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Rosie's Place
Overview
Rosie's Place serves as a sanctuary and resource for poor and homeless women, providing the first shelter of its type nationwide when it opened in 1974. Since then, Rosie's Place has provided a wide range of services for women, including permanent and temporary housing and a Women's Craft Cooperative. In anticipation of its 30th Anniversary, Rosie's Place hired Denterlein Worldwide to revive its image in the community, educating both the public and the business community about the diverse services it provides and the women it serves.
Objective
Rosie's Place does not accept government funding or United Way grants, instead relying solely on private donations, grants, fundraising events and volunteer support to preserve its independent philosophy. Denterlein Worldwide sought to increase the overall importance of the Rosie's Place mission during a challenging time for nonprofits.
Strategy
Denterlein Worldwide led an intense, three-month media outreach, identifying story concepts that captured the shelter's unique mission and programs. We also positioned Rosie's Place executives as thought leaders in the community through expert sourcing and op-eds.
Results
Denterlein successfully coordinated media coverage of the shelter's annual event, including a large item in the Boston Globe's Names section, a brief in the Improper Bostonian and pictures in Boston Magazine, as well as broadcast coverage. Additional stories highlighting Rosie's Place programs and staff appeared in Boston Globe South, Boston Business Journal, WBIX 1060 and WBZ Radio. The Rosie's Place team experienced a marked increase in fundraising dollars before the close of the following fiscal year.
Public Higher Education
Overview
The community colleges, state colleges and University of Massachusetts sought a coordinated public relations campaign promoting the value of public higher education and importance of public investment in the State Colleges of Massachusetts, the University of Massachusetts and Massachusetts Community Colleges.
Objective
The coalition hired Denterlein Worldwide to ensure that all three segments spoke with one voice regarding the value of public higher education, to develop a leadership campaign, alliances with the business sector, and support from editorial boards, the legislature and the public.
Strategy
Denterlein Worldwide launched a multifaceted campaign focused on public higher education's significant contributions to the local economy, with an overall goal to establish the sector as a critical driving force in the state's future success. Denterlein Worldwide implemented a comprehensive media relations and constituency building campaign to promote the understanding and importance of public higher education, and to develop support for increased funding in Massachusetts. Denterlein also began a grass roots campaign to build support among business leaders, state legislators, and the public.
Results
The campaign yielded considerable benefits, as public higher education has risen to the top of the policy agenda, generated strong support from the business and civic communities and the media, and has seen substantial budget increases in fiscal years 2006 and 2007 (based on initial House and Senate budgets). Perhaps the greatest measure of what the campaign has accomplished is that we consistently hear leaders, officials, reporters and editorialists cite the messages that we have developed and disseminated since May 2005.
Media
The campaign has created a strong presence in the media and generated very favorable support. Multiple editorials calling for stronger investment in public higher education have appeared, among others, in:
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Boston Globe |
Springfield Republican |
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Boston Herald |
New Bedford Standard Times |
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Boston Business Journal |
Cape Cod Times</td>
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Lowell Sun |
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Boston Globe |
Fall River Herald |
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Fitchburg Sentinel |
Attleboro Sun Chronicle |
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Lowell Sun |
Salem News |
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Reading Advocate |
Metro West Daily News |
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Springfield Republican |
New Bedford Standard Times |
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Taunton Gazette |
Boston Business Journal |
Business & Civic Leaders
We have developed a highly effective coalition of the major business organizations in the state, including Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, Associated Industries of Mass. (AIM), Mass. Business Roundtable, Mass. High Tech Council, and Mass Insight. The leaders of these organizations are increasingly carrying the message of the vital role of public higher education in:
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Testimony before the Higher Education Committee |
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Quotes in major media stories about the budget, taxes, spending priorities, and economic development. |
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Op-eds in the Boston Herald and Boston Business Journal. |
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Letter to the governor calling on investment in public higher education as a critical part of our economic development strategy. |
Political
We developed a position paper on public higher education that has been distributed to the campaigns of major gubernatorial candidates and have met with key campaign staff members. This outreach has generated very strong support of public higher education from candidates Reilly and Patrick, and for the first time in memory, there is an opportunity for public higher education to be a leading campaign issue.
Crittenton and The Women's Union
Overview
Crittenton and The Women's Union were each founded in the 1800s to help women and their families achieve self-sufficiency. In 2005, the organizations began discussing a combined future, in an effort to strengthen existing outreach and close gaps in services. They hired Denterlein Worldwide to provide thoughtful, consistent messaging for a smooth transition.
Objective
Crittenton and The Women's Union wanted its merger announcement to be considered a positive, as well as to ensure that each non-profit was viewed as an equal partner in the new relationship.
Strategy
Denterlein Worldwide developed a launch strategy that announced each of the organization's key audiences — supporters, donors and clients. Denterlein also provided guidance on the rollout of the combined organization, including a full range of materials to support every step of the process. Informal training of key spokespeople, along with private briefings, provided full coverage as Crittenton and The Women's Union moved forward.
Results
Crittenton and The Women's Union experienced a smooth announcement — clients and donors were fully informed of the transition, and the merger was successfully positioned as a positive. In fact, the Boston Globe hailed the Crittenton-Women's Union as a model for all merging non-profit organizations.
Massachusetts College of Art
Overview
A group of business leaders and legislators founded the Massachusetts College of Art in 1873 to create a highly-trained design and visual arts workforce. Through the years, MassArt evolved from a teacher-training school to an independent public college in the state higher education system. In 2003, MassArt trustees hired Denterlein Worldwide to support its campaign for a new financing structure, as well as to develop a media outreach plan that would establish a public identity for MassArt.
Objective
MassArt trustees had decided that the college should move in a new direction, relinquishing its financial dependency on the state and strengthening its mission to train even more Massachusetts residents. MassArt leadership believed the school would be most efficient as an independent public college separate from the state system. Denterlein Worldwide sought to promote the unique value of the school and its contribution to the Massachusetts workforce, backing lobbying efforts for a new, innovative approach to funding.
Strategy
Denterlein Worldwide focused an overall campaign strategy on the college's unique status as the only state college in the country focused on the arts. Media outreach highlighted individual programs, graduates and leadership and included background briefings with key editorial writers around the state. Denterlein also supported MassArt's lobbying efforts by developing written materials, creating a targeted media relations campaign and by fostering a coalition of support in the business community.
Results
Numerous articles highlighting MassArt's unique status appeared in wide array of publications, including the Boston Globe and the Boston Business Journal. In the end, the media and lobbying efforts worked. MassArt convinced the legislature to change their funding formula, adding a new chapter for this century-old institution.
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