ABSTRACT
A crucial component of civil society is the non-profit sector. A public relations (PR) contributes to the understanding of the role of non-profits in society by communicating the mission, values and aspirations of non-profits to the public, government and market. To achieve this PR needs to establish the legitimacy of non-profits as civil society's organized voice. PR promotes the effectiveness of non-profit provision to meet the need it has identified and provision it has created through enhanced entitlements. Salamon and Garton have summarised the main theories for non-profit sector growth from which this author has derived associated PR strategies. Salamon has characterised non-profit activity as potentially being pulled in different directions. PR strategies to promote greater voluntarism or civic activism may differ markedly to those promoting professional service delivery or social enterprise. Across the spectrum of non-profit activity there is evidence of values which reflect the ethos associated with civil society.
