Done and dusted

Last week I officially finished my internship, and what a great learning experience it has been. It has been great to do hands-on PR stuff but also analytical projects as well.

In my last days my main focus was tackling grants, an essential funding source for this not-for-profit, and one that the staff had not had much time to look at this year. I spent much time researching suitable targets and then prepared a generic template, to be later used to tailor to specific funding appeals and to specific potential donors. It was very interesting examining the multidude of private foundation guidleines and corporate sponsorship policies to find out what they were looking to fund to indicate what would be the provide the best chance of securing funding. It was disheartening to come across many groups that would only fund not-for-profits on the eastern seaboard. However, I did manage to complete a couple of fully prepared proposals to my supervisor which were then sent off; unfortunately the results will not be known for many weeks, maybe not even this year due to the excruciatingly slow approval process in place at many philanthropic organisations. It would have been good to get some closure on the work I did in this area, and also potential for feedback in case of rejection.

Upon hearing the sad news about the death of Paul Newman, I was given the task of drafting a letter to his Foundation in the US as they have provided generous support to the Centre over a long period time. This was then approved by the CEO and promptly mailed, as they are an important donor. It really highlighted to me the importance of nurturing these relationships as the Centre generally requests funding in large amounts but infrequently, so it can be challenging to maintain close communication over long time periods.

I also helped prepare the Christas appeal letter, in particular the graphics. Working with the photographer at his studio choosing the best shots and manipulating them was fun, especially since I didn't have to work directly with the 'talent' (a small child). If that final photo doesn't make you want to give us your hard earned then you have no heart.

I am very grateful for having the oppurtunity to learn from the great experienced team at TSH, and for letting me have a go at every aspect of the PR and marketing activities in the time I was there. The biggest benefit of working at a not-for-profit is that they do everything themselves so you can learn alot.

Hope everyone's internships also went well.

The End.