Community Foundation of Greater New Britain Case Study

The Community Foundation of Greater New Britain was in the midst of an exciting transition period when they engaged our firm to develop a strategy that would help them bring their vision alive. The organization’s transition, spurred by new top leadership and several new staff members, included a name change, a new location, and a new logo – as well as the expansion of its service area to three additional towns.

AOMC’s approach was to embark on a strategic process to identify current perceptions of the Foundation and to clearly understand how the non-profit organization had been presenting itself to its market. The communications audit consisted of a three-step process that included a combination of staff/selected board member questionnaires, telephone interviews, a brainstorming session, and a review of the Foundation’s website and existing marketing materials. The results of the research were all pulled together to build a Marketing Communications Plan that reflected the Foundation’s goal of attracting new donors with emphasis on the three newest towns; to build relationships with professional advisors, and to correct a misperception of the Foundation as somewhat elitist.

The first step in the execution of the campaign was the creation of a new look for the Foundation’s marketing materials. Instead of putting the majority of their money into an expensive annual report, we counseled them to develop their first capabilities brochure, which shares their commitment to the community through six heartwarming beneficiary stories. This brochure was bound into a folder that holds a smaller, more modest annual report and a series of one-page inserts with information for their various audiences.

At the same time, our firm worked to raise the visibility of the Foundation through the traditional news media via press releases, scholarship photos and story pitches to the local media in every town they served. We also began work to update the website, create a simple, one-page e-newsletter, and create a series of ads designed to inform and educate the public about the Foundation and how it serves.

Summary of Results
Media pickups for the Foundation were on track to more than double the results for the previous year. At the same time, the number of visits to the Foundation’s website grew and in one quarter the site had 11,353 visits – 2,100 more visits than it did in the previous quarter. By the time our engagement with the Foundation ended, the staff reported that visibility was growing and as a result, they expected to bring in additional dollars in donations and more requests for grants.

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