JobTrain Case Study

JobTrain

A Job Training Organization Increases Its Revenue

Ongoing fundraising and communications strategies are helping this organization elevate its brand, leverage AI, and raise more money.

Organizational & Brand Strategy
Fundraising Messaging
Capital Campaign Messaging Strategy
Annual Fund & Spring Appeal Campaigns
Fundraising Event Promotion
Annual Impact Reports
Internal & External Newsletters
Videos
Custom AI Solutions
AI Technology Adoption
Strategic Consulting

Fundraising Results

61% increase

in total amount raised v. prior year

2024 YEAR-END CAMPAIGN

400% return on investment

and reclaimed 3 long-lapsed donors

2025 SPRING APPEAL

Fundraising Results

61% increase

in total amount raised v. prior year

2024 YEAR-END CAMPAIGN

400% return on investment

and reclaimed 3 long-lapsed donors

2025 SPRING APPEAL

School Capital Campaign Brochure

Yeshivah of Flatbush

School Capital Campaign

We developed the name, logo, messaging, and brochure for this school’s $50 million capital campaign for new buildings and renovations.

Services

Discovery & Stakeholder Insights
Campaign Theme, Name & Logo
Fundraising Messaging
Case for Support Brochure

Transforming Space to Empower the Future

To address pressing infrastructure needs and prepare the next generation of Jewish leaders, Yeshivah of Flatbush launched a bold campaign to reimagine its elementary and middle school facilities.

Challenge

Yeshivah of Flatbush faced several hurdles: aging buildings, overcrowded facilities, and the need for learning environments that match 21st-century education. The school had recently completed a high school campaign and was asking donors for another major investment during a time when giving was also being directed toward Israel and other urgent causes.

Solution

We framed the case in a positive way: the school is so successful that our enrollment exceeds our capacity. We developed a campaign that emphasized both urgency and aspiration. Rooted in the message “our kids deserve more,” the campaign positioned this capital project as an investment not just in facilities, but in children’s education, community pride, and the future of Jewish leadership.

Building a Case That Resonates

Drawing on the themes of joy, pride, and legacy, the case for support framed the investment in these key dimensions:

Educational Excellence: Environments designed for modern pedagogy, enhanced enrichment programs, and improved student-teacher interaction.
Student Transformation: Emphasizing how the new physical space would be transformational for students in their academic learning, social development, and community pride.
Community Investment: A call to invest in the next generation of leaders and sustain the cohesiveness of Brooklyn’s Jewish community.
Fiscal Responsibility: Highlighting a phased, financially prudent approach to construction and the school’s commitment to tight fiscal management.

Telling the Story, Creating a Tactile Experience

The upscale production of the brochure suggests the quality of the new buildings. An extra-thick cover, gold foil stamping, clear foil, vellum overleaf, and satin-finish paper provide a tactile experience to engage affluent donors.

Other Case for Support Projects

Helping a Homeless Organization Reach New Heights

LifeMoves

Helping a Homelessness Organization Reach New Heights

We helped one of the largest providers of services for the homeless in the country reach unprecedented levels of growth to meet increased needs in Silicon Valley.

Organizational & Brand Strategy
Brand Positioning, Design & Management
Fundraising Campaigns
Fundraising Event Promotion
Corporate Sponsorship Materials
Strategic Messaging & Presentations
CEO Letters & Communications
Annual Reports & Newsletters
Thought Leadership & Client Success Videos
Website Pages & Enhancements
Google Ad Grant Management

A growing homelessness crisis demands effective approaches and funding. LifeMoves tapped into our strategic branding, marketing, and fundraising services to propel the organization to take on this challenge. With a new CEO at the helm, we helped position LifeMoves for success. Over the four years we have worked with this nonprofit, its annual revenue grew from $38 million to $118 million due largely to new government contracts.

Select Results

19% increase

in total amount raised v. prior year

2020 YEAR-END CAMPAIGN

42% increase

in total amount raised v. prior year

2021 YEAR-END CAMPAIGN

43% increase

in average gift amount for lower-level donors

2021 YEAR-END CAMPAIGN

65% increase

in average gift amount for higher-level donors

2021 YEAR-END CAMPAIGN

100% increase

in number of donations by lapsed donors v. prior year

2020 SPRING APPEAL

100% increase

in amount donated by lapsed donors v. prior year

2020 SPRING APPEAL

43% increase

in monthly givers over 2 years

2021 – 2023

475% increase

increase in the amount raised v. prior year

2021 RIDE TO END HOMELESSNESS

73% increase

increase in the amount raised v. prior year

2022 RIDE TO END HOMELESSNESS

The Challenge

LifeMoves first brought on Red Rooster Group to improve its fundraising in March 2020, just as COVID started. The organization needed to keep its 7,000 clients safe and re-trench for the new realities of lockdowns. Since then, the closing of businesses exacerbated the already unprecedented homeless situation due to rising home prices in Silicon Valley. LifeMoves needed to raise money for the short term and develop its brand and fundraising outreach to address growing needs.

Transforming an Organization

Over four years, Red Rooster Group has worked to enhance the organization’s strategic perspective, brand story, fundraising outreach, and marketing communications.

Our brand repositioning work helped reshape perceptions of the organization from a provider of services locally, to a leader that has been recognized by the state with solutions that can be adopted elsewhere. LifeMoves built one of the first modular, interim housing facilities in Northern California (whose opening was attended by the Governor) and won contracts for six more sites, including one of the largest in Northern California.

We have managed fundraising campaigns that have brought back lapsed donors and increased the amounts raised, including their largest campaign ever, and promoted fundraising events that attracted key audiences such as high-level donors and elected officials.

Our strategic advice, research, and communications have elevated the organization as it introduced its strategic plan, attracted new corporate and community partners, and set a strong foundation for success.

By introducing new fundraising ideas and best practices, we have increased the organization’s level of sophistication so that it can continue to improve results.

How We Helped

Strategy

Organizational, Fundraising, Marketing, Branding, & Thought Leadership

Leveraged the CEO as an authoritative voice on the issue to position the organization as a national leader on homelessness.
Developed strategy presentations to convey the needs of homelessness in Silicon Valley and attract funding from corporations.
Supported the organization’s strategic plan by creating a presentation, summary document, webpage, and promoting a series of online events to introduce the strategic plan to high-end donors, government officials, and community partners.

Individual Fundraising

Produce two campaigns per year (spring and year-end), including developing concepts, narrative, and theme, writing and designing direct mail packages and email series, producing videos, creating landing pages and donation pages, social media posts, and handling campaign management. Introduced personalization, custom gift arrays, and efficient mailing techniques.

Major Donor Fundraising

Promote two Principal Giving events annually including all digital strategy, outreach, presentation, journals, and sponsorship packages. Created customized materials and managed customized emailing for 7 Principal Gift Officers.

Fundraising Events

Promote the annual Ride to End Homelessness peer-to-peer fundraising event. Created brand strategy, designed new event logo, developed segmented email strategy and managed all emails, and design other promotion (advertising, banners, etc.). The ride has grown from $40K before us, to $400k in revenue.

Corporate Giving

Support the corporate sponsorship department with a range of strategic and marketing initiatives to shore up corporate support including researching and developing a presentation on homelessness in Silicon Valley and materials to promote sponsorship opportunities for the new interim housing sites and other opportunities.
Created materials to solicit sponsorship naming rights on LifeMoves facilities.

Brand Management

Evolved the organization’s brand to be more authentic — from merely showing happy outcomes to conveying the vulnerabilities of people experiencing homelessness and the complexities of their circumstances.
Balanced their story of interim housing sites with their services, crafting the narrative around their customized, and comprehensive approaches to helping people achieve stability.
Stewarded their brand and updated their colors and overall look to be more dynamic.

Organizational Collateral

Crafted their organizational story and corporate collateral materials.
Designed banners and pop-up displays for community events.
Produce their annual Impact Report.
Write and design their quarterly print and email newsletters.
Write and design the monthly Keygivers email newsletter for monthly supporters.

Website

Set up landing pages in WordPress and donation pages in Classy to support fundraising campaigns.
Create new website sections and pages and update website content as needed.

Videos

Produce videos to tell the organization’s story and elevate its profile. Includes scripting, on-site shooting, and all post-production work.
- Thought Leadership Videos (click and scroll down)
- Client stories
- Services videos
- New Sites
- Other Videos

Communications Planning

Conducted an analysis of all emails sent by the organization over a 2-year period by audience and results, open rate, click rate, etc.
Handle dozens of emails for the organization over the course of the year (developing schedules. writing, designing, testing and approvals, coordination of URLs and lists, documenting, and reporting).

Fundraising & Marketing Continuity

Maintained all outreach, fundraising, website updates, etc. through 2 Executive Directors, a complete turnover of the Marketing Team, and new Chief Philanthropy Officer, and several new VPs of Development, providing stability and continuity throughout the organization’s growth.

What the Client Says

“I had the opportunity to work with Howard and the Red Rooster Group team during organizational change and growth initiatives at LifeMoves, one of the largest providers of homeless services in Silicon Valley. Howard’s talent for blending analytical thinking and creative problem-solving became critical for our transformation. He was a true partner and collaborator in our success.

He and his team are strong in revitalizing brands, launching groundbreaking initiatives, and tackling complex social issues. What truly sets Howard apart is his ability to look beyond immediate challenges. He envisions comprehensive solutions that drive long-term success, blending his expertise in behavioral psychology and fundraising with a genuine passion for creating positive change.

When you work with Howard, you’re not just gaining expertise; you’re partnering with a thought leader who expands your horizons and helps you achieve audacious goals.”

Marie Amoruso Jackson, Chief Marketing Officer

“I’m finally wrapping up my day and wanted to tell you all how great you were today. You totally hit it out of the park (just like my Dodgers last night!). We heard nothing but totally positive comments afterward. Your suggestions on how to engage the team right from the start were spot on. Many, many thanks.”

Katherine Finnigan, Development

“AMAZING….thank you Amit & Erin for making all this happen so quickly after our conversations…

Best“

Marie Jackson, Chief Marketing Officer

“This is such an understatement of what you did, Amit, what with the testing for ALL of these plus sorting out exclusions. Thank you for your amazing work!”

Erin Hayes, Database Specialist

“This is what you’ll call a well-oiled and amazing machine!!! Thank you!”

Camille Gonzalez Kennedy | Vice President of Philanthropy

[re: our customized sending of emails for spring events]

“Brian, not sure who is doing your videos and online appeals, but I want to give a heartfelt congratulations to the folks responsible for this one. The subject heading is what I always tell nonprofits who want coverage or for people to actually read what you’ve done. As a professional in the business for more than 40 years, I don’t give kudos often. This one works.”

Rita

“You all rocked the webinar this morning… huge thanks to all that you did as we went through all the learnings and even our ‘interesting’ glitches on the back end. Your calm and expertise really did shine…

We so appreciate you…”

Marie Jackson, Chief Marketing Officer

Helping an Environmental Organization Take Flight

American Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel

Helping an Environmental Organization Take Flight

We helped Israel’s largest environmental organization build its fundraising capacity and reach donors in the U.S. with a new brand, website, and digital campaigns.

Services

Brand & Website Analysis
Brand Positioning & Messaging
Membership Benefits
Website Copywriting
Website Design
Website Development
Digital Donor Acquisition Campaigns
Advocacy Petitions
Webinars
Fundraising Emails
Fundraising Direct Mail
Promoting Travel to Israel

3.3 Million

IMPRESSIONS

1.6 Million

PEOPLE REACHED

8,500

NEW PROSPECT EMAILS COLLECTED

“Howard’s thought partnership helped Nature Israel take a great leap forward. Our new website has brought us new major donors, including several major corporate entities. I highly recommend Red Rooster Group.”

– Rachel Canar, Executive Director

The Challenge

Established at the country’s founding, the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel is the oldest and largest environmental organization in Israel. But it is not well known in the United States, making fundraising a challenge. Red Rooster Group was brought in the elevate its American fundraising arm, known as Nature Israel, and build a base of supporters in the United States.

What We Accomplished

Developed the brand positioning and created a donor presentation.

Built a new donor-focused website to improve awareness in the United States.

Established the Nature Israel Travel Brand, webpages, and brochures, and generated leads of people interested in their trips.

Significantly increased the awareness of Nature Israel reaching 1.6 million people with 3.3 million impressions.

Built a prospect database of 8,500 emails of people who have taken an action for the organization. (such as signing a petition).

Defining the Brand

Our first step was to leverage unique insights to establish a clear brand value. The organization had presented itself as protecting wildlife, advocating for nature, educating the public, and providing recreational opportunities in nature.

But to get the brand noticed in the United States, something more was needed.

Leveraging Israel’s reputation as a start-up nation for innovation —with its technology improving lives globally — we positioned Nature Israel as the green beacon for the world. As one of the most dense, diverse, and developed countries on Earth, Israel’s environmental solutions could have far-ranging impact for other countries.

Telling the Story

In order to engage donors in the organization’s work and impact, we created a presentation that describes its success in conservation, education, activism, and eco-tourism.

Webinar to Introduce this Nonprofit’s Brand

We created a webinar as a way to introduce Nature Israel to American audiences and generate leads, promoting it on Facebook with various audience targeting strategies. The webinar highlighted environmental technology that came out of Israel, featured the membership benefits chart we developed to engage people in membership, and invited webinar participants to visit the organization’s sites in Israel.

Creating a Fundraising Website

We created a new website for this nonprofit to appeal to donors in the United States. This website serves as their prime vehicle for fundraising. We started from scratch, reimagining the user experience, writing all the copy, creating the design, and developing the interactive features.

The website features the organization’s current initiatives, a timeline showcasing 70 years of impact, multiple pages describing reasons to support Nature Israel, customized news feeds and other features.

NATURE ISRAEL WEBSITE

Digital Campaign to Attract Prospective Donors

To engage audiences, the website features webinars, a travel section, petitions, and other features to generate leads and cultivate prospective donors. The lead generation features are integrated into MailChimp and Salesforce to create a robust database for the organization.

Using Petitions to Generate Leads

Our fundraising goals include generating new leads for Nature Israel and cultivating them as potential donors. To accomplish this, we implemented a 2-stage process. We attracted new leads by promoting petitions, a webinar, and blog posts on Facebook.

The campaigns led people to a Facebook form or landing page where we collected emails. We used five different audience targeting strategies, and A/B split testing on all ads. This has enabled us to collect more than 7,000 leads in a short period of time. The next phase involves cultivating these prospects into donors through a series of email campaigns.

Promoting Eco-Tourism

To cultivate larger donors, Nature Israel is running trips to experience “the wild side of Israel” — its amazing wildlife and nature sites. We created a Nature Israel Travel section on the website with extensive pages about each trip, brochures, email campaigns, and social posts.

TRAVEL WEB PAGE

DOWNLOAD BROCHURE

Nature Israel Travel March Trip Brochure

Travel Emails

Building a Fundraising Infrastructure

As Nature Israel’s strategic fundraising partner, we are setting a foundation for their growth by:

Creating an Operations Manual that documents all fundraising and marketing processes and is continually updated as needed.
Providing critical technological support in setting up and maintaining their back-end systems, including the WordPress website, MailChimp, Classy, and integrations between systems.
Cleaning up lists in MailChimp by consolidating tags.
Creating an Editorial Style Guide to ensure consistent communications throughout the organization.
Developing a master Marketing Calendar including emails, fundraising, event promotion, and other activities.
Coordinating marketing and fundraising activities with the Israel team.
Creating direct mail packages, handling printing and mailing management.
Introducing personalization and custom gift arrays in their direct mail.
Producing special fundraising projects, including Tribute Books.
Promoting organizational events in the United States.

Achieving Results

Foundation

Nature Israel now has a clearly defined brand, an engaging website, and a solid foundation to support its fundraising.

Prospects

Our digital outreach campaigns have generated more than 8,000 emails of people who have taken action on behalf of the organization.

Travel

Our travel promotion has resulted a list of several hundred people interested in their trips as well as groups visiting Israel to see the organization’s work first-hand.

4.1 Million
Impressions

43,654
Link Clicks

8,439
Emails Collected

“Howard and his team managed a rebrand and new website launch for Nature Israel. They really helped bring our organization into the 21st century. The website that they created is just beautiful and we are constantly getting this feedback. The SEO optimization they implemented is truly awesome, bringing us many new people from organic searches. Most importantly, this has brought it new major donors, including several major corporate entities looking for water offsets and environmental organizations in the region. Howard’s thought partnership helped Nature Israel take a great leap forward and he remains a true friend of our organization. He remains responsive to this day. I highly recommend him.”

– Rachel Canar, Executive Director

Telling the Story of Poverty’s Impact

The Shared Humanity Project

Telling the Story of Poverty’s Impact

Real poverty is almost twice what most people think it is. We helped this organization define its brand and communicate its solution to donors.

Services

Discovery
Brand Positioning & Messaging
Visual Identity
Donor Presentation

Exploring Poverty

We took a deep dive into the various definitions of poverty, measurement indices, history of poverty, and other aspects of economic need.

Developing Their Message

Donors need to understand why this organization’s perspective on poverty matters. We guided their team in crafting a clear description of their work and its impact.

Who We Are

We are passionate experts bringing decades of experience in programs that address poverty. This includes on-the-ground experience delivering programs in the most underserved and at-risk communities as well as decades of research on safety net and family support programs in public and private think tanks.

What We Do

We are building a national movement to end poverty in the United States by redefining what “poverty” means, measuring it locally and accurately, and educating and engaging individuals and entities from all sectors to work together to eradicate it.

Why We Do It

If it were your child or your parent who lived each day in poverty, with the constant stress that comes with never ending scarcity or the constant danger that comes with living in economically distressed communities, you would feel the urgency to solve it. We started The Shared Humanity Project because poverty is solvable when we bring the commitment, creativity, and appropriate priority. Our plan has specific actions that every person and every organization can take to help solve a crisis that affects every one of us, not just the more than 75 million Americans who do not have the financial stability to get by on their own.

Why It Is Important

To allow for millions of Americans to live in the scarcity of poverty when we have the knowledge and the resources to solve it is inhumane. To allow this to be the case, decade after decade is worse. Alternatively, when we ensure that every American has sufficient economic stability, we can transform humanity from what is to what can be, unlocking the potential of all Americans.

What Impact We Have

We aim to transform the way that society views and measures poverty and engage everyone in creating positive change. This effort changes all of us in qualitative and quantitative ways, uniting us and arriving at solutions, together. The long-term impact is a shared experience of life where our potential is realized rather than imagined.

Why Donors Should Support Us

For decades, poverty has been seen as an intractable problem, a “normal” part of American life. Yet it is solvable. We have done the research and built an organization to engage all sectors of society equally to tackle this issue. Our National Plan highlights the extent and depth of poverty in this country. It reveals the number of people living at 50% of median income in each county as a springboard to actions that people can take through our website. It provides an effective answer to the question “What can I do?”

Articulating Their Distinction

And we helped them articulate the core values that make this organization’s approach unique.

Comprehensive

We take a comprehensive approach that cuts across various silos (such as food, wages, housing, etc.).

Interconnected

We bring all sectors together to address this issue.

Practical

We provide a broad array of ways to make a difference and make it easy to take action.

Non-ideological

We offer a range of solutions independent of government support that do not take sides or favor particular ideologies.

Grounded in Research

Our solutions are based on decades of on-the-ground work and research.

Individual Action

We emphasize the shared responsibility of each of us to take action to address this collective societal problem.

Developing the Visual Identity

Visualizing the National Plan

Core to communicating the essence of The National Plan to End Poverty was creating a graphic that shows the audiences, issues, and actions to be taken.

Crafting the Story for Donors

The Case for Support takes donors on a journey. It describes the problem and challenges the norms of measuring poverty, yet it is hopeful. There is a solution.

SELECTED SLIDES SHOWN

We open with an emotional hook and introduce the problem.

Compelling comparisons and graphics help tell the story.

The solution is introduced.

We build the case for supporting a larger vision of societal change.

“Awesome work. Your thoughts and insights are fantastic – and I feel that way every time we speak.”

Mark Bergel, Ph.D, Co-Founder, The Shared Humanity Project

Raising Money to Fight Homelessness

LifeMoves

Raising Money to Solve Homelessness

Over the past several years, we have helped the largest organization addressing the homeless crisis in Silicon Valley to exceed its fundraising goals.

Services

Annual Fundraising Campaigns
Direct Mail
Personalization for 6 Audiences
Email Campaigns
Donation Landing Page
Social Media
Digital Assets

2020 Year-End Campaign

How do you approach tapped-out donors after you have just finished a campaign for pandemic relief? You bridge the gap between crisis and strength with a message about moving forward.

Our theme emphasized past successes while encouraging people to become a part of a better future. The brochure was designed using Action Design principles to engage donors — with individual tabs that encouraged recipients to explore the message.

Direct Mail

Customized versions of the letter and response card for six different audiences included personalization acknowledging last gift amounts and gift arrays in incremental multiples.

$2 million raised

in conjunction with major donor outreach.

Exceeded goal by $500k

2021 Year-End Campaign

For this campaign, the bar was raised — and we met it. Leveraging the successful launch of the new LifeMoves site, we created a campaign around the concept of scaling this success. This campaign also exceeded its goals.

Emails

The campaign consisted of a series of 6 emails describing the new plans and stories of people who were helped by the organization.

Social Media

We created a series of social media posts to elevate the CEO’s voice calling out the injustice of people living on the streets in Silicon Valley as an important component of this campaign.

Postcard

Postcards augmented the direct mail piece as a reminder to donors to support the campaign.

$2.4 million raised

in conjunction with major donor outreach.

The most ever for the organization.

FUNDRAISING

Unified Campaign Promotes Suicide Prevention Walks

American Foundation for Suicide Prevention

Unified Identity Promotes Suicide Prevention Walks

The pre-eminent events to raise money to prevent suicide needed a comprehensive brand identity to connect their three different types of events while retaining independent recognition for each.

Community Walks

Overnight Walks

We created a flexible system for print and digital ads and flyers that event hosts could customize for their local events across the country.

Campus Walks

The adaptable system was designed to increase awareness of the events in order to drive engagement and fundraising.

People around the country are using these tools to host local events in their communities that are coordinated with the national events for a consistent brand experience.

JCC Capital Campaign Brochure

Sid Jacobson Jewish Community Center

Capital Campaign Uses Stories of Intersecting Lives

To raise money for renovation and expansion at this Jewish Community Center, we used a storytelling approach. We developed the theme of Intersecting Lives to show how the JCC brings together different people from the community.

Services

Campaign Theme & Identity
Campaign Logo & Digital Assets
Core Fundraising Messaging
Campaign Brochure

Challenge

We had to communicate the value of needed upgrades to the existing building as well as a new facility that would serve as a community food hub for those in need.

Solution

Our solution was to use stories to show how integral this JCC was to different populations within the community.

The brochure describes the specific improvements to the building as well as new additions planned, framed around supporting the Jewish community and putting Jewish values into action.

The hand-drawn style of the people and textured stock lend a personal touch, while a pocket contains inserts describing the various giving opportunities for donors.

We designed the brochure around three stories, each featuring three different people who connect at the JCC. The stories are told in panels that show two people but open up to reveal all three.

A spread features quotes about how people will benefit from the capital improvements.

See more examples of capital campaign brochures and learn more about our capital campaign services on our site: CapitalCampaignKit.com

Capital Campaign for U.S. Navy Seabee Museum

U.S Navy Seabees

Capital Campaign for U.S. Navy Seabee Museum

$10 Million Campaign

To preserve the legacy of the U.S. Navy’s construction battalions, the CEC/Seabee Historical Foundation conducted a $10 million capital campaign to fund state-of-the-art exhibits at the U.S. Navy Seabee Museum in Port Hueneme, CA.

Services

Competitive Analysis & Campaign Strategy
Campaign Theme
Core Fundraising Messaging
Campaign Identity & Logo System
Digital Assets & Style Guide
Campaign Website
Campaign Brochure

The Challenge

A Campaign That Had Stalled — and a Donor Base That Had Shrunk

The CEC/Seabee Historical Foundation had an ambitious goal: raise $10 million to fund state-of-the-art exhibits at the U.S. Navy Seabee Museum in Port Hueneme, CA. But the campaign needed more than a refresh. It needed to expand beyond its existing donor base of military veterans and their families to reach the construction and engineering industries, STEM educators and students, and the broader public. Without a compelling story that could speak to all of them, the campaign would keep fishing in the same small pond.

The Insight

What Makes the Seabees Different From Every Other Military Branch

We started with a competitive analysis of military and institutional capital campaigns. The question was simple: what makes the Seabees a cause worth supporting that no other campaign can claim?

The answer was in the stories.

On Iwo Jima, Seabees solved the problem of a hidden enemy patrol by pumping 500,000 gallons of water into their cave.

A Seabee got his engine running again by building a working condenser from tinfoil stripped off cigarette packs, waxed paper from a fruitcake box, and a discarded beer can.

In the field, Seabees converted 55-gallon drums into sewer pipes, roofing material, canoes, bathtubs, and solar-heated showers.

No other branch had stories like these. The Seabees didn’t just fight — they invented, improvised, and engineered their way through every obstacle.

Messaging Strategy

The Insight That Unlocked the Campaign

That pattern of solving impossible problems with whatever was at hand became our strategic foundation. It wasn’t just military valor. It was the same creative problem-solving that drives modern engineering, powers the construction industry, and defines what we want STEM education to produce.

Ingenuity was the thread that could connect a Seabee veteran to a construction executive, a museum donor to a high school student considering a career in the trades. It gave the campaign a story bigger than its history — and an audience far larger than its traditional base.

Campaign Theme & Identity: 75 Years of Ingenuity at Work

The theme we developed — 75 Years of Ingenuity at Work — anchors the campaign in the Seabees’ diamond anniversary while making their legacy relevant to audiences who may never have heard of them. The campaign logo and visual identity system were built around that idea: flexible enough to work across print, digital, and event materials, consistent enough to build recognition across a long campaign. We delivered a complete style guide with all assets so the Foundation’s team could execute independently across every fundraising touchpoint.

A Website That Pulls Donors Into the Story

The campaign website was designed to do more than present information — it invites visitors to explore the Seabees’ ingenuity before ever asking them to give. Prospective donors learn who the Seabees were, what the museum represents, and specifically how their contribution will transform the visitor experience. The site gives every audience segment — veterans, industry leaders, educators, and first-time visitors — a reason to care.

A Brochure Built on Action Design Principles

The campaign brochure was crafted using Action Design — a framework for moving readers from awareness to commitment. Rather than leading with need, it leads with identity: the pride military families feel in service, the relevance of Seabee skills to today’s workforce, and the power of the museum to inspire the next generation of engineers and builders. It makes the case that preserving the Seabees’ story isn’t nostalgia — it’s an investment in the future of American innovation.

A Legacy Preserved. A New Generation of Supporters Engaged.

The 75 Years of Ingenuity at Work campaign gave the Foundation the tools to tell a story that had never been told quite this way — and to tell it to audiences who had never heard it. By anchoring the campaign in the Seabees’ defining trait rather than their military history alone, we helped the Foundation move beyond its traditional donor base and make the case for a museum that belongs not just to veterans but to anyone who believes in American ingenuity, skilled labor, and the people who build things that matter.

To give the campaign lasting momentum, we built a communications strategy around the voices of core donors — Seabee veterans and their families, alongside business and industry leaders who connected with the mission. Their stories became the campaign’s most powerful fundraising tool, demonstrating the breadth of the Seabee legacy and the range of people it inspired.

The campaign website anchored the ongoing storytelling with a blog that kept the campaign alive between solicitations, featuring new Seabee stories, donor spotlights, and updates on the museum’s progress. It gave supporters a reason to stay engaged, share the campaign with their networks, and see themselves as part of something larger than a single gift.

Updated Messaging & Materials Breathe New Life Into Social Service Agency

How does a 112-year-old social service agency increase its visibility to engage participants and donors?

A clear, purposeful message, unified voice, and visual look with consistency across all marketing galvanized staff and inspired donors.

UMFS had a cliché mission statement: Touching lives. Creating futures.

We gave them a new one around the theme of unwavering champions for high-risk children and families.

We created a cohesive and recognizable visual look with inspiring headlines around their theme that helps UMFS stand out from other social service agencies.

We unified their visual identity so that all divisions have appropriate symbols that connect to the parent organization.

To reflect UMFS’ new messaging we changed the name of their newsletter from Guardian to The Champion and showcased people who are living the organization’s mission.

To communicate the organization’s successes in a compelling way in their Impact Report, we created infographics visualizing accomplishments in five areas corresponding to their values.

We developed a responsive website that appealed to clinicians, parents, and donors. We wrote and designed the website to make it easy for users to understand UMFS’ services and take action, as well as for staff to update.

A benefit-oriented headline, short copy, and unique graphics greet site visitors.

A rollover invites site visitors to explore donation levels.

Information is presented in small increments and reflows when viewed on tablets and phones.

Throughout the site, stylized illustrations contribute to a design that’s both inviting and informative. Pages for each division of the agency thoughtfully address the concerns and challenges faced by each demographic.

A rollover invites site visitors to explore services.

Modular block system makes pages interesting, and can be easily updated by the client.

The History page features a vertical timeline with vintage photos.

The Careers page was designed to attract high-quality staff.

To help UMFS communicate its message to its 300 employees statewide, we created a brand book that illustrates key points in an easy-to-understand way.

We held brand workshops for key staff and the board to help them understand and embrace the brand messages. The sessions included hands-on activities to create enthusiasm for their brand.

Red Rooster Group staff introduce UMFS’ new messaging.

About 80 key staff attended the workshop. We held a separate session for the board.

To emphasize the message of ”Unwavering Champions,” we created cutouts so people could photograph themselves as champions.

For one activity, participants wrote and performed a song using UMFS’ new messages.

We asked participants to decorate and post a sheet depicting the wall surrounding their campus to demonstrate what’s behind the wall.

A balloon drop helped generate excitement and underscore the importance of the brand initiative.

“You guys really nailed what we are all about. I really feel I understand our messages, and embrace them.”

BRAND WORKSHOP PARTICIPANT”

The UMFS staff is now living their brand!

“Red Rooster Group captured the social impact and organizational DNA that was a part of our culture. Due to our new mission, we proudly refer to ourselves as unwavering champions for high-risk children and families. Our board and staff have rallied around this bold new message and our donors, customers, and competitors have taken notice.”

GREG PETERS
UMFS, President & Chief Executive Officer

Brochure Re-invigorates Capital Campaign

Client: Yeshivah of Flatbush

To help re-energize this school’s stalled capital campaign, Red Rooster Group developed an enticing brochure that went beyond the architectural renderings that had previously been used.

Our approach was to help donors understand the school’s story and what the new spaces would mean for students. We brought the static renderings to life by using vellum overlays with quotes from students about how the new spaces would improve their educational experience and build a more vibrant community.

We also emphasized the progress that had been made with an updated floor plan that highlighted the spaces already completed. The oversized 15 x 10 inch format (which opens to 30 inches) with full page, full bleed images, and vellum overlays gets donors to take another look at what the school is really about, and provide multiple ways to engage donors based on their various interests.

Cancer Group Raises Funds and Awareness with Fundraising Campaign

Triple Negative Breast Cancer Foundation

Raising Awareness and Funds for Breast Cancer Research

Our multi-faceted campaign raised awareness of the cause, motivated 100 people around the country to host fundraising events, and raised $200,000 for the organization.

Event Branding

A clean symbol of a dove made from three parts, each with three arcs reinforces the concept of Triple Negative Breast Cancer.

Event Microsite

To encourage peer-to-peer fundraising, we updated the organization’s fundraising platform with bold, energetic graphics, and lots of resources to help people host successful events.

Emails

We redesigned the emails to be more attention-getting and more personal, with appeals from others in their communities. Each had a clear call to action. These efforts dramatically increased the response rate.

Before

After

All the emails we designed followed suit, with clear, compelling graphics that reflected the Triple Negative Breast Cancer Day brand while warmly welcoming people to the community and making clear the actions people could take.

Social Media

We produced a comprehensive social media campaign to generate interest and motivate people to host events and donate.

Printed Materials

We developed a range of print materials as part of the overall marketing outreach to support people who were producing local events.

Public Relations

A vigorous public relations outreach campaign to publications, websites, and blogs achieved a wide range of local and national coverage for the organization. As a result, more than 100 events were held around the country, raising more than $200,000 for the organization.

State Proclamations

In addition, to create credibility for the cause, we reached out to state governments to declare March 3 as Triple Negative Breast Cancer Day. Eleven states issued proclamations, which we touted on social media to bolster community and awareness in those states.

Opening Bell of the New York Stock Exchange

To gain even more publicity for the organization, we arranged for the client to ring the opening bell of the New York Stock Exchange. The ceremony was covered on network and cable broadcast news, with the organizational logo featured prominently.

Media Coverage

CNBC Squawk on the Street
CNN American Morning
FOX NEWS Your World
FOX KTVU Morning News (San Francisco)
ABC KXTV News 10 Good Morning (Sacramento)

Results

As a result, more than 100 events were produced around the country, raising $200,000 and greatly increasing awareness of the organization and its cause.