Annie E. Casey Foundation

Services:

Integrated campaign and media relations

Challenge:

The Annie E. Casey Foundation turned to SteegeThomson to help promote two important programs — one that honored organizations working to strengthen families and another that helped low-income residents of Camden, New Jersey keep more of what they earned.

Approach:

For seven years, SteegeThomson publicized FAMILIES COUNT: THE NATIONAL HONORS PROGRAM. We developed an extensive press kit that reporters could access through Casey’s website and mailed kits to community, political, and philanthropic leaders nationwide through specially developed mail lists tailored to reach decision-makers for each grantee. For the Earned Income Tax Credit program in Camden, we produced marketing materials, advertising, and a public relations and community outreach strategy aimed at reaching both families and tax preparation volunteers. These tools were later adapted for the Philadelphia campaign to capitalize on a regional marketing approach.

Results:

In our work with FAMILIES COUNT, we generated television and print coverage in media markets of all sizes, including Los Angeles; Chicago; Washington, DC; Indianapolis; Maryland; and Louisville. All the honorees found that publicity opened doors for them and helped them raise additional funds. In Camden, raising awareness of the tax credit helped the number of tax returns prepared for free by volunteers to increase by nearly 80 percent.