NC PRSA’s PR for Good Team – Making a Lasting Impact

In early 2023, Kiersten Wolf Williams, Chair-elect of PRSA Southeast District and NCPRSA member, envisioned the PR for Good team. She rallied a dedicated group of NCPRSA members to volunteer their expertise for Gabi’s, a local nonprofit that employs people with disabilities. “It was a labor of love. What we do as PR professionals is magic to these nonprofits, and now more than ever, they need to be able to effectively communicate and market themselves,” Kiersten shared.

Over the course of a year, the team significantly boosted Gabi’s visibility in the community, attracting donors, volunteers, and new business through strategic efforts such as:

  • Award submissions
  • Newsletter articles
  • Speaking opportunities
  • Media relations

Midway through their work with Gabi’s, Kristy Fair Ballentine, another NCPRSA member, joined the team. Recognizing the potential to expand their impact, Kristy helped formalize PR for Good’s mission: to empower those who do the most good to do even more. Together, Kiersten and Kristy developed a framework for biannual sessions, selecting nonprofits to support. Since then, the PR for Good team has assisted various organizations, from those addressing affordable living and childhood cancer to women facing homelessness. “Our goal is to leave these organizations better than we found them,” Kristy said. “And I’m humbled and proud to say we have.”

Highlights of the Team’s Work

The Women’s Center

In 2025, the team collaborated with The Women’s Center to create a comprehensive PR roadmap, including:

  • Messaging
  • Content calendar with ideas for owned and earned content
  • On-site filming for a b-roll and soundbite library
  • Media theme library
  • Targeted media list
  • Press release template, boilerplate, and ready-to-send press releases
  • Targeted award list for submissions

Hear from Amy Smith, Executive Director of The Women’s Center, about their experience with PR for Good.

Listen
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Zach’s Toy Chest

In 2024, Zach’s Toy Chest sought the PR for Good team’s help to create key deliverables for their audience. The team crafted:

  • Messaging
  • Designed PowerPoint presentation
  • Fact Sheet
  • Award submission

These materials were presented for the first time by founder Holly Schwab at the NCPRSA Annual Conference.

“Working with the PR for Good team has been an incredibly rewarding and impactful experience. They helped us craft clear, compelling key messaging and provided foundational documents that our board and I reference regularly. Their expertise has made it so much easier for us to confidently communicate who we are, what we do, and why it matters.

We’re especially grateful for their support in creating materials that will continue to serve us well, like the PowerPoint presentation for speaking engagements and the updated one-pager that highlights our mission, milestones, and vision for the future. These tools have already proven invaluable as we grow and engage more supporters.

Thank you to each member for your time, talent, and heart. Your work has made a lasting difference for Zach’s Toy Chest, and we’re so appreciative,” said Holly Schwab, Founder and Executive Director, Zach’s Toy Chest.

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Gabi’s Powered by Special Abilities

  • Managed outreach and publicity for annual Gabi’s Ghostly Gala event (Halloween)
  • Produced social media content and established a cadence for posting with execution
  • Created awards strategy with multiple wins
  • Developed scripts for Gabi’s speaking engagement with attention to accessibility
  • Provided strategic direction for news announcements, drafted all content

Managed marketing program and digital content

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 WakeUp Wake County

  • Reviewed existing messaging and provided strategic communications recommendations
  • Crafted messaging
  • Conducted a content audit for digital assets
  • Created content calendar
  • Drafted pitch narratives for use in media relations and donor relations initiatives
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