The West Side Catholic Center Partners with Prosper for Purpose on $2 Million Capital Campaign
'Campaign for the Future' Raises Critical Funding for Services
Company Bio:
The West Side Catholic Center is a nonprofit organization on Cleveland’s west side assisting all who come in need of food, clothing, shelter, advocacy and a path to self-sufficiency.
Website:
wsccenter.org
Executive Summary
The board and Executive Director of the West Side Catholic Center sought assistance from Prosper for Purpose on a $2 million capital campaign to secure the organization’s future. The main objective was to engage donors, volunteers and other ‘friends’ of the WSCC and generate donations towards the campaign’s fundraising goal.
Challenges
In the nearly 40 years since its establishment, the WSCC has undergone few renovations and expansions to its physical spaces, though the need for its services continues to grow. The first capital campaign in nearly 20 years, the Campaign for the Future sought to raise funding needed for critical improvements to the physical spaces and increase programming, while also establishing an endowment to secure the future of the WSCC for generations to come.
How We Helped
Phase one required an internal assessment analysis, a revised case for support, selecting campaign chairs and champions, building the overall strategy and ultimately creating the capital campaign.
In phase two, Prosper for Purpose provided management services, marketing, and general support for the campaign, which included announcing the campaign to smaller donors, volunteers and other ‘friends’ of the West Side Catholic Center to generate $100,000 in donations towards the campaign's fundraising goal.
The specific brand development tactics employed by Prosper for Purpose included creating a campaign identity through logo, design and key messages as well as writing phone scripts, talking points and the campaign presentation.
Results and Future Plans
When the public phase ended, the campaign had raised more than $1.8 million toward its $2 million goal.
Elements of the design piece as well as copy were reused for other aspects of the Campaign for the Future, including newsletters, palm cards and posters. The brochure was repurposed to be an educational piece distributed to external stakeholders at meet and greets. Most importantly, the mailing has paved the way for conversations between volunteers and agency staff to move more volunteers to financially support the agency.
Public relations and marketing tactics included media and community outreach, social media engagement and a direct mail package while development tactics consisted of an assessment analysis, creating a campaign timeline as well as training and ongoing management of the campaign committee.
The direct mail piece also received a Gold Rocks Award from the Public Relations Society of America Greater Cleveland Chapter.
