and how you can improve your relationship with the paper. Talk about your campaign to improve public awareness. Scheduling this meeting will hinge on the willingness of the editor in chief to arrange this and you may have to convince him/her that 4-H has many story opportunities of interest to the paper’s readers.
Tactic 2: Send at least two news releases per month to the local newspaper. Follow them up with a phone call from a 4-H’er. Call the reporters who write stories (only one per month typically) and send them a thank you note signed by your 4-H members.
Tactic 3: Send at least two photos per month to the local newspaper for inclusion in the community interest section. This will make your 4-H’ers feel proud, and it will also improve visibility of 4-H. The community interest section is the most-read section of the newspaper.
Tactic 4: For Groundhog Job Shadow Day, place five of your 4-H’ers with news media people in newspaper, radio and television so that they can learn about careers in the media and in the process of learning, share about 4-H with the media representatives that they meet.
Tactic 5: Take a group of your 4-H’ers on a tour of the local television station and radio stations. They learn about careers as well as how the news becomes the news and you build a better relationship with these two stations. Make sure you talk to the public affairs or community affairs managers at the stations about 4-H and any upcoming activities that might be of interest to their audiences.
Strategy 3: Connect 4-H with other youth-serving organizations in the community and position 4-H as active with these other organizations.
Tactic 1: Determine what connections exist. Call the other youth organizations and find out what type of forums exist for youth organization professionals to talk, share and collaborate. Sometimes this exists as a roundtable type of organization or as part of a county government task force. If no networking roundtable exists, then set up one.
Tactic 2: Attempt to collaborate on common projects if possible and publicize involvement. Since all of your organizations are national partners in National Youth Service Day (April) and USA Weekend Make a Difference Day (October) you plan to do service projects around these dates together and to issue combined press releases listing all of your organizations and activities for these dates. Even if the other organizations don’t want to work with you or are not planning events for these dates, you can organize a 4-H project for National Youth Service Day and issue your own press release about it, showing your 4-H program as part of a national event.
Tactic 3: Publicize other youth development news that is relevant and show 4-H as active related to youth development. The roundtable meets bimonthly and has an email listserve for communication. Periodically the roundtable can issue a press release. For example, when the Kids Count Data Book is released and when key studies are issued about young people.
Goal # 2: Recruit 10 new adult volunteers for the county 4-H program who will lead new 4-H clubs. Attract 10 additional new adult volunteers who will volunteer on a short-term basis (e.g. judging, office help, etc.)
Audience: adults who do not currently volunteer with 4-H.
Strategy 1: Inform more potential adult volunteers about 4-H. Focus on parents of children who may not yet be enrolled in 4-H with this strategy.
Tactic 1: Use the state 4-H volunteer recruitment campaign to get more adults involved. Follow up on the PSA release with your 4-H members and get the PSAs running on the local cable channel. Contact the newspaper about donating ad space.
Tactic 2: Speak to the PTA, as invited by the PTA president. Talk about the educational opportunities 4-H provides for young people and how it can enhance the school learning experience. Invite an outstanding 4-H alumnus from your community to speak with you and talk about what 4-H did for him/her.
Tactic 3: Distribute a press release about a parent who volunteers with 4-H and the impact 4-H has on family life.
Tactic 4: Produce a flier targeting parents about volunteering with 4-H. This can be distributed by the local PTA through its newsletter, local parents organizations, etc.
Strategy 2: Recruit 10 adults who are retired to volunteer with 4-H.
Audience: Retired adults living in your community who do not currently volunteer with 4-H.
Tactic 1: Produce a flier targeting retirees with benefits of volunteering with 4-H. Make sure you list opportunities that are short-term as well as long-term.Post the flier in areas frequented by retirees. Local coffee shops, women’s circles, libraries, retirement communities, etc.
Tactic 2: Highlight a 4-H volunteer in your program who is retired in a press release to the local newspaper. Nominate a 4-H volunteer who is retired for a “hidden heroes” article (regular feature article produced by the local paper to spotlight community volunteers who make a difference).
Strategy 3: Inform the general public about the merits of volunteering with 4-H.
Audience: General public in your community who do not currently volunteer with 4-H.
Tactic 1: Get a listing under “volunteer opportunities” for your 4-H program on the local cable television network.
Tactic 2: Get a listing for volunteers under a web site for volunteers (don’t do this if much of your community is still not active on the internet) to find opportunities, like or
Tactic 3: Explore options for recruiting more volunteers with the youth organizations roundtable. This is typically a problem for all youth organizations. Can the groups host a volunteer night together for recruitment which will benefit all of their organizations?
Tactic 4: Produce a brochure or flier about the benefits of volunteering with 4-H. Include pictures of youth and adults, quotes from current volunteers and a link to America’s Promise if wanted. Distribute this brochure to libraries, grocery stores, bookstores, businesses, churches and other places.
Tactic 5: Request more free brochures form the state 4-H office for volunteer recruitment. Distribute these at your county 4-H display. Take your display to at least three community festivals or volunteer outreach events per year.
Tactic 6: Send out at least six press releases (one per month) discussing the need for volunteers in the 4-H program. Tie into America’s Promise and the need for positive adult role models for youth.
Strategy 2: Highlight the benefits of volunteering with 4-H to the community and make your current volunteers feel proud of volunteering.
Audience: Primary audience are adults who do not currently volunteer with 4-H. Secondary audience is adults who do volunteer with 4-H (makes them feel good about volunteering).
Tactic 1: Try to get coverage in the news media about outstanding 4-H volunteers and make sure you mention the need for more volunteers to work with young people. Send out at least six press releases per year requesting volunteers. (these are the same releases referred to in theabove strategy).
Tactic 2: Recognize your 4-H volunteer of the year with a news release, signage in front of the extension office, or some other type of public acclamation.
Tactic 3: Launch a volunteer campaign during National Volunteer Week (April) and make sure you honor your county 4-H volunteers that week too. Use a heart theme—4-H loves its volunteers and its volunteers care about kids. Be a 4-H Volunteer today (it can also be fun to do this type of volunteer recruitment/recognition campaign around valentine’s day).
Tactic 4: Showcase a “mentoring story” to the community. Have a 4-H’er talk about the impact a positive adult volunteer has had on his/her life. This story can be typed up and put on a press release, placed on a display, or a web site.
Tactic 5: Collect quotes about why they volunteer with 4-H from current 4-H volunteers. Place these on your website and in brochures, fliers, displays, etc.
Tactic 6: Make sure your resolution with the county commission (mentioned above in a previous section) during National 4-H Week honors volunteers and their commitments to youth.
Goal # 3: Communicate effectively to 4-H youth, parents, and volunteers the activities in your 4-H program. Achieve an 85% satisfactory rating from these audiences when