[stylist] Yet more PR writing stuff: backgrounder examples

[Bridgit Pollpeter]

Pasted and attached is info on what a backgrounder is, and how to draft
one. Following are two examples of backgrounders. One I wrote for my
internship, and the other is one I wrote for my chapter which is the
nonprofit I used for a final project, again receiving an A for my grade.

What is a backgrounder?
A backgrounder is an informative piece providing as its name implies
background on a specific issue. Backgrounders often accompany news
releases to provide additional information not found in the news release
or as part of a media kit.

What is the purpose of a backgrounder?
The object of a backgrounder is to answer any anticipated questions
about a particular subject. The more you can provide information up
front, the less scrambling you have to do when the media calls.  Well
written and detailed backgrounders help reporters decide whether to
cover the issue.

How do you write a backgrounder?
To write a backgrounder, you need to follow some basic guidelines:
.	Be accurate and informative. Don't exaggerate. Only write what
you can prove.
.	Start with a concise declarative statement on the subject or
topic.
.	Follow the opening statement with a historical overview. 
.	Trace the subject's evolution-how it came to be-and the events
leading up to it.
.	Use outside information as support and cite your statements
according to appropriate style guidelines of the target publication.
.	Explain why the subject is important TODAY. State its
significance and back that statement up.
.	Use subheads where appropriate for easier reading.

CONAGRA FOODS FOUNDATION
Bridgit Pollpeter, public relations intern
One ConAgra Drive
OMAHA, NE 68102
(402) 240-6258
Bridgit.pollpeter at conagrafoods.com
Backgrounder

ConAgra Foods Strives to End Child Hunger


ConAgra Inc. contributes funds and creative programming to assist
nonprofit organizations in an effort to help struggling families across
the globe.  With more than 17-million children suffering malnourishment,
ConAgra has taken a stance to fight these statistics. Stocking 97
percent of America's pantries, ConAgra Inc. believes it is important to
give back. For more information, visit,
http://www.conagrafoodsfoundation.org/.../nourish-today-flourish
-tomorrow.jsp.
ConAgra is one of the leading food retailers distributing products like
Healthy Choice, Hunt's and Orville Redenbacher's.  Many know and love
the delicious products ConAgra packages, but its supply of food reaches
beyond feeding America's consumers.

ConAgra's Nourish Today Flourish Tomorrow Foundation Program
ConAgra is dedicated to ending hunger and providing educational programs
that instill healthy eating habits for children.  Its Nourish Today
Flourish Tomorrow program focuses on developing philanthropic efforts
toward ending child hunger and enabling nutrition education programs,
according to the ConAgra website.  
Through the Nourish Today Flourish Tomorrow platform program, ConAgra is
committed to the following:
.	Building a passion in communities to end child hunger.
.	Ensuring children have the proper facts about health and
nutrition.
.	Raising awareness within families about nutrition.
ConAgra partners with national and local nonprofit foundations such as
Feeding America and Share Our Strength to create inovative methods to
enact change towards health and nutrition.  It also works to develop
educational opportunities within the local ConAgra family as well.

Share Our Strengths Partnership With ConAgra
Share Our Strengths' Cooking Matters Omaha is a program that provides
nutrition information along with cooking classes to teach people the
importance of healthy eating habits.  It is a groundbreaking
nutrition-education program that connects families with food by teaching
them how to prepare healthy, tasty meals on a limited budget, according
to its Facebook page.
"During the first class I attended, I was amazed by just how excited the
children were to help prepare the whole-wheat banana pancakes," said
Stephanie Childs, public affairs director for ConAgra Foods and Share
Our Strengths Cooking Matters Omaha participant.  "While the parents
seemed content to watch and listen, their children wanted nothing more
than to be in the thick of things, stirring, chopping and mixing."

Second Harvest's Partnership With ConAgra
ConAgra has also partnered with Second Harvest, an organization devoted
to funding food banks with food and money.  In August, ConAgra and
Second Harvest kicked off their Full Kids Full Potential campaign along
with High School Musical star, Monique Coleman.  Volunteers filled bags
with donated food to be distributed by the Los Angeles Regional Food
Bank.
The event spotlighted the distribution increase food banks are
experiencing nation wide.  The campaign is inspired by ConAgra's Nourish
Today Flourish Tomorrow program that reinforces feeding kids well so
they can reach their full potential, according to a news release by
Second Harvest.
Coleman designed exclusive Fight Childhood Hunger lunch bags, and the
bags were handed out to the first 500 volunteers to pack shopping bags
full of food products for the food bank.
"Kids are getting ready to head back to school and it's important to
ensure they have full stomachs with balanced meals they need to reach
their full potential," said Coleman.  "I hope our efforts today inspire
kids across the country to organize their own food drives to help hungry
kids."

ConAgra Helps Found Disaster Relief With American Red Cross
In 1998, ConAgra became a founding member of the Red Cross Annual
Disaster Giving program.  This program allows the Red Cross to tap into
immediate resources and respond quickly during emergency situations.
During the Haitian earthquakes last year, ConAgra donated $200,000 to
the Red Cross during an appearance on the Ellen DeGeneres Show.
"Because of the generosity of ConAgra Foods and other donors, people in
Haiti can get the short term relief they need in the aftermath of the
earthquake," said Jeff Towers, chief development officer of the American
Red Cross.  "A donation of just $25 will provide a family of five in
Haiti with a kitchen set that includes two cooking pots, a frying pan,
bowls, plates, cups and utensils."

ConAgra has established a legacy that instills the idea of charity in
communities around the world.  Through its own programs and those it
supports, ConAgra fights to stop child hunger, and in the process, it is
reinforcing healthy lifestyles in families.  ConAgra is bringing
awareness to the world through its philanthropic efforts.

 
Information taken from the following:
 "ConAgra Foods - Media Relations - News Release."
http://foundation.conagrafoods.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=202310&p=irol-newsArt
icle&ID=1008493&highlight=.
.	"ConAgra Foods Foundation - Facebook."
http://www.facebook.com/conagrafoodsfoundation.
.	"ConAgra FoodsR Foundation Joines the Ellen Degeneres Show to
Donate to the American Red Cross."
http://www.redcross.org/www.-files/../conagraellenRedCrossDonation.pdf.
.	"Actress Monique Coleman Joines America's Second Harvest and
ConAgra Foods Foundationto Pack Lunchbags for Hungry Kids."
http://www.feedingamerica.org/newsroom/press-releae.../monique-coleman.a
spx.
.	"ConAgra Foods Foundation."
http://www.conagrafoodsfoundation.org/.../nourish-today-flourish
-tomorrow.jsp.

As the philanthropic arm of ConAgra Foods, a leading food company, we
support worthy causes that reflect the company's social responsibility
efforts.  The key focus areas of our foundation are child hunger and
nutrition education.  We work to ensure children have access to both
food and facts about food to eat nutritiously, to live balanced
lifestyles, and to succeed in school and life.
National Federation of the Blind-Omaha 
Breaking Barriers for the Blind
Bridgit Pollpeter, director, media relations
PO Box 241171, Omaha, NE 68124
(402) 350-1735 Omaha at NE.NFB.org
Backgrounder
Breaking Barriers for the Blind
NFB-Omaha Works to Ensure Equality and Independence for all blind People

The National Federation of the Blind-Omaha chapter (NFB-Omaha) has spent
the last 40 years creating an environment of equality for the blind in
its community.  Through education, advocacy and fundraising events,
NFB-Omaha is changing what it means to be blind.

The NFB was founded in 1940 by Dr. Jacobus Tembroek and Dr. Kenneth
Jernigan.  For centuries, blind people were not afforded the same
opportunities as most sighted people.  Expectations were low, and blind
people were taught to accept perceived limitations.  The NFB was
established in an attempt to organize the blind to seek and define their
own opportunities.

The motto for the NFB is: "With proper training and a positive attitude,
blindness can be reduced to a mere physical inconvenience."  The NFB is
now the world's largest and oldest advocacy group of the blind.  An
integral aspect of the organization is that they are blind people
advocating for themselves.   

The NFB is a national group with state affiliates and local chapters.
Eventually, the organization developed divisions catering to specific
interest.  Founded in 1971, NFB-Omaha changed its name from the
Tri-County chapter to the NFB-Omaha chapter in the mid-1980s.

>From its inception, NFB-Omaha's priority has been to promote the
independence of the blind and seek equality.  During the early years of
NFB-Omaha, members focused their efforts on employment and the
restructuring of The Nebraska Commission for the Blind and Visually
Impaired (NCBVI).

White Cane Banquet
The NFB is relentless in demanding equality for the blind in employment.
In the early days of the organization, most doors were closed to blind
people because it was believed they could not efficiently manage the
task of most jobs.  Through educational outreach and legislation, the
NFB has helped to give blind people an equal foot to step ahead in the
world and pursue whatever employment they dreamed of.

Following suit, NFB-Omaha created its White Cane Banquet in 1988.  The
banquet concentrates on promoting the employment of the blind by
honoring local employers who hire blind people as well as providing
necessary accommodations.

Twenty-three years later, the White Cane Banquet is still an annual
event encouraging employment for the blind, but it is also the biggest
fundraising event for the chapter.  Funds raised go toward an academic
scholarship offered annually during the Nebraska affiliate's convention.
The chapter also offers programs cultivating independence among the
blind through various activities, both educational and social.

In 2009, the Board of Directors for NFB-Omaha decided to revamp the
White Cane Banquet.  While the banquet still recognizes local employers,
the main focus is on education.  Organizers select a theme each year
spotlighting an issue important to the group.  NFB-Omaha hopes to
develop more changes in an effort to establish the banquet as a
fundraiser instead of an outreach event.

Restructuring the Nebraska Commission for the Blind and Visually
Impaired
In the 1970s, NFB-Omaha was instrumental in restructuring the Nebraska
Services for the Blind, which is now the Nebraska Commission for the
Blind and Visually Impaired (NCBVI).

Initially, NCBVI concentrated on services to help people retain vision.
Knowing this was not a practical goal, the NFB worked with the state
government to develop a program that could offer services to those who
were unable to retain vision.


In 1974, due in large part to members of NFB-Omaha, NCBVI hired Dr.
James Nyman, who is blind himself, as director for the agency.  Dr.
Nyman sought the help of the Iowa Department for the Blind, and NCBVI
adopted the "Iowa Model," which focused on teaching alternative skills
such as Braille and white cane mobility along with instilling a
positive, independent attitude.

Many blind Nebraskans have experienced the positive results of these
modifications.  The Iowa Model employs the Structured Discovery method
developed by Dr. Jernigan who served as director for the Iowa Department
for the Blind from 1958 to 1971.  This method teaches fundamental skills
that can be applied to any situation.  The goal is complete confidence
and independence in oneself.

NFB-Omaha Today
As NFB-Omaha has grown, it has created committees to focus on specific
efforts.  The Outreach Committee works to promote the primary goal of
the organization, which is educating communities about the capabilities
of the blind and issues important to the NFB.  The Membership Committee
seeks new members and provides material about the organization and
blindness, which includes partnering veteran members with new members,
acting as mentors.  The Fundraising Committee focuses on events and
activities that bring in funding.  The White Cane Banquet Committee
works to coordinate the banquet each year.

NFB-Omaha strives to spend another 40 years fighting for equality and
educating about blindness.  Members of the chapter are involved in
different areas of the NFB as well as their communities.  Each step they
take breaks more barriers, allowing blind people to seek opportunities
in employment, education and personal life.
 
Information taken from the following:

http://www.nfb.org/

Vetter, Hank. April 16, 2011. (Email interview), w0egn at cox.net

Newman, Robert. April 16, 2011. (Email interview), newmanrl at cox.net

Sincerely,
Bridgit Kuenning-Pollpeter
Read my blog at:
http://blogs.livewellnebraska.com/author/bpollpeter/
 
"History is not what happened; history is what was written down."
The Expected One- Kathleen McGowan
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