CASE STUDY · FUNDRAISING CAMPAIGNS

TURNING A FLAGSHIP EVENT INTO A COMMUNITY MOVEMENT

A local affiliate of NAMI—one of the largest grassroots mental health organizations in the U.S.—relied on a single annual walk to drive donations and awareness. We turned that flagship event into a repeatable fundraising system: clearer messaging, a structured countdown, and nonprofit marketing campaigns that actually convert registrations and gifts.

Partner: NAMI chapter Focus: annual fundraising walks Timeline: single campaign window

CAMPAIGN SNAPSHOT +48% registrations vs. prior year +1,100% organic reach in the campaign window 14 days from brief to launch-ready system

PARTICIPATION

REGISTRATIONS

0% Increase in walk registrations compared to the previous year’s fundraising event.

VISIBILITY

ORGANIC REACH

0% Lift in organic social reach during the walk campaign window.

SPEED

LAUNCH

0 days From initial strategy call to a complete nonprofit campaign in market.

CONTEXT

SITUATION

The walk was the chapter’s largest annual fundraiser and community touchpoint, but year-over-year growth depended heavily on the same inner circle: board members, staff, and a core group of repeat participants.

Social content tended to be last-minute reminders instead of a cohesive story. Teams formed late, solo walkers were an afterthought, and there was no clear narrative guiding someone from “I’ve heard of this” to “I’m registered, fundraising, and bringing people with me.”

The goal: build a walk campaign architecture that the staff could run again and again—without doubling their workload every year.

EXECUTION

WHAT WE DID

Built a simple campaign backbone. A 6–8 week countdown with themed weeks: awareness, “Why I Walk” stories, team-building, fundraising nudges, and the final push to event day.
Created a message system, not one-off posts. Core pillars and plug-and-play copy so staff could stay consistent while adapting to their voice and local stories.
Introduced the “Join the Pack” solo walker concept. Individuals who didn’t have a team were grouped into fun, named packs so no one showed up alone—and everyone still felt part of something.
Aligned paid boosts with key moments. Strategic boosts on hero content and registration reminders instead of spraying budget across everything in the feed.

WHY IT WORKED

WHY THIS CAMPAIGN SYSTEM WINS FOR NONPROFITS

Most chapters don’t have a full-time marketing department or the bandwidth to reinvent their walk campaign every year. Without a structure that’s easy to execute, even the best events plateau.

By giving the team a clear calendar, message framework, and reusable assets, we made it easier to stay visible, celebrate stories from the community, and consistently invite people to register, donate, and form teams.

The result is a fundraising campaign that feels bigger than the staff running it—and a playbook they can refine and scale year after year.

SIGNALS

WHAT CHANGED IN ONE CAMPAIGN

Registrations started earlier instead of piling up in the final week before the walk.
Organic content carried a consistent look, feel, and message arc across channels.
Solo walkers felt invited and included instead of tacked on at the last minute.
Staff reported spending less time reinventing assets and more time in the community.

CLEAR STORY OPERATIONALLY LIGHT VOLUNTEER-FRIENDLY

PLAYBOOK

OUR WALK CAMPAIGN PLAYBOOK

1 Lock the calendar. Anchor key beats: announcement, stories, team push, fundraising push, event week.
2 Define message pillars. Education, lived experience, gratitude, and action—each with plug-and-play templates.
3 Build simple assets. Graphics and copy staff can reuse and tweak without starting from scratch each season.
4 Layer in paid support. Modest boosts on the content that actually drives registrations and donations.

FOR DIRECTORS & BOARDS

WHAT THIS MEANS FOR YOUR ORGANIZATION

You get a fundraising campaign that feels intentional, repeatable, and aligned with your mission—without needing to hire a full internal marketing team. Each walk builds on the last, strengthening your community, your brand, and the dollars you can reliably raise each year.

TURN YOUR DIGITAL PRESENCE INTO OPERATIONAL LEVERAGE

If your organization relies on walks, galas, or flagship events to fund your mission, your campaigns should create leverage — not chaos. We build repeatable nonprofit marketing systems that turn community attention into registrations, donations, and long-term support.

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