Higher education institutions have to keep up with a lot in order to attract new students each year. Facility updates, research equipment, attracting quality faculty, and providing enticing internship opportunities are just a few. All of those are wonderful things to be able to offer potential students, but they all come at a cost. It's for this reason that many institutions create large donation campaigns to get help fund their particular initiatives. However, you can't just hold out your hand and except someone to put cash in it. Donation campaigns are needed. In these, a case is made for why people should donate and details are shared on exactly how donations will be used to propel the school forward.

University of Wisconsin-Superior

The University of Wisconsin-Superior's Foundation came to us for help with just such an initiative. They thoroughly understood the value their institution provides students. They could speak all day on how donors' investments would directly help individuals. However, they needed help putting their message together succinctly in a way that allows them to achieve their fundraising goals.

Case for Support

In building the campaign, we first started with the overarching messaging theme: Together We Are Superior. We created a distinct wordmark for the theme to act as a strong visual reminder of the campaign's goal. The spreads of the campaign were then developed around three pillars, UWS' people, programs, and future. Each of these pillars received dedicated features detailing how donations to the campaign will directly impact each of those three areas within the University.The large campaign booklet came together with heartfelt stories, captivating imagery, and a clear call to action. When selecting imagery, we didn't just want to show the campus quad. Instead we methodically chose photos that capture a wide array of the enriching experiences UWS students enjoy. We created the campaign to be inviting so readers would have a sense of connection to the cause and feel encouraged to participate.As part of the campaign, we also developed a smaller promotional mailer. We had the pieces to work from within the larger campaign booklet, but distilling the information down brought its own challenges. Thoughtfully, we pulled out information we felt was the most compelling and would drive readers to want to learn more. We also created accompanying envelopes that showcase the campaign's wordmark and styling, bringing uniformity and professionalism to all the elements of the campaign.To see more work we've done for the University of Wisconsin-Superior, visit our Find Your Superior and Our Hive work pages. And to contribute to UWS' campaign, visit uwsuper.edu/give2uws/together/index.cfm