Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.
This is what Street Sense does by providing economic opportunities to the homeless community in Washington, D.C.
As part of the Strategic Event Management class in Georgetown University’s master of professional studies in Public Relations and Corporate Communication, I was involved, along with six other students, in developing a sponsorship-building plan for Street Sense’s annual Gala. Street Sense is a nonprofit organization, initially born as a newspaper, that gives a voice to the homeless in Washington, D.C., and it is repositioning itself as full-channel media organization. The Street Sense 2015 Fall Gala, “Home Is Where the HeART Is,” represents for the organization an opportunity to showcase its new media initiatives, and prove to the public (and sponsors) how its artists can achieve economic stability while using their natural gifts and talents.
As most of my team, I truly cared about the issue of homelessness, and I had a chance to give back to the community. Street Sense fights a problem that affects the entire D.C. community, where all of us live, and it was in need of help to reach sponsors for their annual Gala, so this was a win-win opportunity for all of us.
According to an article by NPR, the District of Columbia ranks second in the U.S. for biggest percentage of discretionary income given to charity by typical households. However, Street Sense is located in a crowded market, as Washington D.C. is the leading hub for nonprofits. However, this positive trend makes it even harder for nonprofits to stand out from the crowd and attract donors and sponsors. According to the Nonprofit Finance Fund, in fact, 56 percent of America’s nonprofits could not meet their demands in 2013.
Street Sense wanted also to reach millennials as target audience at its annual Gala. According to an article by Nonprofit Hub, millennials care about issues, not organizations, and they want to see the direct impact of their efforts.
Street Sense has what it takes to reach sponsors and engage millennials: an inspiring mission and powerful storytellers. Therefore, we came up with tailored strategies and a personalized messaging platform for corporate sponsors and millennials. The word “engagement” resonates throughout our plan.
We had to be creative using limited resources to minimize the budget and external costs, which was sometimes a serious challenge. We also had to work on a tight schedule, having only four weeks to develop the plan, but we discovered how passion can make up for shortcomings. Working an average of five to ten hours a week on the project, we were able to gather as many strategies, creative materials and templates as possible, in order to make these plans actionable and, more importantly, sustainable.
Overall, we learned a lot from this project. We learned that there are a lot of nonprofits in the D.C. area looking for sponsors. There are also a lot of sponsors willing to support those organizations, but they need to prove that they are worth their investment with cohesive strategies, creative materials, digital engagement and targeted messaging. To distinguish themselves from the crowd, they need to emphasize the unique experiences their organization has to offer.
Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.
This is what we, Claire Bennet, Linda Barnhart, Derika Crowley, Karina Valverde, Candace Kent, LaWanda White and I aimed to do by developing this sponsorship-building plan for Street Sense.
Thank you to all my awesome teammates for insights and feedback!
