Helping grant wishes one step at a time.
On average, Make-A-Wish® grants the wish of a critically ill child every 34 minutes. These life-changing wishes can vary in cost based on the type of wish, but the average cost is around $8,000. So, it’s no wonder that fundraising is a critical element to Make-A-Wish success. Held each April in Tampa, Walk for Wishes is one of its largest and most important campaigns.
THE CHALLENGE
Make-A-Wish of Central and Northern Florida has a strong network of passionate supporters and corporate sponsors who have helped lift the walk to be the chapter's second-highest grossing fundraiser each year. One of the central challenges faced by Walk for Wishes, however, is that it is held during a time of year when many other philanthropic events take place — leaving the organization to compete for local participation.
Crackerjack Media delivered an integrated approach to public relations including media pitching, events, refreshed storytelling, and expertly timed releases.
THE OUTCOME
The success of our public relations efforts hinged a few key ideas.
We wanted to extend the timeline of the Walk for Wishes story in order to help capture new walkers and sponsors. You know what they say about the early bird!
We also wanted to communicate the impact of a wish in the personal and first-hand way only a Wish family could. So, we assembled a team of ambassador families who were eloquently relayed the meaningful ways Make-A-Wish had impacted their lives.
Finally, we wanted to create unique visual experiences that allowed us to reach audiences both in print and on-air before continuing the storytelling online.
These concerted efforts resulted in more than $75,000 in earned media exposure, and—more importantly—one of the most successful events in Tampa Bay Walk for Wishes history! More than 800 walkers came together at Tampa’s Curtis Hixon Park, having raised a record $217,000. The funds would go toward granting the wishes of 27 local children suffering from life-threatening medical conditions.
$75,000 EARNED IN MEDIA EXPOSURe • record-level fundraising
“Crackerjack Media worked tirelessly to ensure our event was flawless! We strongly feel that the success with Walk for Wishes was based in part on the media exposure they were able to gain. They not only helped coordinate all of media and marketing, but they made great suggestions on strategies we implemented even after the event.”