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Michael MacClanathan MSCM 347: Principles of Public Relations Final Project 2/4/13 Final Project Campaign Plan: Kirk Spencer Foundation Situation Analysis

Mission: The Kirk Spencer Foundation is a non-profit organization that is determined to educate and create awareness of sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) and the lives that can be saved with the proper use of an AED defibrillator. Kirk Spencer was a very important man to the West Linn community. He was involved with the wrestling program and a lover father and husband. Kirk passed away after suffering from sudden cardiac arrest while he was working out at the gym. This gym did not have an AED unit on site which could have saved his life. The Kirk Spencer foundation strides to make great progress in providing community centers with AED units in the Portland area and hopefully all over Oregon. To do this, the foundation does a variety of community events to raise money that goes directly to the purchase of new defibrillator units while raising the awareness of cardiac arrest. The foundation states Because Sudden Cardiac Arrest can impact any person, of any health, and at any age, we started by helping place defibrillators in all of the public schools in the West Linn / Wilsonville school district, and now champion similar efforts in public schools, sports facilities and offices throughout the region (About KSF) Since the Kirk Spencer Foundation was created, KSF has helped with the placement of AEDs in every public school within the West Linn/Wilsonville School District. Also in 2005, KSF also helped pass legislation (HB 3482 / The Kirk Spencer

Memorial Act) that now requires all Oregon fitness facilities with 100 or more members to have an AED defibrillator on site for emergency situations (About KFS). Unfortunately, because of loss of sponsors and lack of funding, the foundation has been unable to hold events such as the annual Kirk Spencer 5k Fun Run/Walk that would potentially raises funding and relationships with new supporters. The loss of funding is mainly due to the lack of supporters and donations. With the loss of supporters, comes a loss of sponsors as well. Though the foundation is unable to continue the event, the KFS is very committed to being involved in the West Linn community with activities and athletic competitions. The overall mission of the Kirk Spencer Foundation is committed to educating Oregonians about Sudden Cardiac Arrest and the many lives that can be saved with the proper use of an AED defibrillator unit. Through individual education, community events, and legislative action, we already have made great strides in promoting defibrillator placement in public facilities, but we need to do more (About KSF).

External Environment: As one of the very few organizations in Oregon that raise money and educate the public on the effects of Sudden Cardiac Arrest, the Kirk Spencer Foundation attempts to reach as many people as possible within the West Linn Community through fundraising events and athletic competitions. Sudden Cardiac Arrest is a leading cause of death in the United States, accounting for an estimated 325,000 deaths each year. It kills 1,000 people a day or one person every two minutes (SCA key facts). With the increasing rate of death caused by SCA there is a need for defibrillator units throughout the communities in the Portland area. As more defibrillator units

are places throughout the schools, community centers and sporting facilities; the amount of people killed by SCA will decrease with proper use of these defibrillators. The characteristics that describe the operation of the Kirk Spencer Foundation are cultural and connected. The people of the West Linn community are bounded by friends and family that work together to support each other. Because of that, many people within the community are well connected to not only other families within the community, but other communities around Oregon. There are many external factors that affect the organization in a significant way. The first external factor that affects the Kirk Spencer Foundation in a positive way is Community. Kirk Spencer was a man known by the whole community of West Linn and was well respected. With the variety of sporting Competitions held in West Linn, the community is much supportive of their own peers. Many people of the West Linn community where close friends to the Spencer family and have been affected by the loss of Kirk. Also, West Linn sports programs, such as wrestling and football, had been greatly impacted by the presence of Kirk Spencer and continue to remind young athletes about the impact Kirk had on the sports department. Another external environment that negatively affects the organization is economical. For the last five year the economy shifts have had a negative impact on families with regard to house hold income. More and more people are thinking twice about when and what they spend their money on. This has made it difficult for fundraising within several organizations within the West Linn community. Youth programs such as football and wrestling have taken a negative hit from budget cuts and lack of fundraising making it even more difficult for nonprofit organizations to

raise enough funds to effectively cause a positive impact within the community. This has also caused a loss of sponsors.

Business Analysis: There are many other organizations that operate on a more global scaling that provide the same types of services as the Kirk Spencer Foundation. The Sudden Cardiac Arrest Association is a nonprofit organization that focuses on the prevention of future sudden cardiac arrest problems. The organizations main focus is to identify and unite survivors, those at risk of sudden cardiac arrest, as well as others who are interested in being advocates on SCAA issues in their communities and communities all over. SCAA is one of the largest and most successful sudden
cardiac arrest organizations in the United States today.

One internal threat that has a large impact on the organization is the lack of sponsorships. SCAA has over 20 different sponsors from across the country that provides exception funding for the organization ("SCAA | About Us."). The Kirk Spencer Foundation has been negatively affected great from loss of sponsors. These sponsors involved not only fund the SCAA, but they allow a wide network of people in the medical industry. The Kirk Spencer Foundations determination to be involved with the communities in Portland increase their chances of have an effect on a large audience. Not only does the organization educates the community, but also recognizes those who make a positive impact on and off the field. The Kirk Spencer scholarship is presented annually at West Linn high school to those who not only work hard in football or wresting, but who are team players within the community. This supports the organizations mission to create a safer and more peaceful

environment to live in. Buy supporting and recognizing the community for their positive impact on the lives of other, they return the same support from those whom they support.

Target Audience: Sudden cardiac arrest is the leading killer among young athletes today. Out of the 325,000 that are killed from SCA a year, most are leaving behind their families. The death of Kirk Spencer had quite the impact on the community, but it had an even greater impact on his wife and two young daughters. The public that needs to be communicated with are parents from the ages of 30 to 50 years old who live in the West Linn community. These are parents that have children who play sports at a junior high to the high school level. This is the audience that will most likely attend high school and middle school athletic competitions. Since sudden cardiac arrest is another leading cause of death for athletes (Heart Rescue Now), this target audience will have more of a reason to learn more about what SCA is and how they can contribute in a positive way. Relevant opinion leaders include the high school athletic director, West Linn High School coaches and teachers of the West Linn community. Coaches can play a huge role in teaching young athletes about sudden cardiac. This will hopefully create awareness of SCA and the athletes can pass that information on to their families. Teachers can play an equally important role in teaching students what to do in an emergency situation if SCA were to ever occur in their presence.

The Plan The Goal: To increase funding for the Kirk Spencer Foundation, specifically to strengthen and create relationships between the organization and supporters that will eventually lead to financial support. This goal allows the foundation to continue further event that will help the foundation successfully reach their goal of distributing defibrillator units throughout the communities in the Portland area. With proper funding, the foundation will be able to hold large event that will not only attract new supporters but possibly new sponsors. Objective 1: The first objective to rise funding for the foundation is to use controlled sporting events at the high school level to raise $100,000. These sporting events will attract the proper target audience that is trying to be reached in this campaign. There are many different reasons that this amount was chosen. Receiving an amount such as this, it would make a substantial impact on what the foundation can do as far as purchasing more defibrillator units and funding more events that would potentially bring in more money for the foundation. There are several different sporting event held at West Linn high school each year. There are an estimated 3,000 people that addend the West Linn high school football games. Many that attend these football games either have family members who are involved with the football team and have children that play in the youth league. There is also an estimated 100 to 300 people who attend the wrestling and basketball games. Raising money at these types of events expands the target audience to not only the people of the West Linn communities, but also to the opponent schools from other cities.

Strategy 1: West Linn High School holds an annual Kirk Spencer Wrestling tournament in honor of Kirk Spencer and his contributions to the wresting league. At this tournament, there are 4 different teams that compete in a tournament style bracket. Profits from this tournament go directly to the school. For this event, the tournament will be held by the foundation and there will be about 8 to 10 different teams invited to compete. The tournament would go on for two days. There are 14 different weight classes and each team brings two wrestlers from every weight class. There are about 224 wrestlers at this tournament not including the family members that attend the wrestling event. With 224 wrestlers competing, assuming there are at least two family members for each wrestler, there would be an estimated 448 in attendance to this wrestling tournament. This does not include community members who attend to watch a good competition. The first tactic would be to use 50% of the ticket profit to go directly to funds for the foundation. The other 50% of the profit would go to the school for facility use and concessions. This would allow the foundation to reach a large audience from different parts of the state. The charging rate of the tournament would range from $10 to $15 depending on age. This price would be for those attending both days of the tournament. There would also be a small fee for each team to be involved with the tournament which would go directly to the foundation and the school. The reason for splitting the profits 50/50 is because the foundation would bring in a larger audience that would initially profit both the school and the foundation. Wrestling tournaments are a great way of improving rankings among wrestlers. Because of this, more teams will want to join the tournament and will pay the small team fee to do so.

The second tactic would be to set up a couple of information booths around the tournament. At these information booths, there will be Kirk Spencer Wrestling Tournament Tshirts available for purchase. Profits from these T-shirts would go directly to the Kirk Spencer foundation. In addition to the T-shirts, there will also be a separate station where spectators can donate money to the organization. There will be broachers that clearly explain what sudden cardiac arrest is and what the foundation is trying to accomplish while raising money. The Oregon Classic wrestling tournament is one of Oregons most popular annual tournaments hosting over 20 different schools. During the two days of wrestling, the tournament brings in an income of $25,000 to $99,999. The asset amount accounts for about $4,672 (Oregon Wrestling Classic).

Strategy 2: The second strategy would be to have a fund raising event at one of the West Linn Friday night football games. On average, a Friday night football game attracts roughly around 3,000 people. Most of which have strong connections to other families of the community. Kirk Spencer was a West Linn high school football alumnus and many who played with him attend the Friday night football games. This is great for a fundraiser because of so many people have an emotional connection with Kirk Spencer and the foundation made in his honor. This would also be a great opportunity for one of the foundation board members to speak at halftime to all those attending the game. This allows the Kirk Spencer Foundation to communicate with a large audience while raising money.

One tactic that would be used at this football game would be some sort of raffle. There will be different booths set up around the football with information about sudden cardiac arrest and what the Kirk Spencer Foundation is doing to contribute to decreasing this issue. There will also be sign-up sheets for up-coming events put on by the Kirk Spencer Foundation. Along with information, there will be a place where people can donate to the foundation. For every donation, depending on the amount that is donated, there will be three different prizes provided by the foundation to the three winning tickets pulled from the raffle. Raffle stations will also be located at both entrances of the stadium and are available to those attending at both concession stands. This will capture the attention of those who are possibly waiting for their food or even standing in line. The second tactic is to sell shirts prior to the Friday night football game. These shirts will represent a black out game where the entire West Linn fan base would wear the shirts and black out the whole stadium in support of their team. The front of the t-shirt will represent the Kirk Spencer Foundation and the cause it caters to, and on the back would be something that represents the West Linn spirit. The shirts will be sold at the entrances of the stadium and at the concession areas. Also, with the help of the West Linn High School leadership class, the shirts will be sold to students during school hours all through the week. All profits from each t-shirt sold will go directly to the Kirk Spencer Foundation and the purchase of defibrillator units.

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Objective 2: The second objective is to use communication tools to increase the amount of supporters by 40% or 400 new supporters of the Kirk Spencer Foundation. One of the main issues with funding the events held by the organization is the lack of supporters. When the supporters started to decrease, sponsors started decreasing as well. If people are more aware of the events and the organization as a whole, funding will increase with new supporters. For people to become supporters of the Kirk Spencer foundation, they will need to sign up for events or possible donations. With signing up, each supporter will be given weekly updates on new events and progress pertaining to the foundations goal. By doing this, the number of people who attend each event will increase which will increase the overall funding for the foundation. This will also strengthen the relationships of those who are already supporters of the foundation. These communication tools will act as personal communication to the community. Strategy 1: The Kirk Spencer Foundation can mail a small foundation pack to the members of the West Linn community. More specifically, the package will be sent to the parents that have children involved in youth or high school sports. In order to do this, the organization would have to contact the West Linn League presidents for each of the youth sports and the athletic director of the West Linn High School for a mailing list. This pack will hold information about the foundation and what the community can to contribute to the cause. West Linn currently holds a population of 25,392 people (History). If the foundation were to reach at least 25% of the population of West Linn, which is still over 6,000 thousand people that receive some sort of knowledge about the foundation and SCA.

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For the first tactic, a foundation letter will be written from a first persons point of view of someone who is involved in the Kirk Spencer Foundation. This is a great way to reach the target audience on a personal level. This will give the reader reassurance that they are being asked for help rather than solicited. Below is what the letter will read:

Dear Friend, I am writing on behalf of the Kirk Spencer Foundation to inform the community members of West Linn about Sudden Cardiac Arrest and what you can to help the cause. Kirk Spencer was a valued member of the West Linn community and a loving father and husband. Unfortunately, due to sudden cardiac arrest, Kirk passed away spring of 2004. The Kirk Spencer foundation was created in memory of Kirk with the purpose of creating awareness of sudden cardiac arrest. All funds received by the foundation go directly to the purchase of EAD unites to be placed throughout the schools, community centers and athletic facilities. With your help, together, we can decrease the number of people who pass from this unfortunate cause. So how can you help? The Kirk Spencer Foundation host many fun and exciting events throughout the year that welcomes friends and family of all ages. For a small donation fee, you can join along with many other in the race against sudden cardiac arrest. Event such as The Kirk Spencer 5K Fun Run/walk and the Kirk Spencer Wrestling tournament provide entertainment for the whole family while catering to a greater cause. With a small donation of your time and effort, you can save someones father, mother, wife or husband. Join the Kirk Spencer Foundation and become one of many who fight to make the world a safer

12 place to live. For more information about events or the foundation in general please visit www.kirkspencer.org. With Best Regards, Foundation Volunteer The second tactic that would be include in the foundation packet would be a brochure specifically providing information about the sudden cardiac arrest and what the organization is doing to impact the issue for the better. Also included in the brochure will be a list and description of the events/fundraisers that the Kirk Spencer Foundation hosts throughout the year. Event that will be held by the foundation include the Kirk Spencer 5K Fun Run/Walk, The Kirk Spencer Wrestling tournament, and the fundraising event during the West Linn Friday night football game. Along with the brochure, there will be a sign-up sheet for those who want to donate their time and money during one of the events. For events such as the Kirk Spencer Wrestling tournament and the football game, those interested in signing up can purchase tickets and raffle tickets prior to the events. This sign-up sheet can be mailed back to the foundation along with any other donations. This tactic helps to provide the community with information necessary to truly understand the risks of sudden cardiac arrest and it also provides information to make the reader feel as if there is something, personally, that they can do for the cause.

Strategy 2: The second strategy is to use media-relations to create awareness of the Kirk Spencer foundation and the up-coming athletic events. The West Linn Tidings is a great medium for the organization to reach a large audience. This weekly news paper is home to all the important information about sports, events, education and much more. This will help the organization reach potential supporters directly from their target audience.

13 The first tactic is to contact Mathew Sherman (Sports Editor of the West Linn Tidings) with the aim of writing an article about the up-coming events held by the Kirk Spencer Foundation. The sports section of the West Linn Tidings contains all information on West Linn athletics from the youth level up to the high school. It is also viewed by many who are involved, in one way or another, with West Linn athletics. This article will specifically encourage student athletes to challenge themselves in the Kirk Spencer Fun Run/Walk where they will be competing for a prize at the end. Having an article in the sports section allows the foundation to accurately reach their target audience. If people are able to read about upcoming events, they obtain more knowledge about the foundation and are more likely to attend the events. The more people that attend, the more the funding for the organization will increase.

The second tactic is writing a press release about the upcoming fundraisers that will help to benefit the organization and its fight against sudden cardiac arrest. This press release will include information about the Kirk Spencer Foundation and the different fundraising events held during the year. The press release will be held in the front page of the West Linn Tidings. The press release will also hold information about when and where to sign up for events and will also have information about the Kirk Spencer Foundation page on Facebook. This Facebook page contains all information about the organization, sudden cardiac arrest, and up-coming fundraising events. Liking this Facebook page also allows the organization to directly invite supporters to up-coming fundraising events.

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Citations "About KSF." KIRKSPENCER.ORG. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2013 SCA key facts heartrhythmfoundation.org/facts/scd.asp .N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Feb. 2013 Heart Rescue Now Sudden Cardiac Arrest | Help Ricky Rubio Save a Life | HeartRescueNow.com." HeartRescueNow.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Feb. 2013. "SCAA | About Us." SCAA | About Us. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Feb. 2013. Spectators Info OSAA.org :: Wrestling. OSAA.org :: Wrestling. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Feb. 2013. Oregon Wrestling Classic http://www.faqs.org/tax-exempt/OR/Oregon-WrestlingClassic.html .N.p, n.d. Web. 06 Feb. 2013 "History." Home Page. westlinnoregon.gov/communications/history N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Feb. 2013. Portland Tribute and Communication westlinntidings/portlandtribune.com/contact-uswlt#wlt .N.p ., n.d. Web. 05 Feb. 2013