When Opportunity International, a non-profit organization came to me in 1999, they had been in existence for nearly 30 years, rendering great humanitarian service in the developing world. Yet, they were one of the world’s best-kept secrets, and the service they provided – microfinance – empowering poor men and women with low-interest business loans and training in basic business practices, which enabled them to become self-employed and freed from hunger and destitution, was virtually unheard-of by the media or the American public when I launched the campaign.
There are a wide variety of strategies I employ on behalf of clients, depending upon the nature of their services, products or issues. For Opportunity International, I determined that the Op-Ed piece – the commentary articles which appear in major newspapers – was a powerful communications tool for this client. Not only would the appearance of an Op-Ed have an immediate impact upon a publication’s readership. As thought pieces, the “reprint value” had perhaps even greater impact by leveraging the support of existing and potential donors and opinion leaders.
In the four years I represented OI, I conceived, ghost-wrote and placed a large number of Op-Eds in major newspapers, and generated as well important stories about this NGO’s work in newspapers and magazines. Virtually all of the Op-Eds were written on behalf of the two Chief Executive Officers I worked for during my tenure with Opportunity.
Not only did these placements generate significant donor support - they became the seeds for future major donor support, even after my tenure had elapsed.
The first Op-Ed listed, “Redeeming the Lives of the World’s Poorest Children,” was co-by-lined by television legend Art Linkletter, an acquaintance of mine and who I approached and who consented to enjoin his name with the CEO’s. Such notables as General Claudia Kennedy (the highest ranking woman in the U.S.Army) [“Creating Wealth at Grass-Roots Level”], Jack Kemp [“Compassionate Capitalism”] and famed television evangelist Rev. Robert Schuller [“Small Loans Pay Off”], also participated in Op-Eds written for them and Opportunity’s CEO.
Here is the list of placements ghost-written for the CEOs, along with other placement in major newspapers:
Redeeming the Lives of the World’s Poorest Children, San-Diego Union-Tribune,
Creating wealth at grass-roots level, Seattle Post-Intelligencer,
Compassionate capitalism, The Washington Times,
Nike helps empower the poor, The Oregonian,
Entrepreneur un-retires to head up micro-loan program, San Diego Business Journal,
Overcoming the “Poverty of Dignity” with Microfinance, Monday Developments,
Giving a Lift, San Diego Magazine, April, 2003
Battling AIDS with trust, Chicago Tribune,
More than a public relations payoff, San Jose Mercury News,
The Payoff from Charitable Giving, Seattle Post-Intelligencer,
Loans Ease Third World Poverty, Chicago Sun-Times,
Aiding Mexico’s Poor with Microcredit, San Diego Union-Tribune,
Program Recycles Trash Into Opportunity, Wall Street Journal,
Poverty is Root Problem, The Chicago Sun-Times,
Fighting for the Poor with Microenterprise Development, Assembly, West Point Academy Association of Graduates Magazine, June-July, 2001
Giving Credit Where Credit is Due, The Baltimore Sun,
Saving the Planet — and Its Inhabitants, The Chicago Sun-Times,
Microloans Yield Macro Help for World’s Poor, The Palm Beach Daily News,
JFK and Jesse, Review and Outlook, The Wall Street Journal,
Microenterprise: A Better Day for a Better World, Research News, January 2001
Small loans pay off, The Wall Street Journal (Europe Edition),
Small loans can battle AIDS scourge in Africa, Chicago Sun Times,
Microcredit for the Poor, Time Magazine,
Microcredit: ending poverty on our planet . . . one poor person at a time, Vital Speeches of the Day,
To fight global poverty, start at the grassroots, The Chronicle of Philanthropy, June 2000
Ministry makes small donations go a long way, Colorado Christian Chronicle, March 2000
Small Loans with Big Impact, Chicago Sun Times, December 1999
Building Blocks, Harvard International Review, Winter 1998/1999
Loans for Life, The Rotarian, November 1999 Aiming at a global gap with micro-credit, The Journal of Commerce, August 1999
Time Banks Gave Micro-Credit to the Poor, The Financial Times, August 1999
Little Loans go a Long Way in Third World, Chicago Tribune,
Loans to the World’s Poor Can Enrich Everyone, International Herald Tribune,
Oak Brook Agency Execs See Tragedy in Honduras, Chicago Tribune,
Hey Big Lender, Lend a Little Sum to Me, Financial Times,
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