Annual Report Achieves Multiple Goals for AIDS Task Force
Last year, with donor support of only $800,000, the NO/AIDS Task Force in New Orleans was faced with a tough choice: Either pursue advertising dollars to offset the cost of producing an annual report or nix it altogether.
The harsh reality of declining funds over the past three years meant the NO/AIDS Task Force in New Orleans could not afford to develop an annual report for fiscal year 1997-1998.
In the mid-90s, donations to NO/AIDS, the oldest and largest AIDS service organization in the Gulf South, exceeded $1 million. But as new AIDS therapies hit the market with exciting results, AIDS was perceived as being less of a threat and funding to AIDS organizations like NO/AIDS took a nosedive.
Providing Unique Solutions
NO/AIDS approached Deveney Communication, a PR firm it had used for previous efforts, about the opportunity to produce the annual report and sell advertising for it. Although Deveney understood NO/AIDS' financial dilemma, selling advertising for the report was not an option the agency could live with, says John Deveney, the agency's senior counsel.
"We initially told them we were not interested in the project because advertising would cheapen [the report] and lessen their control of the content." Instead, Deveney recommended that NO/AIDS consider a single corporate underwriter that would benefit from an association with the organization's mission and absorb the cost of the project. Deveney suggested ZitaRX, a national mail order pharmacy that sponsored previous NO/AIDS events, which fit this profile and was interested in underwriting the $50,000 project. This was an exciting solution, but it only solved the short-term funding dilemma.
After extensive strategic planning and research, Deveney discovered that NO/AIDS also suffered damaging blows to its image and needed more than an annual report; it needed a communications piece that could inspire donations from a variety of audiences and clarify its community mission and services. Key misperceptions about NO/AIDS that affected its support included beliefs that the organization:
- underserved the African-American community;
- exclusively served homosexuals (specifically gay, white men);
- was overfunded and overstaffed; and
- attracted funding from primarily wealthy donors.
In addition to its image problems, NO/AIDS had recently undergone deep staff cuts and new leadership. The new staff had limited information about its own history. To get a clearer picture of NO/AIDS' vast community support and the changes in its client demographics and disease statistics, Deveney conducted executive interviews, focus groups, Internet research and audits.
This research revealed that diverse testimonials would be the most effective way to dispel the misconceptions about NO/AIDS while communicating its support of diverse ethnic communities, regardless of sexual orientation and economic status.
Using the theme of hands to underscore NO/AIDS' commitment to community service, the report featured several testimonials, including a local TV anchor, minority volunteers, and clinical professionals.
Two endorsements, however, which were the toughest to obtain gave the report a high-profile regional and international prominence. After working through layers of bureaucracy, Deveney secured testimonials from Elton John, considered a well-respected international AIDS advocate, and New Orleans Mayor Marc M. Morial, who had a policy of not supporting nonprofits in this way.
Telling the Full Story
The annual report, which has been distributed to several hundred organizations so far, has been successful at telling NO/AIDS' compelling story, says Noel Twilbeck, executive director for NO/AIDS. It's too soon to determine how it has affected its donor support. Anecdotally, however, it generated more than $65,000 in financial support within the first few months. One donor chose to double its typical gift after receiving the report, says Twilbeck.
In addition, the report:
- positions NO/AIDS as an AIDS service leader within the competitive landscape of at least 20 AIDS/HIV agencies in the market that are vying for the same funding dollars;
- has a shelflife of at least three years with financial and statistical information that can be inserted annually;
Deveney's work on this project earned international recognition with two Gold Quill awards and the Jake Wittmer Award, which recognizes outstanding research, campaign implementation and results.
Ironically, the report has one downside, says Twillbeck. It's so well done that some people have a hard time believing that NO/AIDS has financial woes. "I have to remind people that the report is the result of a wonderful donor."
(Deveney Communications, John Deveney, 504/949-3999; NO/AIDS Task Force, Noel Twilbeck, 504/821-2601)
Graphically Dispelling Myths
The NO/AIDS annual report uses compelling visuals to debunk myths about its limited community support. Graphically the report conveys its diverse outreach:
- 66% of the photos show minorities (including African Americans and women);
- 60% of the graphs show African Americans receiving key community support;
- 40% of the graphs demonstrate that NO/AIDS is neither overfunded nor overstaffed; and
- 62% of the testimonials feature heterosexuals, 38% homosexuals, emphasizing the HIV virus' current trends.
Source: Deveney Communications