Communications Strategy
WELLSTAR FOUNDATION - BRAND OPTIMIZATION
Wellstar Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Wellstar Health System, focuses on building partnerships, collaborations and a sustainable pipeline of donors to help expand access to innovative, quality care for every person and community in Georgia. These efforts require inspiration and motivation to join be a part of something bigger — to dare to care big, not just for today, but for generations to come. Out of this idea, a new philanthropic brand for the Wellstar Foundation began to form, leveraging emotive, bold storytelling and visuals to help convey the weight of impact and our collective opportunity to realize potential. We also needed to simplify the way new and existing donors could engage in a compelling way, which led to an overhaul of the Wellstar Foundation’s website, direct response strategy, annual giving campaigns, and more. As the Executive Director, Foundation Strategy, Communications and Events, I led a team of internal and external experts to build and launch Wellstar Foundation’s “Dare to Care BIG” branding and a redesigned, optimized website in June 2023, as well as an aligned and expanded direct response strategy focused on donor acquisition and stewardship. In the 12 months post launch of new strategies and branding, direct response campaigns have driven a 70%+ YOY growth in dollars raised. Additionally, the new storytelling-focused brand initiatives and communications directly impacted fundraising event engagement, resulting in over $1.5 million raised through signature events — the highest amount raised through events to date.
Wellstar Foundation website optimization - foundation.wellstar.org
Storytelling: Impact Stories blog - https://foundation.wellstar.org/impact-stories/
Storytelling: Social Media - Example 1 - FY23 Impact Report; Example 2 - Giving Tuesday Facebook post; Example 3 - Wellstar Grand Gala Instagram post announcing $1.2M raised
Direct response strategy: Grateful Patient rolling acquisition campaign - Example 1 - print appeal (1 of 2 in campaign); Example 2 - digital appeal (1 of 4 in campaign)
The Junior League of Atlanta, Inc. - BRAND & Campaign alignments
The Junior League of Atlanta, Inc. (JLA) is part of the Association of Junior Leagues International (AJLI), and its members work to fulfill the organization’s mission of promoting voluntarism, developing the potential of women and improving communities through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers. JLA has a legacy of community impact that spans 105 years, and members are empowered to be part of that story within the League and the community. To help ensure brand continuity across all audiences, I led the Marketing & Communications team in re-designing and implementing brand elements that align with AJLI’s parent brand and can cross into campaign deliverables and routine communications. These brand re-alignment efforts will roll out ongoing throughout 2021-2023. The following are examples of brand continuity tools, resources, campaigns and deliverables.
JLA 105 Brand Guidelines - https://mailchi.mp/jlatlanta/105-brand (Mailchimp landing page)
Little Black Dress Initiative | 2021 Campaign - https://mailchi.mp/jlatlanta/lbdi2021 (Mailchimp landing page)
All Member email - https://mailchi.mp/jlatlanta/105-jlainsider-1050550
the homer fund - annual fundraising campaign
Associates at The Home Depot live by a set of values that define their actions as individuals and as a company. One of those values is Taking Care of Our People, and they show it through supporting The Homer Fund, the company's employee assistance charity. Since 1999, the Fund has given $165M+ in emergency assistance to 130,000+ associates of The Home Depot. It's supported financially through employee donations and has a 93 percent donation participation rate company-wide.
2018 Campaign Strategy & Internal Communications Plan - #ISupportTHF - PDF
2018 Campaign Assets Deck - messaging, visual assets, logos, infographics - PDF
Sample Email Communication - MailChimp
Campaign storytelling - “Support the Homer Fund” and “At The Home Depot, We Support Each Other”
team depot & Celebration of service - annual volunteer campaign
Our U.S. military veterans made the choice to serve us all. So, giving back and serving them is just the right thing to do. Year-round, Team Depot, The Home Depot's associate-led volunteer force, moves out of the aisles and into communities to give back to veterans and their families. The two-month campaign runs from 9/11 through Veterans Day and engages more than 25,000 associates through its volunteer call to action.
2016 Campaign Strategy, #SERVICESELFIE campaign & Internal Communications - PDF
Editorial Calendar Tracking - Excel Sheet
STORYTELLING & virtual reality
MEDIA MOMENTS
WELLSTAR FOUNDATION - PRESS RELEASE FOR 25TH ANNIVERSARY GALA FUNDRAISER
Wellstar raises a record-setting $1.2 million to meet the critical needs of women in GeorgiaGRANT ANNOUNCEMENT - BEHAVIORAL HEALTH FUNDING THROUGH SAMHSA
Wellstar Foundation receIves SAMHSA award to expand the Zero Suicide at Wellstar ProgramTODAY SHOW - SURPRISE & DELIGHT IMPACT STORY
Wounded veteran gets surprise backyard makeover: 'I had to pinch myself’‘GEORGE TO THE RESCUE’ - NEWS STORY ON THE HOME DEPOT’S DIGITAL NEWSROOM
A renovation beyond expectations: Team Depot and ‘George to the Rescue’ join forcesTHE HOMER FUND - NEWS STORY ON THE HOME DEPOT’S DIGITAL NEWSROOM
Helping a home depot dad overcome hardshipDISASTER RESPONSE - NEWS STORY ON THE HOME DEPOT’S DIGITAL NEWSROOM
After Irma: Associates rebuild their homes and lives
Graphic design
Social MediA strategy
Emory Healthcare’s LinkedIn handle is one of three social media handles dedicated to recruitment and employee engagement efforts.
With a focus on storytelling, recognition, opportunity, these channels exist to help retain and recruit health care staff in a hard-to-fill market.
The Junior League of Atlanta @jlatlanta social media channels showcase a mix of community impact, member stories, advocacy, donor recognition and community partnerships.
Channels are managed by The Junior League of Atlanta’s (JLA) member volunteers who are training in real-time and learning the ins-and-outs of storytelling, content development and social media marketing.
Social media ads and boosted posts garnered 55K impressions during a four-week recruitment campaign in 2021 (150%+ increase over previous campaign)
ROI spans membership recruitment, donor stewardship, fundraising, advocacy and community impact, aligning to strategic initiatives.
The COVID-19 pandemic ushered in a new digital age for all demographics. Leveraging streaming channels such as YouTube allowed The Junior League of Atlanta to engage membership and continue partnering with community organizations.
The #ServiceSelfie social impact campaign encouraged 175,000+ mentions & engagements in 2015 & 2016. In response, The Home Depot Foundation donated $1.5 MILLION to nonprofit organizations.
The hashtag lives on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
The @HomerFund Twitter handle is designed to engage, educate and encourage associates into action by making a donation.
In less than two months, @HomerFund gained 2,700+ followers, and almost 10,000+ posts including the campaign hashtag #ISupportTHF.