The Bridge SchoolHigh Level Strategic Guide

POSITIONING

Identifying StakeholdersThe outreach mission of the school is to raise awareness, create meaningful relationships, and inspire giving with each of the four stakeholder groups:

Children/Families – the students and families for whom we existEducators – individuals and institutions looking for resources and support in our area of expertiseCorporate Sponsors – organizations that contribute financially or in-kind, and who share our beliefsSupporters – individuals who care about our success and/or contribute to our cause

Refining MessagingStakeholder Group Message & Call-to-Action MethodChildren & Families The Bridge School is a non-profit organization whose mission is to ensure

that individuals with severe speech and physical impairments achieve full participation in their communities. Learn about our education standards, enrollment, or transition services…

1. Website

2. Direct Mail

3. Email

Educators The Bridge School is a leader in alternative means of communication (AAC) and assistive technology (AT) applications and the development, implementation and dissemination of innovative life-long educational strategies. Attend the annual conference, gain innovative industry insight, or experience our classrooms…

1. Website

2. Conference

3. Experiential learning

Corporate Sponsors The Bridge School is a powerful presence of unmatched brand equity and good will in the Bay Area, with a unique mission to help children with severe communication and mobility disabilities through events like The Bridge School Concert headlined by Neil Young. Become a corporate sponsor and help us share our vision with our local community and the world…

1. Website

2. Printed Materials

3. Personal Meetings

Supporters (and the general public)

The Bridge School is a unique non-profit organization helping children with severe communications and mobility disabilities through fundraising efforts such as The Bridge School Concert with Neil Young. Help us reach our fundraising and awareness goals by joining our email list, becoming a social media advocate, donating to our cause, and/or volunteering…

1. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram

2. Email

3. Blog

ENVIRONMENT

Bridge School PEST Analysis

POLITICAL79% of nonprofit leaders meet with public officials and their staffOn average, government grants make up almost half of contributed income of nonprofitsPoliticians engaging in social advocacy in legislation for disabled peopleGovernments shifting burdens to nonprofits, instead of addressing needs in underserved communities

ECONOMIC66% of companies in Northern California were at or above revenue targets (2013)There are 72,000 active charities in CA (of which 15,000 are focused in education)CA nonprofits doubled overall revenue growth rate since 2008 Marin, Alameda, and Santa Clara counties have the highest nonprofit revenue per capita (followed by San Mateo & Santa Cruz counties)

SOCIALBabyboomer leadership being replaced or supported by Gen XDonors don’t just give, they engage – create events and campaigns around participation

TECHNOLOGICALWebsite and mobile presence necessarySkilled volunteers are the new pro bonoCrowdfunding is now mainstream

Bridge School SWOT Analysis

STRENGTHSBrand Equity/Social PresenceCredibility/Talent/LongevityInspirational HistorySuccessful Concert FundraisingCommitted FoundersClose Artist RelationshipsSingle Significant Corporate Sponsorship

WEAKNESSESLack of EndowmentFew Corporate SponsorsLimited Awareness Outside Bay AreaLimited Board EngagementSmall BoardOld WebsiteSmall Staff

OPPORTUNITIESHelp Board Attain Additional Meaningful Members (advice, network, support)Improve Website & Communication StrategyCultivate Relationships Through Warm IntroductionsEstimate Donor Lifetime Value & Optimize Paid OutreachCreating More Events/Opportunities for Giving and Engagement/Optimize VIP ExperienceGrow teacher training program + reach

THREATSEnding The Bridge School ConcertExhausting Relationships With Recurring Artists/SponsorsExhausting ResourcesNon-profit space is crowded in the Bay Area; very competitive environment

Bridge School Competitor Analysis

Resource San Francisco Education Fund

ReadingPartners

Oakland Public Education Fund

GreatSchools First Graduate

Program Expenses 73.6% 76.5% 88.6% 87.2% 72.7%

Fundraising Expenses 18.1% 9.9% 2.0% 3.5% 16.2%

Contributions, Gifts, and Grants

$1,263,247 $9,010,273 $2,417,986 $6,704,733 $1,298,143

Fundraising Events $518,285 $85,143 $0 $0 $220,599

Program Expenses $1,704,757 $8,795,789 $3,034,711 $8,917,627 $1,093,681

Leader compensation $111,205 $189,139 $18,563 $288,807 $109,250

Charity Navigator Rank(out of 100)

83.88 93.03 94.81 97.07 80.03

Charity Navigator – San Francisco Charities, 2012 Data

STRATEGY

Vision

Education

Awareness

Collaboration

Perpetuity

Branding

Continuity& Consistency

Ubiquity

Leverage

Relationships

Board Engagement& Expansion

Warm Introductions to Potential Donors

Silicon Valley Community Foundation

Peer Non-profit Organizations

Fundraising

Annual Concert

Bi-annual Gala or Awards Ceremony

Annual Fireworks

Semi-annual Auctions

Summary

Vision

Education Awareness Collaboration Perpetuity

Assure sustainabilityPrepare for growth in:

CapacityProgramsTraining teachersResearch

Planned Events – concert, auctions, gala, fireworks Local News engagement – feel-good storiesOnline link-building and partnerships with content sites (blog)Cuba Trip – national attention, opportunity for great PRSocial Media

Help familiesWork with educatorsEngage institutionsFind new sponsorship commitments from companies

Raise money for the EndowmentRe-invest a fraction of Endowment funds into further fundraising activities Diversify events to include other sources of income (add auctions and fireworks)Donor Retention activities

The Bridge School will communicate its goals by setting comprehensive expectations and detailing a tactical framework for execution.

Branding

The Bridge School brand is the school’s biggest asset. With over 66% of people now researching brands online before forming their opinion, our website and social media presence are critical in raising both awareness and money.

Continuity + Consistency Ubiquity Leverage

Ensure that all owned, bought, and earned media outlets and printed/emailed communication materials have a consistent look and color scheme (website, Facebook, twitter, Instagram, press kit, sponsorship packet etc.).Adhere to a specific brand “voice” with all communication (i.e. conversational, pedantic, formal etc)Commit to telling stories; create a memorable tagline.

Create a comprehensive content creation and sharing protocol

BlogFacebookTwitterInstagram

Recruit prominent social media personalities (local and/or national) to collaborate in social sharing around event timeDevelop more events that engage with the general public Have some artist memorabilia items (and branded inventory) available for sale year-round

Actively assign value to your internet and social media properties and pitch partnerships to advertisers, peers, and potential sponsors (i.e. site traffic, likes, shares, retweets, followers/fans as compared with peer properties) – communicate value of collaborationEstimate Donor Lifetime Value & Optimize Paid Outreach

Relationships

Board Engagement & Expansion

Warm Introductions to Potential Donors

Silicon Valley Community Foundation

Peer Non-profit Organizations & Institutions

Help the Board understand the school’s new goals – collaborate with the Board to pivot additional resources to sustainability effortsSeek additional Board Members and refocus on vision for long-term funding of the schoolCreate opportunities for long-time supporters to become members of the Board in order gain industry advice, access to a wider benefactor network, and get financial support

Leverage existing corporate relationships and significant donors for warm introductions to peer companies and individualsLeverage existing relationships with artists when possible to recruit celebrity spokespeople

Re-engage with SVCF and open conversation about giving to causes supporting education for disabled childrenRequest advice in mentorship, relationship-building, and strategy for fundraising

Leverage existing peer contacts for potential new donors or partnersCultivate new peer relationshipsCollaborate with a big university in a joint study in order to form closer ties with influential staff & board members

The Bridge School must build relationships with both new and existing stakeholders through commitment, communication, and compromise.

Fundraising & Awareness

2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018Grants & Contributions(r = 0%)

$2.5M $2.9M $1.4M $1.6M $1.6M $1.6M $1.6M $1.6M

Concert(r = 10%)

$1.8M $1.8M $1.0M $1.3M $1.4M $1.6M $1.7M $1.9M

Gala (r = 0%)

$3.0M $3.0M

Fireworks (r = 10%)

$0.5M $0.6M $0.6M $0.7M

Auctions(r = 0%)

$0.1M $0.1M $0.1M $0.1M

TotalEvent Revenue $4.3M $4.7M $2.4M $2.9M $3.6M $6.9M $4.0M $7.3M

*r is the estimated growth rate based on the average growth rate of non-profit revenues in California

The Bridge School should diversify its fundraising efforts in addition to pursuing non-event focused donors.

ACCOUNTABILITY

Measuring OutcomesGoal Expectations

Improve Branding Increase web traffic by at least 50%; drive users to donate or sign up with emailIncrease referrer traffic from external sitesIncrease organic search engine ranks for: the bridge school, education charity, special educationImprove email-to-website, and social media-to-website engagement rate

Grow Corporate Relationships

Attain at least one additional big corporate sponsor (such as Salesforce) – secure $1M/year commitmentObtain 2 sponsors in the $500K categoryObtain 4 sponsors in the $100K categorySuccessful stakeholder cost-benefit analysis

Optimize Events & Participation

Quadruple VIP Concert Ticket salesBrainstorm future events (that are not capital- or artist-intensive)

Engage in Public Relations

Put out one national story per yearPut out 4 local news stories per yearRecruit social media personalities to help advocate our cause in 2 focused campaigns (first, around the concert, and second around Giving Tuesday in December)Build relationships with 2 prominent, local online publications (SF Gate, San Jose Mercury)

Relative Timelines

Website Optimization

Content Migration,Donor, Member, Sponsor mechanics

Create Blog

Recruit Volunteer Part Time Writers + Maintenance Staff

SponsorOutreach

SponsorshipKit

Identify Prospects Meet Prospects + Pitch

CloseSponsors

BuildingPR Press Kit Blog + Social Media + Linkbuilding

Task Ownership Chart

VickiExecutive Director- Lead Board restructuring & recruiting process- Resource allocation- Public speaking- Closing sponsors- Public relations voice

MariyaStrategy Lead- Execute branding optimization plan- Support Vicki in closing sponsors- Support Vicki in outreach strategy- Train staff on content creation & sharing policies (adhering to outcome measurement)

AdamMarketing Lead- Lead online marketing & awareness campaigns- Help brainstorm Facebook paid advertising plan with a focus on generating site visits, email subscriptions, and fan growth- Collaborate with Mariya and Ernie in optimizing paid & earned media outlets

ErnieRelationship Lead- Cultivate relationships & interest with corporations and individuals- Facilitate warm introductions to potential corporate sponsors- Advise on online presence & marketing

NeilBoard Lead- Help get board buy-in for pivoting from concert focus to long-term sustainability focus- Advocate for and screen additional board members- Assist task team with connections or items

APPENDIX

Bridge School Marketing Funnel

Awareness

Knowledge

Interest

Consideration

Intent

Action

Loyalty

Referral/Advocacy

Engage Outside Concert

Key Measures:• Social Media shares,

likes, tweets• Word of mouth

Key Measures:• Ticket Sales• Email Subscriptions• Total Donations• Average Donations• Phone calls

Key Measures:• Website visits• Linkbacks• Blog article sharing• Facebook Fans• Twitter re-Tweets

Recommendations: Partner Marketing New Content Creation - Blog Paid social/mobile advertising

Recommendations: New Content Creation – Blog

Recommendations: Email Marketing (remarketing

& email automation) Direct Mail New events or engagement

opportunities

Board Member Fee Research

Annual minimum donations from board members, known as give-or-gets, work as financial and fundraising tools for nonprofits – Chicago Case Study.

Organization No. Board Members

Board Member Fee

Annual Revenue from Board

Annual Operating Budget

Goodman Theatre 72 $50,000 $3,600,000 $18.7 M

Chicago Academy for the Arts

24 $2,500 $60,000 $3 M

Chicago Sinfonietta 29 $6,000 $174,000 $2.3 M

Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship, Chicago

17 $10,000 $170,000 $1.3 M

*The Price of Board Membership – Chicago Business

Resources

Causes Count: the economic impact of California’s nonprofit sector

National Council of Nonprofits – Sector Trends

Strategic Communications Planning for Non-Profit Organizations: A Data-Based Application of a Seven Step Model

Strategic Planning & Analysis Toolkit

What does your brand say about you?

5 Big Company Branding Strategies Any Business Can Utilize

Why is Blogging Important?

Who Rules Social Media?

Trustees Find Board Seats are Still Luxury Items

Colorado Nonprofits Communications Toolkit

2014 Innovation Economy Outlook

Resources

Resources: Communication & Marketing *by United Way (exhaustive list)

Disability and Politics

The Digital Giving Index Infographic

Aggregate Fiscal Data of Grants