LOVE BUILDS
Redeemer Lutheran Church and School was in need to raise $3 million in capital funds to proceed forward with enhancing the campus to meet the rapidly growing needs of the community. School enrollment was continuing to hit all-time highs, with wait lists for nearly every grade level. The church was strengthening community partnerships, growing ministry capacity, and leveraging resources to enhance the discipleship growth within the membership of the congregation. In tandem with ministry staff, my role was to build and execute a communication plan to support the needs of the capital campaign and develop a persuasive appeal to members to commit and donate to this campaign.
MAILER
Part of the communication plan was to develop a mailer to be sent to all members of the congregation. This was the informational guide for members and the formal ask ahead of the 8 week campaign in worship services. I was the primary crafter of this collateral, and the content within the mailer is written, laid out, and produced by me.
This capital campaign was successful, with the organization reaching nearly $2 million in pledges and $1.5 million in other gifts through the campaign.
CHANGING LIVES
I had the opportunity to lead communication efforts on another successful capital campaign at Redeemer Lutheran Church and School entitled, “Changing Lives.” The premise of this theme was the work of the organization had made lasting impact on the people they had interacted with in the Austin community, and by financially supporting the organization’s capital campaign to eliminate debt, the member was helping to change lives within the local community. This campaign coincided with the organization’s 60th anniversary, and the capital campaign was designed to utilize the anniversary to enhance giving from members with longer tenure. My role in this campaign was to develop and execute the communication strategy and enhance fundraising efforts.
STORIES
A significant portion of my strategy for this campaign revolved around sharing stories of lives that had been changed through Redeemer. During the 4 week worship series, each sermon would begin with a 2-3 minute video that captured this sentiment. I led the efforts to produce, capture and deliver four videos for this campaign.
This video was the final of the four videos and was used to deliver the fundraising appeal on Commitment Sunday, where members would financially commit to the capital campaign.