STCO 487
CLIENT SELECTION RULES
Listed below are the requirements for selecting a local, nonprofit client organization for this
term’s project. Regarding the client selection process, students in this course agree to follow all
rules in this document. Ask the course instructor before you contact a prospective client if you
have questions about whether an organization fits the qualifications noted in this document. A
client interview is required.
The client you select and the audiences with whom the client works must fit the Liberty Way .
Review the university policy prior to seeking a client.
1. This course requires you to select a local, nonprofit organization that is willing to work with
you this term to develop a strategic communication plan book. Ensure the client knows you
will not be producing deliverables such as videos, social media posts, brochures, ads, etc.
Rather, you will be researching and writing a plan that has background information, audience
segmentation, goals and objectives, ways to communicate, an implementation schedule, and
methods to evaluate the objectives you will establish.
2. The instructor of this course reserves the right to require that a student locates a different
client if the organization does not meet all requirements listed in the Client Selection Rules.
3. Only certain types of nonprofit organizations are permissible as clients for this course. You
are not allowed to select a for-profit company. The organization must be based in your
location. Conduct research about an organization before selecting it. Your client must be one
of the following:
Your church.
Rescue mission.
Nonprofit Christian organization based in your town. It cannot have more than one office
in the U.S. The organization cannot have offices or work in another country.
Biblically-based women's center.
Local Christian mission organization that is based in your town. It must have only one
office and work with a segment of the population in the U.S. Having a target audience
outside the U.S. as the focus of your plan book would require specific expertise and
research time about that audience and their use of communication tactics.
Noncommercial Christian radio station that has its main studio in your town. The station
cannot be owned by a large company or organization that has multiple stations.
Local prayer organization that is not a branch of a larger organization.
Local community orchestra that has only part-time musicians. These organizations will
have only two or three paid staff members and rely on volunteers for most of their efforts.
Local humane society. The organization cannot have more than one facility, and it cannot
have a communication or marketing person.
Local food bank that has only one facility and is not affiliated with or a branch of a large
organization.
An outreach or ministry of your church.
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STCO 487
Biblically-based community theatre organization
4. Do not select a local branch of a large national or international organization. A branch office
is still part of a larger entity. Those organizations already have communications protocols.
5. You are not permitted to select an organization with one or more of the following
characteristics:
a. Large number of employees
b. Based outside the U.S.
c. Has an international presence
d. Has multiple offices or branches/locations in the U.S.
6. The client’s primary or target audience(s) must be at least 18 years old. Do not include plans
to communicate directly with any segment under age 18. Communicating with individuals
under that age is difficult.
7. Your client cannot be a friend, relative, another student, a company or organization you
started, or an organization or company where you have worked (or work now) or have held
an internship.
8. The client interview does not need to be conducted in a face-to-face meeting for the client
prospectus assignment. However, you must at least conduct a virtual interview (e.g., phone
call). If you want to record any conversations, you must ask permission of the person you are
interviewing before the meeting. You are not allowed to send questions through email and
ask the client to answer the questions.
9. Do not select a client that already seems to be in good shape for its communication, such as
an organization that has a PR, marketing or communication individual or department.
a. Ask your proposed client if the organization or company already has an existing
communication plan.
b. For the tactics assignment around the mid-point of this term, you must provide
original communication ideas that you have researched. You are not allowed to
suggest a remake of any tactics currently used by the client.
10. Your contact at the client organization must be someone who has permission to work with
you and is allowed to provide information during the client interview. Those individuals are
often managers, directors or owners. Do not simply select someone who interned or who is
now interning at the organization. The contact must be a regular employee of management
level or someone the organization has given permission to be your contact.
11. Due to assignment deadlines, you are not permitted to change your client after your primary
contact and the organization commits to the project. Discuss this project with the client and
obtain approval prior to submitting the prospectus.
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