Case Studies
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Attracting New Donors
St. Ambrose Housing Aid Center, a well respected organization serving low-income residents of Baltimore for more than 40 years, wanted to expand its donor base. We agreed that one good way to catch the attention of those unfamiliar with St. Ambrose was to discuss what the organization does to solve major problems impacting everyone. Don Akchin Strategic Communication created a series of in-depth articles in newsletter format. The first discussed the origins of the foreclosure crisis and the work St. Ambrose was engaged in to help struggling homeowners; the second discussed the lack of good affordable housing and how St. Ambrose has been addressing it. The newsletters, mailed four weeks apart to a purchased list of 10,000 prospects, did not include a request for funds. They were followed by an end-of-year appeal letter. Results: The appeal letter produced $8,000 in donations from 58 new donors. Considering that the mailing went out in late fall 2008, in the depths of a severe recession, the client was quite pleased by the outcome.
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Attracting Sponsors
The Sandtown Habitat for Humanity needed a professional looking, yet inexpensive brochure to convince business and civic organizations to provide financial and volunteer support. The brickwork imagery is consistent with the group’s housing rehab projects and provides strong color to what could have been a dull brochure.
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Explaining the Impact
The Baltimore Collegetown Network is a consortium of 16 area colleges and universities that, together, account for more than 100,000 college students in the Baltimore area. The consortium hired two economic research firms to analyze the impact the higher education industry has on the area’s economy and its quality of life. Don Akchin Strategic Communications was hired to translate the results of these studies into a readable, engaging report that would capture the interest of media and opinion leaders. The report consisted of text, photographs and a series of colorful charts and graphs that made the major findings visually arresting. The report was announced at a press conference that received excellent media coverage.
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Increasing Awareness
The Bon Secours Spiritual Center, a retreat and conference center operated by the Sisters of Bon Secours, had not been growing enrollments for several years. The new executive director decided a livelier image would help set a tone to encourage awareness , attendance, and involvement. Don Akchin Strategic Communications was asked to convert the Center’s twice-annual, two-color schedule of classes into a four-color magazine format, with articles of interest to the prospective audience for workshops and retreats, and to act as its editor. Bridges continues to draw high praise from readers . It is an important tool of a total communications plan – including a redesigned website, active media relations, and email communications – that has fostered revenue growth while promoting both the Center programs and the mission of the Sisters of Bon Secours.
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