Carrie Skuzeski

Principles of Public Relations

12-4-14

Public Relations Plan: Adelante Mujeres

Situation Analysis

Mission:

Adelante Mujeres is a nonprofit organization based in Forest Grove, Oregon. It was

founded in 2002 by Bridget Cooke and her sister Barbara Raymond. When working with other

organizations in the community, the two sisters observed that the Latina women did not take part

in programs that their husbands or fathers were taking part in. In order to empower these women

and encourage their involvement in the community and the pursuit of personal and professional

improvement, Cooke and Raymond founded Adelante Mujeres, which means “forward women”

in English. With immediate and strong feedback by Latina women, Adelante Mujeres has grown

rapidly over the past 12 years, helping and working with more than 1,400 families.

Adelante Mujeres works to provide “holistic education and empowerment opportunities

to low income Latina women and their families, in order to ensure full participation and active

leadership in the community.” They believe strongly in developing a healthy community,

supporting personal growth in all individuals, fostering awareness about the importance of

diversity and intercultural exchanges and living and farming sustainably in a manner that

respects the Earth. Beyond its focus on education, Adelante Mujeres has created various sectors

within their organization to better support the entire Latino population in the surrounding area.

Adelante Mujeres’ main programs include Adult Educación (Adult Education),

Agricultura (Agriculture), Chicas (Girls), Early Childhood Educación (Early Childhood

Education), Empresas (small business development), ESPERE (Escuela de Perdón y

Reconciliación (School of Forgiveness and Reconciliation)), and the Forest Grove Farmers

Market. All of these programs are targeted toward Latino people of all ages living near western

Washington County. Usually these Latino people are low-income immigrants. Anyone can

support Adelante Mujeres by donating money to the organization or dedicating time as a

volunteer. There are many volunteer positions available in each program. For example, the Adult

Educación program offers a position for a Computer Literacy Tutor, who assists participants with

building basic computer knowledge and skills. Although these positions are for volunteers only,

many can be set up as an internship or work-study opportunity.

External Environment:

Adelante Mujeres is part of the nonprofit organizations industry in the Pacific Northwest.

Specifically, it is part of the nonprofit industry that focuses on social justice and Latino

immigrants. Characteristics of the industry include small to medium sized organizations, limited

resources and dependence on grants, partnerships, sponsorships, donations and volunteers. Many

organizations in this industry reach people in smaller, rural areas and particularly low-income

Latino people.

All nonprofits depend on outside resources like the ones mentioned above, and Adelante

Mujeres must compete with other nonprofits in finding them. Even during periods of economic

stability, businesses and donors are strained to provide adequate support needed by nonprofits.

Since Adelante Mujeres is located in small city in a rural area, there are limited numbers of

residents or businesses in the community that are able to offer support. Therefore, an economic

factor that affects Adelante Mujeres is that outside people and groups are not always able to give

money and time to the organization. Since Forest Grove is a small, rural city, and the majority of

Washington County is rural, there is an even smaller economic base to provide for organizations

like Adelante Mujeres.

Adelante Mujeres receives a relatively large amount of financial assistance from the

government (Adelante Mujeres Financial Statements, 2013). Therefore, the government is an

external factor that carries a lot of weight with the state of the organization. If the government

chose to cut funding it gives to Adelante Mujeres it would likely create devastating problems for

the organization. In order for Adelante Mujeres to maintain the financial assistance, the

government must continue to consider that helping low income Latinos is an important endeavor

and include grants for organizations like Adelante Mujeres in its budget.

Adelante Mujeres is constantly monitoring and influenced by issues surrounding

immigration and Latino rights recurrently discussed in politics and the media. Any major

political decisions pertaining to immigrants affect the organization and industry as a whole.

Adelante Mujeres’ participants and the advocacy work that it engages in are contingent on

political circumstances. The direction that Latino rights move in the political sphere has a larger

influence on all other external factors, as politics inevitably shape governmental, cultural and

social conditions.

Cultural and social factors influence Adelante Mujeres and its industry also. Racism and

reluctance to support Latino immigrants are realities that organizations in this industry face, even

those in a relatively progressive region like the Pacific Northwest. There are many people in

Washington County who take conservative stances on issues such as immigration and Latino

rights. Many of those people do not agree with immigrants receiving support from the

government, community or other sources. They sometimes contend that there are Americans who

were born in the country that need such assistance and deserve it before immigrants. This could

impact Adelante Mujeres in the sense that it is not receiving direct support from these

individuals. But also because those people could spread negative publicity about Adelante

Mujeres and other organizations like it, hindering efforts to achieve a more open-minded culture

in Washington County and the U.S. In order to achieve one of Adelante Mujeres’ main goals,

which is to foster cultural acceptance and intercultural exchange, there must be a heightened

awareness of the importance of Latino rights, particularly in Washington County.

Service Analysis:

Adelante Mujeres’ competitors are other nonprofits, specifically those designed to help

low-income Latino families. There are other organizations that help Latino people in Oregon,

such as the Latino Community Association that operates in Central Oregon. However, besides

Adelante Mujeres, there are none in or close to Washington County that offer such a diverse

breadth of support to Latinos. This is one reason why Adelante Mujeres has been successful in

retaining such a large number of Latino participants in its programs. The most pressing

competitors of Adelante Mujeres are all type of nonprofit organizations and charities located

near to Washington County because each one requires donors and volunteers. Given that

Adelante Mujeres is located in a small, rural city, there are only so many local residents and

businesses that can dedicate money and time to volunteer. However, since Adelante Mujeres has

received many awards, such as the third best medium-sized nonprofit to work for in Oregon in

2011 and a lot of favorable attention from the media for positively impacting its participants and

community, it maintains a sound reputation and is trusted by its various publics (Oregon

Business, 2011). Therefore, because Adelante Mujeres is the only nonprofit offering such a

variety of programs and resources for Latinos in the Washington County area, and since it has

proven to be a considerably positive impact on the area, it is very strong and successful in

comparison to its competitors.

One threat to Adelante Mujeres is that it’s based in Forest Grove. Its location is not a

complete drawback because the population of Latinos in the area is high and having farmland

nearby is necessary for functions of its sustainable agriculture program. However, the small

general population of Forest Grove and its distance from major cities do present a threat. There

are not as many people who will come to events, pass by the office or see posters, to name a few

examples, in order to become aware of the organization and see donating or volunteering to it as

an option. Also, there are many participants that could benefit from Adelante Mujeres services,

such as those living in Hillsboro or Beaverton, but they live far enough away that traveling to

Forest Grove regularly isn’t doable.

Another threat is that, as a smaller nonprofit organization, Adelante Mujeres relies on

outside funds and resources to be constantly available in order to carry out the functions of its

programs. For all of its endeavors, Adelante Mujeres relies on grants, partnerships, sponsorships,

donations and volunteers. Applying for grants from the government and other institutions is

essential to find adequate financial assistance, but the chance that those grants aren’t bestowed to

the organization is a realistic and major threat. Many of the grants and donations given to

Adelante Mujeres are restricted, meaning that the funds are to be used for purposes specified by

the grant or donation provider. This is a threat because depending on the value of the funds and

how often they are given, Adelante Mujeres must adjust its budget and plans for its programs

(Adelante Mujeres Financial Statements, 2013). There are other outside resources that Adelante

Mujeres counts on receiving aside from financial aid. If members of the Forest Grove

community and others in the surrounding area did not dedicate their time as volunteers, Adelante

Mujeres would be hard pressed to achieve the goals of its programs. Adelante Mujeres also relies

on community members to attend its events such as the Forest Grove Farmers Market and the

Fiesta of Hope, the latter being an annual celebration of the achievements obtained by the

organization and its participants with auctions and other fundraising activities. Adelante Mujeres

depends on backing by local businesses and organizations in various ways. For example, the

Forest Grove Community Center allows participants of the Sabor Color program to use its

commercial kitchen to make food for their businesses. Also, a restaurant on the same street as the

Adelante Mujeres’ office volunteers to wash for free all of the dishes used by people at the

Forest Grove Farmers Market who buy meals at the food booths.

The lack of and the constant need for volunteers is also a threat for Adelante Mujeres.

Since it doesn’t have the funds to employ as many people as is ideal, each program relies on

volunteers to fulfill its goals. Adelante Mujeres does succeed in rallying some volunteers but,

because there are not enough, it places a great deal of stress on these volunteers. For example,

the Forest Grove Farmer’s Market has a high demand for volunteer support. Each week there are

volunteers who show up, but they are usually spread thin with the amount of work they are asked

to do. This stress is likely to drive them away and discourage them from urging others to

volunteering.

Therefore, finding more volunteers is also a notable opportunity for Adelante Mujeres. If

there were enough volunteers required for each occasion, it’s environment would be much more

efficient and relaxed. Meeting the goals of each program would be more doable and effective.

With more volunteers, Adelante Mujeres could expand its programs and create even more

opportunities for its Latino participants.

Another opportunity for Adelante Mujeres is to incorporate its participants in its

promotional efforts. Many of the participants’ lives have been dramatically influenced and

improved by the organization. These participants have many stories to tell about the way

Adelante Mujeres has benefited their lives. Such stories could be used as a powerful tool in

raising awareness about Adelante Mujeres and why it’s a nonprofit worth supporting. The

Adelante Mujeres website does feature a few statements from the Latino people it helps.

However, it should feature many more from a variety of individuals, on different platforms

besides it website and in new, creative ways.

One of Adelante Mujeres’ strengths is that it offers a unique selection of programs to its

participants, emphasizing independence and the pursuit of personal passions. It offers a resource

for Latinos that is unique to many others intended for them. Rather than only offering financial

aid or medical services, to name a few examples, it provides an opportunity for Latinos to be

self-sufficient. Participants gain knowledge and skills that will help them flourish professionally

and in all other aspects of life in the U.S. With the variety of classes and other opportunities

offered to Latinos of all ages, Adelante Mujeres does not impinge on any one individual’s pursuit

of passions or careers. Using this approach, Adelante Mujeres attempts to solve the root of the

problems that low income Latinos typically experience, such as not finding a job.

Another strength is the collaboration and partnership between Adelante Mujeres and the

Forest Grove and Hillsboro school districts. Adelante Mujeres’ overall mission to educate and

empower Latinos connects in many ways to the missions of these two school districts. The

Oregon Department of Education reports that just more than one half of Latino students graduate

high school (Adelante Mujeres Early Childhod Education, 2014). These school districts are

making efforts to change those patterns and provide assistance that Latino students need to be

successful. Programs at Adelante Mujeres also strive to improve the quality of education that

Latino students receive and to instill confidence within them to pursue their educational goals.

The two school districts work often with Adelante Mujeres in connecting students and their

families to the organization and in other ways.

An additional strength for Adelante Mujeres is that it has a strong and passionate

administration. Cooke and Raymond founded the organization because they were personally

moved by challenges faced by Latina women and the Latino community as a whole. As a small

organization, the two founders are able to ensure that every employee embraces its values and

philosophy. Also, many of the employees are from the local area and many are Latinos.

Therefore, there are many personal incentives for the entire organization to be dedicated to its

work. The employees are an important internal resource that can be drawn upon to ensure

success for its programs as well as the public relations plan that will be implemented. Another

internal resource that benefits Adelante Mujeres is that they employ Latino people, many of

which are past or current Adelante Mujeres Participants. For example, one woman is an assistant

for the Adelante Chicas program while she also participates in Sabor Color and as a vendor in

the Forest Grove Farmers Market.

Target Audience:

The target audience for the plan will be children and adults between the ages of 14 and 60

who live in or near to Washington County. They will be part of the middle or upper class. As the

goal of the campaign is to rally more volunteers, it is logical to target individuals living near to

Adelante Mujeres who will feel more inclined to help an organization close to home. Such a

wide range of ages is necessary because there are opportunities for young people to volunteer as

well as older people. Those who are part of the middle or upper classes are more likely to have

time and resources available to dedicate to Adelante Mujeres.

The target audience will be those concerned with social justice and Latino rights in

particular. They will be open-minded and culturally sensitive with curiosity to learn about and

interact with people from a different culture. They will embrace environmentally sustainable

practices and agree with progressive movements such as eating locally produced food. They are

passionate about their community and putting forth effort to improve it, not only for their benefit,

but also for the benefit of everyone living there.

The Plan

Goal:

To increase awareness about Adelante Mujeres and its programs and express need for

voluntary support in order to recruit more volunteers. This is the goal because Adelante Mujeres

depends on volunteers to successfully execute its programs and overall mission to improve the

lives of low-income Latinos. Although many people do volunteer for the organization on a

regular basis, it is often a struggle to find as many as is truly needed. It is necessary that new

people be convinced to start volunteering, while past volunteers be reminded that the

requirement of their help is ever present.

Objectives:

The first objective is to increase awareness about Adelante Mujeres and its need for

volunteers to the younger half of the target audience (ages 14 to 37) to increase the number of

younger volunteers from the previous year by 25%.

The second objective is to increase awareness about Adelante Mujeres and its need for

volunteers to the older half of the target audience (ages 38 to 60) to increase the number of older

volunteers from the previous year by 25%.

The plan will be guided by the social exchange theory, which holds that individuals and

groups consider the costs and benefits of any behavior before initiating it. It contends that people

intend to behave in a manner that will result with low costs and high benefits. The social

exchange theory will serve this plan, as all strategies and forms of communication distributed for

it should be created with the goal to indicate to audiences that the costs of volunteering for

Adelante Mujeres are relatively low while the benefits of doing so are high. As a volunteer, an

individual is cost time and energy. However, he or she gains the opportunity to serve the

community, positively impact a group of people in need and contribute to progressive

movements at work on a much larger scale than just Washington County. Also, a volunteer is

able meet and socialize with others, acquire skills and knowledge, gain work experience as an

intern or credit for work study (if set up as such with Adelante Mujeres) and enjoy the rewarding

feelings that come with devoting time to meaningful causes.

Strategies, Tactics and Evaluation:

Two strategies will be used to accomplish the first objective stated above. First, we will

conduct a social media campaign in order to increase awareness about Adelante Mujeres and its

need for volunteers to the younger half of the target audience. The campaign will run from

January 1, 2015 until the Forest Grove Farmer’s Market season commences in early May 2015 in

order to rally younger volunteers who are able to do work necessary for the market to thrive. A

social media campaign is an appropriate strategy because social media plays a dominant role in

the lives of young individuals. The likelihood that a member of the younger target audience will

see a message on social media platform is more probable than seeing that message in a

newspaper or hearing it on the radio, for example. The first tactic used to carry out the social

media campaign strategy will be to create an Instagram for Adelante Mujeres as it currently only

uses Facebook and Twitter. Instagram is increasing in popularity each day, and is heavily used

by those who also use Facebook and Twitter. In order to reach the most individuals with the

social media campaign, an Instgram must first be created.

The second tactic will be to establish a theme and purpose for the social media campaign.

Using the hashtag #adelantevolunteer, users of Facebook, Twitter and Instagram who have

previously volunteered for Adelante Mujeres will be encouraged to post photos of or testimonies

about the work they have done for the organization. Using the same hashtag, Adelante Mujeres

will post photos of volunteers with short written explanations, photos of Adelante Mujeres’

participants with text explaining why they appreciate those who volunteer and the personal

impact it has had on their lives and reminders about why Adelante Mujeres depends on

volunteers. The majority of these posts should have photos or video to increase the chances of

likes, shares, retweets and favorites. Providing a link to the volunteer page on its website in the

posts will also be valuable. Everything posted by Adelante Mujeres should integrate the

principles of the social exchange theory. For instance, the text that goes along with a picture of a

past volunteer should stress all of the positive outcomes that resulted from the person’s volunteer

work. Posts about participants should also include the positive impact that volunteers have, but

also something that subtly suggests that only minimal amounts of time or effort can make a

legitimate difference. The effectiveness of the social media campaign’s tactics will be evaluated

by counting the number of followers Adelante Mujeres gains on Instagram. The number of likes,

shares, retweets and favorites of content including the hashtag #adelantevolunteer across all three

social media platforms will also be counted.

The second strategy used to achieve the first objective will now be discussed. In order to

increase awareness about Adelante Mujeres and its need for volunteers to the younger half of the

target audience, controlled media will be given to local schools, colleges and organizations that

appeal to individuals within the targeted age range. In efforts to find new volunteers,

communicating directly to a place where a high number of the targeted audience congregates is a

plausible action. Some people in the younger target audience may not have the access to a smart

phone or may not have the permission to use social media. Also, a major incentive for

volunteering for Adelante Mujeres is that you may be able to count the volunteer hours toward

an internship or work-study credit. Those most likely to be interested in such incentives will be

students. The first tactic used to achieve this strategy will be to create a brochure. The brochure

will have photos and testimonies from Adelante Mujeres’ participants who have been positively

impacted by volunteers and will explain why volunteers are so important. It will also have photos

and testimonies of past volunteers explaining why they volunteered, what they gained in doing

so and why they want to encourage others to do the same. On the cover and toward the beginning

of the brochure, information about internships and work-study credit will be showcased. Also,

the hashtag #adelantevolunteer will be incorporated to achieve a more successful, synergetic

execution of the strategy.

The second tactic used will be to create a poster. This poster will include the same design

elements of the brochure so that it is obvious that the two deliver the same message. The poster

will not have as in-depth information as the brochure, but its design will be eye-catching and

visually appealing so to drive onlookers to pick up the brochure. Therefore, understandably so,

the posters should be hung in the locations where the brochures are distributed. The effectiveness

of these two tactics can only be measured by the number of brochures taken from the stacks

dispersed in the given locations.

Two strategies will also be used to accomplish the second objective stated above. The

first strategy will be to use uncontrolled media in order to increase awareness about Adelante

Mujeres and its need for volunteers to the older half of the target audience. The first tactic for

this strategy will be to write a press release that will be distributed to various media outlets in

Washington County such as the Hillsboro Argus, the Beaverton Valley Times and KPTV (FOX

12). The press release will include general information about Adelante Mujeres but not

exhaustively because many of these media outlets have reported on the organization before. The

press release will describe recent successes and positive progress Adelante Mujeres has achieved

and the current projects it’s working on. It will focus mainly on stressing the importance of

volunteers for the organization and how the progress its made stems for its volunteer’s help. The

press release will list multiple examples of specific and recent incidents when a volunteer’s

contribution made significant impacts on the organization and its participants. It will stress that

the need for more volunteers is significant and explain how those interested can become

involved. There will be descriptions of specific volunteer opportunities and the accentuation that

there are a variety of these opportunities appropriate for people of all ages and skill sets. The

final emphasis will be that volunteers can dedicate as little or as much time as they’d like but

even the smallest contributions translate to meaningful accomplishments. This is an example of

how the social exchange theory is guiding my plan. The press releases should also contain

information about a volunteer celebration that Adelante Mujeres will hold, which will be

discussed later in this report. This tactic will be evaluated by recording which media outlets run

stories about the press releases. Any reactions by consumers of these media outlets will also be

observed and recorded. An example of a reaction would be a comment left by a reader about a

story on one of the newspapers’ websites.

The second tactic will be to pitch a specific story to the Forest Grove News Times. It

makes sense to pitch a story to the Forest Grove News Times since they are the local paper and

will target individuals most likely to volunteer for Adelante Mujeres. It will not be necessary to

include background information about Adelante Mujeres because this newspaper has covered

stories about the organization multiple times. The pitch should discuss endeavors that Adelante

Mujeres are working on and what they are planning on working on in the near future. It should

emphasize the role volunteers have played in recent efforts, providing specific examples of how

they have contributed to positively impacting the Forest Grove community. The pitch should

explain that more volunteers are needed to more successfully carry out the work and goals of

Adelante Mujeres. It should underline the fact that it is very simple for Forest Grove residents to

volunteer and list the multiple types of volunteer work in which they could participate. Having

Latino participants explain why they appreciate the volunteers is an interesting angle a story

could take, and will be suggested in the pitch. Overall, it is important to stress in the pitch that

Adelante Mujeres is working to build a better community in Forest Grove and that they need

Forest Grove residents to help them achieve this goal. This tactic will be evaluated by noting

whether or not the Forest Grove News Times decides to run the story. If it does, the tactic will be

further evaluated by examining any comments about the story left by readers on the newspaper’s

website.

A celebration for past and potential volunteers will be held to increase awareness about

Adelante Mujeres and its need for volunteers to the older half of the target audience. Hosting a

volunteer celebration allows Adelante Mujeres to demonstrate its appreciation for all of the

volunteers who have contributed to the organization in a meaningful way. Also, it presents an

opportunity to convince potential volunteers to support the organization. The event will be held

at a winery that is willing to donate space and wine for guests. If needed, more than one winery

will be asked to donate wine. Other local businesses will be asked to contribute food for guests.

The first tactic for the event will be to promote it by sending emails to all previous volunteers,

posting it on the website and social media platforms and discussing it in the monthly newsletter.

Information about the event will be included in the press releases sent to various media outlets in

the area. Previous volunteers will be encouraged to invite and bring others to the event who have

not volunteered for Adelante Mujeres before. Obviously these people will need to 21 years of

age or older. An incentive for doing so will be that for each person they bring, a raffle ticket will

be entered into a drawing to win a case of wine donated by one of the local wineries that is

willing to do so. Information about this incentive will be clearly stated in all of the promotional

efforts for this event. In order to evaluate this tactic, all promotional messages will prompt

invitees to RSVP to the event. The number of people who RSVP and ask questions or comment

on the event via email or the various social media platforms will also be recorded.

The second tactic will be a speech delivered during the event by Cooke, the founder most

active in the organization, about how gracious Adelante Mujeres and its participants are for past

volunteers. She will explain the value volunteers truly have for the organization and why it needs

more volunteers in order to continue its success and expand its efforts. Since Cooke has close

personal relationships with many of the participants, it would be useful for her to disclose

moving stories about a few participants whose lives have been greatly impacted by volunteer

work. She will point out that there are volunteer opportunities for people of all walks of life, and

that even volunteering for a short amount of time is extremely beneficial. She will close the

speech by asking current volunteers to remain as important assets to Adelante Mujeres, by

encouraging potential volunteers at the event to dedicate their time and by asking all attendees to

spread the word that the organization is seeking more volunteers. This tactic will be difficult to

evaluate, however the reactions and overall demeanor of the crowd will be monitored as Cooke

gives her speech in order to estimate whether or not her speech is effective in inspiring attendees.

The fourth tactic will be to give attendees a coupon for a free meal from one of the food

vendors at the Forest Grove Farmers Market as they leave the event. This will be worthwhile

because, although guests may be inspired by activities during the celebration, once they leave

and return to their normal daily routines they may fail to recall why they were inspired to

volunteer. Hopefully attendees will save the coupon until market season commences just one

month later, that and every time they see it they will remember all that they learned at the event

and feel motivated to volunteer. Leaving one month between the event and the start of the market

is strategic so that attendees will have adequate time to ponder volunteering and be able to sign

up to volunteer at the market. This tactic will be evaluated by collecting the coupons from the

food vendors throughout the market season as they are used. Users will need to sign their name

on the coupon before they give it to the vendor. This way Adelante Mujeres can determine the

number of guests from the event who signed up to volunteer.

Works Cited

Adelante Mujeres. (n.d.). Adelantemujeres.org. Retrieved from http://www.adelantemujeres.org

Adelante Mujeres. (Adelante Mujeres1). (2014, June 12). Adelante Mujeres Early Childhood

Education (video file). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=mEwE1MuqG2A

Bottaini, Gallucci & O’Hanlon. (2013, Nov. 5). Adelante Mujeres Financial Statements. Bottaini,

Gallucci & O’Hanlon, P.C. Retrieved from http://www.adelantemujeres.org/storage/FY

%2012-13%20Financial%20Statements.pdf

Oregon Business. (2011, Sept. 22). 2011 List: 100 Best Nonprofits To Work For in Oregon.

Oregon Business.com. Retrieved from http://www.oregonbusiness.com/articles/104-

october-2011/5920-100-best-nonprofits?start=3