CHALLENGE Emile Bishaw

DENVER Eileen Drury

Angie Neiss
Apryl Carnahan
PLAN
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TABLE OF CONTENTS

PLAN

PAGE 1

SITUATION ANALYSIS

PAGE 2

GOALS, OBJECTIVES, STARTEGIES AND TACTICS

PAGE 7

TIMELINE, BUDGET AND EVALUATION

PAGE 10

IMPLEMENTATION

REPORT

PAGE 19

BEST PRACTICES

PAGE 22

AUDIENCE REORT

PAGE 23

KEY MESSAGES
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SITUATION ANALYSIS
Challenge Denver is an organization that aims to provide middle and
high school students with social emotional programs, which help create
healthy school environments. The organization was founded in 2007 by
concerned parents and community members. The team currently
consists of Executive Director Layne Pratt; staff including Micah
Gurard-Levin and Roxanne Jensen; and several other co-founders and
consultants.
The organization provides middle and high school students in Denver
with a variety of programs. The most popular program is Challenge
Day, a day-long event that engages students, teachers and volunteers
in an approach that builds trust, relationships and connections to
ensure a long-term impact on the community. Following a Challenge
Day, students are chosen to be a part of the Be The Change
leadership team, which helps to implement the healthy changes that
occurred as a result of Challenge Day. The next program Challenge
Denver provides is Teams, Traumas, and Triggers, a workshop for
school administrators and teachers to better understand their
students brain development and behavior. The Restorative Justice
Collaboration is a five-week program designed to improve educators
restorative skills so they can build trusting relationships with their
students. The final program that Challenge Denver provides is Peer
Mediation Training, which trains student leaders to manage and
execute peer mediation workshops so students can build skills to
effectively resolve conflict in healthy ways.
Challenge Days occur almost weekly during the school year, but
currently there are 14 schools on Challenge Denvers waiting list to
hold the event. Challenge Denver needs the funds necessary to
provide each school with the program. Challenge Days cost the
organization about $3,375 plus travel expenses for the facilitators to
come from California each time. Some schools require students to pay
a $20 fee, but because a large portion of the schools are from high
poverty areas, they are not all able to do so. The year-long training
programs cost Challenge Denver around $4,000 annually, so in total
their comprehensive support costs about $10,000 per school. When
fundraising, $10,000 is the amount Challenge Denver asks donors for
to essentially adopt one specific school a year.
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In order to understand how Challenge Denver can better communicate

with its audiences, our team conducted a communications audit.
Challenge Denver primarily utilizes its website, social media, word of
mouth, volunteering and newsletters as communication channels. The
channels are a bit inconsistent in terms of reach to donors, volunteers
and community members. Through advertising and marketing,
Challenge Denver can reach each audience equally.
What most donors do not realize is that Challenge Denver provides
many schools with a variety of programs. When speaking to Executive
Director Layne Pratt, she told our team that most donors only help to
fund one Challenge Day. Challenge Denver needs to spread the word
about all of the work it does so that donors will be apt to fund more
than one program on more than one occasion. Through advertising its
fundraising events, including the annual dinner event, Challenge
Denver should be letting its audiences know about both its work and
financial needs that can be fulfilled with donations. Advertising is
needed for this reason, and our team believes that if done in the right
way Challenge Denver can successfully spread word of mouth, gain
interest and increase the amount of donations. The following
information highlights the goals and objectives and how each will be
met.

GOAL, OBJECTIVES, STRATEGIES AND

TACTICS
Goal

For Challenge Denver to be the premiere organization in

serving Denver-Metro area middle and high school youth.

Objective #1: Community Members

To increase awareness and overall comprehension of Challenge Denver

within six months in the Denver-Metro area community.

Word of Mouth Strategy:

To implement a word of mouth campaign that generates a higher

volume of awareness regarding Challenge Denver. We will target
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community members who are active in the Denver-Metro area

community. By doing so we hope increase involvement and donations.

Tactics:

Encourage those who are or become involved to tell friends &

family about Challenge Denver.
Have a strong, emotive message. Emphasize the life-changing
ability Challenge Denver can have on everyone involved.
Create a good reputation for Challenge Denver. Treat those
involved with the organization well enough that they will want to
tell others about it.
Create a survey for all new or returning volunteers/donors that
addresses where they heard about the organization and how their
experience has been.

Social Media Strategy:

To create a social media campaign to be implemented during the first

week of March in order to help Challenge Denver with the objective of
raising awareness within the next six months. We will target
community members who are active or want to become active in the
community.

Tactics:

Create flyer with information on how community members can

become involved in the organization, whether it be volunteering,
becoming part of the team, or donating.
Post photos/videos that showcase what the organization does.
This includes media from programs, especially Challenge Days.
Post about opportunities for community members to become
involved.
Recognize donors and significant donations. Post a short note to
thank the donor for their contribution.
Recognize consistent volunteers. Post a short note to thank
volunteers for their involvement.
Recognize team members and partners. Thank them for what
they do for the organization.
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Traditional Media Strategy:

To create a traditional advertising campaign designed to increase

knowledge of Challenge Denver and its needs. We will target
community members in the Denver-Metro area who are interested in
either becoming involved in or donating to the organization. In turn,
our team believes this will increase overall awareness as well as
amount of volunteers/partners and donations. The overall message will
focus on the work that the organization does and the impact it has on
middle and high school students.

Tactics:

Create an ad with information on how community members may

get involved in donating or volunteering for programs as well as
information about the organization.
Place an ad in the Denver Post, 5280 Magazine, Denver Life, and
any other relevant newspapers/magazines.
Newsletters: The monthly newsletter sent out by Challenge
Denver will have a section dedicated to volunteering and
donating. This will emphasize the importance of volunteering and
how both donating and volunteering can create opportunities for
individuals to improve skill sets, build better relationships, grow
and become better educated by embracing new challenges, and
create an impact in the community.
Flyers will further explain how community members may
volunteer, the responsibilities and the importance that come with
it.
Go to relevant businesses and ask if posters may be hung there.
Also post flyers around the Denver-Metro area at eye-level.

Objective #2: Potential Donors

To raise $110,000 through donations and special events by the end of

2017.

Donation Strategy:
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To create an advertising campaign consisting of newsletters and emails

in order to raise $10,000 of the overall $110,000 for Challenge Denver
from donors by the end of 2017. We will target potential donors who
have a history of donating to nonprofit organizations in the Denver-
Metro area by sending weekly email updates and monthly newsletters.

Tactics:

Obtain potential donors email addresses. This can be done

through an email list signup on Challenge Denvers website, a
form that donors can fill out after donating, or through donors
business cards they can give the organization.
Send out monthly newsletters reminding donors of the five
programs Challenge Denver implements so they can learn and be
more apt to donate for more than one program.
In the newsletters, include what happened over the month. For
example, in January Challenge Denver held a Challenge Day at
Thomas Jefferson High School with statistics about what was
accomplished.
Send personal emails to previous donors who are likely to donate
again. These emails should remind them about the organizations
work and why it needs donations. Include information about how
to donate.

Incentive Tactics:

If less than $500 is donated, donor will receive a free Challenge

Denver t-shirt and a personal thank you note signed by the
organizations team.
If $500-$1,000 is donated, donor will receive a free t-shirt, a
thank you note and a free ticket to Challenge Denvers annual
dinner event.
If $1,000-$5,000 is donated, donor will receive a free t-shirt, a
thank you note, a free ticket to the annual dinner event and will
be recognized on the Facebook page.
If more than $5,000 is donated, donor will receive all of the above
as well as a special thank you during the annual dinner event.
If more than $15,000 is donated or a donor makes several
significant donations they will receive all of the above and a
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permanent spot on the Challenge Denver funders section on the

website.

Special Event Fundraising Strategy:

To plan an annual dinner gala which will be held in order to assist

Challenge Denver with the objective of raising $110,000 by the end of
2017. We will target wealthier donors and partners who have written a
check for at least $10,000 before and who have attended prior
fundraising events. The money that is not donated will be raised
through a raffle happening at the event and ticket and sponsorship
sales.

Pre-event Tactics:

Create and distribute invitations and promotional material online

and in person three months before the event. The promotional
material should include information about time, date, location,
tickets/RSVP and contact information.
Secure a venue large enough for all potential attendees three
months before the event. The venue could be at a hotel, club or
community center around Denver.
Hire businesses to cater and entertain one month before event.
This includes food and drink services, bands, emcees, speakers,
etc.
Ensure setup before event. Make sure enough tables and chairs
are present for the number of attendees. Set up the stage,
donation tables, a table for buying raffle tickets, a table for check-
in, etc.

Event Tactics:

Serve dinner and drinks.

Record and announce amount of donations throughout event and
how much more in needed to get Challenge Denver to its goal.
Announce raffle winner. Winner will receive a Challenge Denver
package with a t-shirt, gift cards to a dinner and movie, a
weekend getaway to the mountains and other small gifts.
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Announce a special thank you to everyone who attended the

event and special shout outs to those who made significant
donations.

Post-event Tactics:

Ensure venue is clean after event.

Follow up with attendees through email. Thank them again and
remind them of how they can make future donations or become
involved in Challenge Denver programs.

Objective #3: Volunteers

To increase awareness around the Denver-Metro area in the next six

months so that those looking for volunteer opportunities will think of
Challenge Denver over other organizations.

Branding / Recognition Strategy:

To create a campaign that showcases the organization through the use

of posters, online listings and newspaper listings. We will target those
who have a habit of volunteering and are looking for volunteer
opportunities. The campaign will describe Challenge Denvers
programs in a way that illustrates how fun and rewarding they can be.

Tactics:

Create attention-grabbing flyers to be placed around the Denver-

Metro area and around businesses/schools that usually post
information about volunteer opportunities. These flyers should
have information about upcoming events and how they can sign
up to help.
Create newspaper/online listings that make volunteers want to
work with Challenge Denver. Emphasize the impact the programs
have on the community and on students. Also include information
about upcoming events and how to sign up.

Word of Mouth Strategy:

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To implement a word of mouth campaign that generates more

awareness of Challenge Denver. We will target those who volunteer
often and who are active in the Denver-Metro area community. By
doing so we hope increase involvement and overall knowledge of the
organization in the community.

Tactics:

Create a good reputation for the organization. Treat volunteers

respectfully and always thank them for their work so they will
want to tell others about Challenge Denver.
Encourage volunteers to tell others about the organization.
Coordinators of the program can tell volunteers this at the end of
the program when students are no longer there.
Have a strong personal message. While Challenge Denvers
programs help students, its rewarding to adults to know that
theyve made a difference in someones life. Emphasize the life-
changing ability Challenge Denver can have on both students and
volunteers.
Create a survey for all volunteers that asks questions about
where they initially heard about the organization and what their
experience was like. Send out the survey via email.

Incentives Strategy:

To create an incentive program which will in turn result in a higher

number of active volunteers in the organization. We will target past
Challenge Denver volunteers and those interested in volunteering. We
hope that this will increase involvement in the organization.

Tactics:

Give volunteers free Challenge Denver t-shirts when they

participate in a program.
Offer volunteers free lunches during programs.
Choose a volunteer name at random after a program to win a gift
card of their choice. Gift card choices may include restaurants,
movies, online/retail stores, gas stations or airlines.
At the end of a school year, hold a drawing for a volunteer to win
a gift basket consisting of movie and restaurant gift cards, candy
and tickets to a Colorado Rockies game. The more someone
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volunteers, the more times their name goes into the drawing. For
example, if someone volunteers once, their name is only put in
once. If they volunteer five times, their name is put into the
drawing five times.

Each tactic will be implemented at a certain point over a course of 7

weeks. The beginning stages are focused on planning and creation,
while the later stages are focused on content distribution and event
execution. Funds will be allocated to specific components of the plan.
After the plan is executed, it will be evaluated for impact specific to
each objective.

TIMELINE, BUDGET AND EVALUATION

Timeline

Some events of the timeline are ongoing and will need to be repeated
throughout the time period while others are specific to the fundraising
event.

Week 1 (March 19-25):

Create flyer
Post photos/videos that showcase what the organization does
on social media
Create monthly ad that exhibits all specifics included with
information on how community members may get involved in
volunteering for programs
Secure venue for the fundraising dinner
Hire catering and entertainment services
Recognize donors and significant donations on social media
Recognize consistent volunteers

Week 2 (March 26-April 1):

Post about potential donor/volunteer opportunities on social
media
Create and distribute flyers and save-the-dates for fundraising
dinner
Place an ad in the Denver Post, 5280 Magazine, Denver Life,
and nonprofit specific newspapers and magazines
Send out monthly newsletter
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Create a survey for all new volunteers/donors that addresses

where they heard about the organization (ongoing)

Week 3 (April 2-8):

Distribute flyers in relevant businesses
Post flyers around the Denver-Metro area at eye-level
Continue posting photos, videos, volunteers, donors and event
information on social media

Week 4 (April 9-15):

Contact potential donors through email
o Remind them that there are 5 programs that are in need
of funding and encourage them to explore each one

Week 5 (April 16-22):

Send out monthly newsletter
Distribute a second round of flyers
Calculate estimated number of t-shirts needed for attendees

Week 6 (April 23-May 2):

Ensure setup night before event.
Record and announce amount of donations throughout event.

Week 7 (May 3-9):

Ensure venue is clean after event.
Follow up with attendees.
Send out thank you notes to donors

Budget

As a non-profit organization it is crucial for Challenge Denver to

operate and maintain within low-cost practices. Therefore, the tactics
and strategies exhibited in this plan reflect low-cost implementation
and do not elicit a definitive budget. The numbers below represent a
rough estimate of the proposed budget:

Fundraising Dinner:

Event Tables, Linens, Chairs, & Stage $5,000

Print Advertising: $200

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Catering Services: $250

Total: $5,450

We recommend that as Challenge Denver maintains growth and

achieves its goal of raising more funds, a dedicated budget be set in
place for events, public relations and advertising.

Evaluation

Objective #1: Community Members

To increase awareness in the Denver-Metro area community in order to

increase donations, number of volunteers and overall comprehension
of Challenge Denver within six months.

Count number of new subscribers to the newsletter

Count and keep track of social media likes
Document the number of printed material that is distributed
Monitor traffic of online listings and inquisitions
Monitor increases of Facebook impressions such as likes shares
and comments

Objective #2: Potential Donors

To raise $110,000 through donations and special events by the end of

2017.

Keep track of and count responses from potential donors that

received the informative email on Challenge Denver
Measure likes and shares on social media posts related to
donating
After the event count how many new donors have been acquired
After the event asses how much funds were raised and compare
to previous events (generally around $40k raised per dinner)
Count how many potential donors email addresses were obtained

Objective #3: Volunteers

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To increase awareness around the Denver-Metro area in the next six

months so that those looking for volunteer opportunities will think of
Challenge Denver over other organizations.

Analyze survey responses to determine volume, interest and how

new donors and volunteers are hearing about Challenge Denver.
Count (average) number of current volunteers
Count number of new volunteers that signup
Measure likes and shares on social media posts related to
volunteering
After the event count how many new volunteers have been
acquired

IMPLEMENTATION
Our team has implemented parts of the plan outlined in the goals,
objectives, strategies and tactics. We chose to plan the dinner gala,
create promotional material and create a social media calendar.
Event plan
A dinner gala starting at 6:00pm and ending at 9:00pm held at the
Overstreet Dance Center in Littleton. Our team created a $5,000
budget to be spent on the event, which can be seen below.
Event budget
Location: Overstreet Dance Center, Littleton $300
Additional costs:
10 8x30 banquet tables from Benson Tent Rent: $90
90 white chairs w/ padding from Benson Tent Rent: $270
10 table cloths from Benson Tent Rent: $120
1 8x16 stage from Benson Tent Rent: $400
1 680 Watt P.A. system: $175
Bartender/bar package: $500
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Caterer: ~$3,000 (depending on how many attendees & company)

Total: ~$4,855
Event Schedule
Early January: Begin Planning
By Jan. 21: Have venue secured
By Jan. 31: Have all promotional materials created (invitations, flyers,
emails, etc.)
By March 1: Have all caterers, bartenders, live performances hired.
March 1st: Send out all invitations and begin promoting on social
media/website.
Create an event on Facebook
Share event to followers
Send emails to supporters

March 1st: Create a live Eventbrite ticket link which can be shared on
emails, social media and website.
March 1st: Send out sponsorship requests.
Throughout March and April: Continue promoting event on social media
and through email.
April 7th: Calculate rough number of attendees.
April 14th: Deadline for sponsorship.
April 15th: Create two raffle gift packages.
April 17th: Re-calculate rough number of attendees and accommodate
for any new attendees.
April 21st Afternoon: Begin setting up event.
Volunteers and team set up stage, tables, chairs, etc.
Ensure all lighting and electronic aspects are working
correctly.

April 21st 4:30pm: Ensure caterers are on time and prepping for dinner.
April 21st 5:30pm: Ensure bartenders are set up.
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April 21st 6:00pm: Begin greeting guests.

Live music playing
Bartenders are doing their job
Ensure caterers are almost ready for dinner
Desk is collecting raffle tickets

April 21st 6:20pm: Begin serving dinner.

April 21st 7:00pm: Announce raffle tickets for anyone who may have
missed them, also make announcement about donations.
April 21st 7:30pm: Announce first raffle winner.
April 21st 8:00pm: Remind guests they still have time to buy raffle
tickets. One more winner will be announced.
April 21st 8:20pm: Announce final raffle winner and begin making final
announcements.
Announce end of the year statistics
Announce significant donations
Thank donors, sponsors, partners, guests, etc.
All other announcements
Finish by 9:00

April 21st 9:10pm: Clean up after event.

Ensure all food and drink is thrown away
Clean any spills
Ensure caterer, bartender, band, etc. is packed up and gone
Put away chairs, tables, stage, equipment, etc.

April 24th: Write thank you notes to significant donors, sponsors and
partners.
April 25th: Send thank you notes.
April 25th: Send emails thanking guests and announce total amount of
money raised.
April 25th: Post a thank you to attendees on social media with an
amount of donations and special thank you to sponsors and significant
donors.
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Sponsorship requests:
Wordshop Paperie (for invitation/flyer printing)
Benson Tent Rent for in-kind donations (tables, chairs, etc.)
Bartenders/caterers
Current partners (Liberty Global, Wolcott Foundation, etc.)
Letter
Dear Local Business Owner,

Challenge Denver is an organization that aims to provide middle and

high school students with social emotional programs, which help create
healthy school environments. The organization provides middle and
high school students in Denver with a variety of programs. The most
popular program is Challenge Day, a day-long event that engages
students, teachers and volunteers in an approach that builds trust,
relationships and connections to ensure a long-term impact on the
community. (Optional paragraph for sponsors unaware of Challenge
Denver)

Challenge Denver is hosting its annual dinner gala to celebrate the

positive changes the organization has helped to make in the Denver
community as well as to help fundraise. From small changes in
students to ones that effect schools and communities we want to
celebrate Challenge Denvers ability to make schools a safer place. By
hosting a dinner gala every year, we are creating an interactive group
of volunteers, partners and community members that help to spread
the organizations message, continue creating an impact on students,
and simply celebrate what we accomplished over the year as a
community.

This year, the dinner gala will take place at Overstreet Dance Center in
Littleton on Friday, April 21st and it is my intention to make it the best
one yet. We are selling tickets to the event and will have raffle
drawings throughout the night. We rely on the ticket and raffle sales to
help fundraise school events in the future. Sponsors can help us by
donating gifts to give away as part of the raffle drawings, with in-kind
donations including services and event tables, stage, etc., or with
donations.
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Please see our promotional levels to see how you can benefit from our
event. We look forward to continuing to positively build Denvers youth
community with you.

Thank you for your time & consideration in supporting this event,

Layne Pratt

Promotional Levels:
Level 1
Cost: $250
Includes your name on Challenge Denver t shirt as well as all
promotional material. 5 Challenge Denver t shirts.
Level 2
Cost: $500
Includes Level 1 plus the right to place a 6'x6' banner you provide
inside the event from 6-9. The banner can bear your logo
and any contact information on it. (Limited availability: 5)
Level 3
Cost: $1,500
Receive level 1 and 2 plus the right to name the event after your
business or organization. Ex.: Challenge Denvers Dinner Gala
Presented By (insert name). (Limited Availability: 1)
The deadline for your sponsorship commitment is Friday, April
14th.

INVITATION, FLYER AND THANK YOU NOTE

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Flyer for social media/promotional use.

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(Editable formats (psd) of these can be found on the flash drive.)

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SOCIAL MEDIA

a p ril so c ia l m e d ia 2017
sun mon tue wed thu fri sat
26 27 28 29 30 31 1 notes:
it's national
sporadicallyshare articles relevant to CD:
community
service articles about the power of nonprofits, donations, volunteering, etc.
month:
remind
audience of
CDfor future
volunteer
opportunities
2 3 4 5 6 7 8

linkto 'bethe
change' remind
share event
event tickets: audience of
page
~1 month CD'swork
away

9 10 11 12 13 14 15
recognize a
donor who
has done a
post photos lot for CD&
of apast remind
event w/ audience
blurb about about the
CD's impact upcoming
event &
significance
of donations
16 17 18 19 20 21 22

2weeks
away: remind post video of
of event CD's work
tickets

23 24 25 26 27 28 29
share
1week
photos,
away: share
videos, or
excitement &
just afew
remind
words about
audience of
past events
any
& what can
remaining
be expected
tickets
this year
30 1 2 3 4 5 6

tomorrow's
post-event:
the day:
share
share
photos,
excitement &
videos, thank
remind
you's,
audience of
amount
remaining
raised
tickets

Calendar for Be the Change event promotion and other

annoncements/promo.
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Example tweets targeted at community members.

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BEST PRACTICES
Key Issues:

Challenge Denver is a nonprofit organization that helps schools create

a better sense of community and inclusivity among students and staff.
It serves any middle or high school in need of its services around
Denver and there are currently 14 schools on its waiting list. To
accommodate these schools, it needs to increase funding.

What many donors and potential funders do not realize is that

Challenge Denver provides four services other than Challenge Day.
Most donors only help to fund one Challenge Day, but the organization
needs money to continue providing other services as well.

After meeting with Challenge Denver executive director Layne Pratt,

we feel it is in its best interest to promote the work it does and the
many services it provides in order to increase funding, thus benefitting
both the organization and schools/students in the Denver area.

Research:

Our research consists of attending an event, browsing the Challenge

Denver website and social networking sites, professional journals,
industry blogs and newspaper articles. A complete list of sources used
will be included in the works cited at the end of this report.

Identifying Best Practices

This report focuses on the best practices that have been successfully
used in the past by Challenge Denver and other organizations to
increase funding. Our team will consider these practices when creating
other parts of our overall plan for Challenge Denver.
The best practices we are focusing on are:

1 Word of Mouth
2 Social Media
3 Fundraising
4 Incentives

Word of Mouth Marketing

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According to Lithium, 92 percent of consumers trust recommendations

from friends and family more than other forms of advertising
(Wordstream, 2015). Word of mouth is a primary factor behind 20 to 50
percent of every purchasing decision (McKinsey & Company, 2010).

Lithium also says that 81 percent of consumers are influenced by their

friends social media posts about a certain product or service
(Wordstream, 2015).

Successful Practices:

1 Give people something to talk about.

This means providing exceptional service and having an
interactive staff. People get most excited about positive human
interactions, so having volunteers who have a positive attitude
and interact with students and other staff members are most
beneficial (Wordstream, 2015).

2 Create a good name for the brand.

Earn a reputation by being respectful and treating both students
and volunteers right. Not only providing a great experience
through Challenge Days, but offering them incentives such as
free lunch or free t-shirts will be appreciated (Wordstream, 2015).

3 Create an active and engaged community.

Foster word of mouth marketing through a tight-knit community.
This is done by encouraging dialogue, organizing events away
from Challenge Day, and creating groups on social networks
(Wordstream, 2015).

Social Media Marketing

Social media is becoming more important every day. Per Pew Research
Center, 90 percent of young adults (ages 18-29) utilize social media
and a third of those say that social media is their preferred channel of
communication with brands (Business2Community, 2016). 55 percent
of those who engage with the brand on social media eventually take
further action whether that be donating, volunteering, or attending an
event (The Guardian, 2014).
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Social media is also easily measured through engagements, such a

likes, shares, etc. 80 percent of marketers identify this as one of the
top three metrics (Simply Measured).

Successful Practices:

1 Create a custom hashtag.

Before asking for donations, social media users must first become
aware of the brand and what it is are doing. Creating a custom
hashtag that volunteers and students can utilize is a good place
to start. For example, Challenge Denver can create
#ChallengeDenver or #ChallengeDay(insert school name) to
facilitate conversations and build brand credibility (Thrive Hive,
2016).

2 Have a strong message.

Create an evocative message that makes people want to
volunteer and donate. For example, show people what their
contribution will do to make a difference for Challenge Denver
(The Guardian, 2014).

3 Make it personal.
Add photos and videos from the Challenge Days for people to
share on their personal networks. Also, recognize donors as
individuals rather than as a group (The Guardian, 2014).

Fundraising Techniques

According to Nptechforgood.com, in 2014 1.4 billion people donated

money to nonprofit organizations worldwide. This report also says that
people who volunteer for an organization are twice as likely to donate
to that organization.

Successful Practices:

1 Create a themed event.

Creating a themed event aimed at potential donors and current
volunteers is a great way to increase funding for an organization.
Examples of themed events that cost a small amount and raise a
large amount include trivia tournaments, haunted houses and
raffles (Give Forward, Salsa Labs).
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2 Peer to peer fundraising.

Nearly one-third of all online donations are a result of peer to
peer fundraising. Utilizing this technique can reach new donors
and grow awareness of the brand organically (Classy.org, 2015).

3. Prioritize year-end funding.

30 percent of annual giving occurs in December. Make sure to
send newsletters and create social media posts that include how to
donate during this time (The Giving Institute, 2016).

Incentives

Incentives influence donors to give and motivate fundraising teams to

raise more money. Incentives arent just prizes or rewards, they also
demonstrate how much an organization values the support from its
donors.

Successful Practices:

1 Create sponsorship levels based on donation.

Recruit local businesses to sponsor a Challenge Day by donation-
based levels. For example, the first level may include the
business name on a Challenge Day t-shirt. Level five may include
everything from the previous levels and the business recognized
on social media networks, the organizations website and all
other promotional material (Corliss, 2016).

2 Capitalize on peer to peer fundraising.

While using peer to peer fundraising, an organization can reward
an individual once theyve raised a specified amount of money.
The organization may reward them with a gift card, prizes or the
top spot on a fundraising leaderboard (Nonprofit Hub, 2016).

3 Create a donor recognition program.

Donors sometimes give for nothing other than recognition
purposes. When donors know that they will be publicly recognized
for their donation, they are more likely to donate big-time. These
donors may be recognized through the organizations website or
during an event (Salsa Labs).

Conclusion
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In our report, we identified the best practices for increasing funding for
Challenge Denver targeted at perspective donors, volunteers,
students, parents, teachers and partners of the organization. The
practices our team believes will do this include word of mouth
marketing, social media marketing, fundraising techniques and
incentives. We will consider these four best practices when creating a
final plan for Challenge Denver.

AUDIENCE REPORT
The audience analysis was developed after meeting with the executive
director of Challenge Denver, Layne Pratt. Participation in one of
Challenge Denvers programs called Challenge Day, helped us further
our knowledge and understanding of the target audience. The
audiences we will be targeting are as follows:

1 Potential Donors
2 Volunteers
3 Community Members

This report will provide detailed information towards each audience

mentioned.

Potential Donors

While anyone can donate, the donors that the plan will be targeting will
be specific. We are targeting men and women in the Denver-Metro
area, ages 32 and older, with an annual income of at least $150,000.
The median age in Denver is 31.7, according to HometoDenver.com.
These demographics make this audience vital to the public relations
plan. This audience is passionate about helping their community excel,
involved in non-profit work, have likely donated before and enjoy
attending fundraising events. The Denver Post reported that the
number of people who donated rose by 90 to 96 percent in 2014,
which means that most people are likely giving more to non-profit
organizations. Because were targeting a wealthier audience who has a
habit of donating, we believe that they will be willing to donate to
Challenge Denver.

Volunteers
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The volunteers we target will be men and women from the Denver-
Metro area, are 50-64-years-old with an annual income of $50,000 and
up. These ages make up 16 percent of Denvers overall population,
which will make them an important audience to target.
The audience we are targeting enjoy volunteering for different types of
events, want to see children in the community thrive, like to socialize
and have the free time available to attend daytime events. According
to the Denver Post, the age group that volunteers most often is 50-64-
year-olds. This audience wants to see future generations continue to
influence the community in a positive way, so they will be a prime
audience of interest as Challenge Denver creates a positive impact on
youth.

Community Members

Suburbanstats.org reports that Denver has a total household

population of 584,177. The plan will target men and women around
Denver, ages 30-64, with an annual income of $35,000-$80,000. These
ages make up 38 percent of Denvers household population, which our
team believes is a good portion to target, as not all are likely to
become involved in the community.

The portion of the audience that we hope to reach are parents, stay-at-
home moms and dads, have time during the day to commit to
Challenge Denver programs, and want to see the Denver youth
community grow into amazing young adults. According to the U.S.
Census Bureau, in 2014 one in three moms with children under the age
of 18 were stay-at-home moms. Some of those moms are in Denver
and have the time to dedicate to helping an organization during the
day. Parents, whether stay-at-home or not, will be more likely to want
to help Challenge Denver shape students into better people. Those
over the age of 60 will also be more likely, as they could be retired with
the extra free time to help their community.

In order to motivate the targeted audiences, it is important to have

strong messages that convey the importance of Challenge Denver.

KEY MESSAGES
Our client, Challenge Denver, is committed to helping young students
develop critical social emotional skills. They believe that every child
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deserves to feel safe, loved and empowered at school. The

organization promotes this by holding a series of programs including
Challenge Day at high schools across Colorado. These days are filled
with activities that encourage students to connect with their peers.

Challenge Denver would like to raise funds for its programs so that
more schools and communities can get involved and experience the
benefits that come from Challenge Day. We determined our key
messages after meeting with Challenge Denvers executive director,
Layne Pratt. We reviewed the organizations mission statement and
their future goals to solidify a key message for this campaign.

Key Message:

The focus is on conveying how effective these activities are in teaching

students how to replace hate with love, acceptance and healthy
relationships.

1 Challenge Denver believes that negative behaviors are

often the result of trauma or unmet social needs: students
often do not have access to or know when to seek out emotional
counseling. Challenge Day is a 6.5-hour program that helps
students share their experiences and traumas with trusted adults.
These activities build trust between students and teachers,
leading to a safe and positive school environment.

2 Challenge Denver believes that the critical social

emotional skills needed for success in school and life can
be taught: If children are taught at an early age how to channel
their negative energy into positive outcomes, they will be more
successful in life. The community will benefit from emotionally-
stable adults.

3 Challenge Denver believes that there is no such thing as a

bad child, only a hurting child: children and young adults
often act in response to emotions. If these children are given the
opportunity to work through these issues, their behavior may
change. By raising money, Challenge Denver would be able to
help more students in the Denver community.

WORKS CITED (For entire report)

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Arno, Rebecca. "Who Gives and Who Doesnt in Denver." The Denver
Post. The Denver Post, 27 Nov. 2006. Web. 07 Mar. 2017.

Belt, Halley. "How to Make a Custom Hashtag to Build Engagement."

ThriveHive. ThriveHive, 28 June 2016. Web. 07 Feb. 2017.

Bughin, Jacques; Doogan, Jonathan; Jrgen Vetvik, Ole. "A New Way to
Measure Word- of-mouth Marketing." McKinsey & Company. McKinsey
Quarterly, Apr. 2010. Web. 07 Feb. 2017.

Harel, Terri. "The Value of Peer-to-Peer Fundraising." Best Practices,

Tips and Fundraising Ideas for Nonprofits. Classy.org, 10 Aug.
2015. Web. 19 Feb. 2017.

Marrs, Megan. "Word of Mouth Marketing: What Is WOM & How Does It
Work?" WordStream. The WordStream Blog, 15 July 2015.
Web. 07 Feb. 2017.

Miranda, Carlos. "How to Achieve Fundraising Success on Social

Media." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 24 Nov. 2014.
Web. 19 Feb. 2017.

Moore, Kerri. "Raise More Money: Incentive-Based Fundraising 101 -

The Intro Course." Nonprofit Hub. Nonprofit Hub, 17 Nov. 2016.
Web. 19 Feb. 2017.

Pick, Tom. "47 Superb Social Media Marketing Stats and Facts."
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Shively, Kevin. "60% of Social Marketers Say Measuring ROI Is a Top

Challenge in TrustRadius Survey." Simply Measured. The Simply
Measured Blog, 2 June 2015. Web. 07 Feb. 2017.

Suburbanstats.org. "Current Denver, Colorado Population,

Demographics and Stats in 2016, 2017." SuburbanStats.org.
Denver Stats 2016-2017, n.d. Web. 07 Mar. 2017.

US Census Bureau. "FFF: Mothers Day: May 8, 2016." The United

States Census Bureau. Newsroom, 20 Apr. 2016. Web. 07 Mar.
2017.
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Wurob, Rob. "Peer-to-Peer Fundraising: How It Works & Best Practices."

CauseVox. The CauseVox Blog, 07 Nov. 2016. Web. 07 Feb. 2017.

"Fundraising Plan: Plan an Event." GiveForward. Give Forward, n.d.

Web. 19 Feb. 2017.

Giving USA 2015: The annual Report on Philanthropy for the Year
2015. The Giving Institute. The Giving Institute. Feb. 2016. Web.
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"60+ Creative Fundraising Event Ideas For Your Nonprofit." Salsa Labs.
SalsaLabs, n.d. Web. 19 Feb. 2017.
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Emile Bishaw

CHALLENGE Eileen Drury

DENVER Angie Neiss

Apryl Carnahan
P a g e | 32

Emile Bishaw

CHALLENGE Eileen Drury

DENVER Angie Neiss

REPORT Apryl Carnahan