"In early spring 2021, the school needed to address a long-standing problem: the trees that line the Main Drive were dying. Several had already been removed over the years due to weather damage and disease; others were missing limbs and becoming unsightly.
Cutting down trees is not something the communications team would normally want to advertise. To subsidize this project, however, it was decided that the school should try to raise money by asking community members to buy the 55 new trees, which were $5,000 apiece.
The communications office needed to help make this initiative successful. Luckily for us, expectations were low. It was widely expected that we would only sell one tree. Perhaps that fired us up. Our goal was to sell all 55 and raise $275,000.
We decided to pull on heartstrings by using the wonderful memories we knew alumni had. One of the most beautiful and iconic entrances to a school, our Main Drive has always evoked a feeling of awe. Look to the right about halfway down the drive and you will see a stunning view of the ocean past Third Beach all the way to the horizon.
With an article and conceptual drawings shared through an email campaign, digital newsletter, and print magazine, we were able to raise $495,000, an excess of funds that are now being used to subsidize other landscape improvement and sustainability projects."
From the Judges
We liked the creativity and originality of this program. Beyond fundraising, we could see the project had a positive impact on donor relations. They had ambitious goals and exceeded all of them. We admired its simplicity that featured an effective strategy resulting in a very successful campaign. Lastly, very effective use of budget and resources.
