Development and Communications

History  Late 90’s and early 2000’s: OLAF and board recommendation to do private fundraising  2001: consultant (Susan Golden) retained to engage volunteers in fundraising and develop fundraising campaign  2002: consultant (Dennis Dorgan) retained to perform feasibility study for a private bar campaign  2003: campaign chairs and cabinet created – obvious that staff support was necessary; job posted for development director  2004: development director hired

Development & Communications Department  Purpose: Project a simple and consistent message for The Legal Aid Society of Cleveland that is directed at clients, community members, law firms, attorneys and sources of unrestricted funds.  Activities:  Development….  fundraise  recruitment of donors and volunteers  Communications…  communicate Legal Aid’s message and brand  advocacy and education to influence community opinion

Development  Individuals  Foundations  Law Firms/Corporations  Other Special Projects (government grants, partnerships, cy pres, one-time major gifts)

Development Results…  Individuals  Prior to 2004: gifts representing $15K- $20Kannually  2010: 815 gifts representing $160,000  Future: maintain growth of individual donor base so annual giving is consistently 15-20% of overall active database (currently at 10%); increase focus on major gift solicitation (beginning with $1000+ donors)  Additionally – endowment and planned giving!  Foundations  Prior to 2004: very little activity  2010: 62 gifts totaling $503,000  Future: once IOLTA increases and stabilizes, more focus on foundation grants to expand services and for impact work

Development Results…  Law Firms/Corporations  Prior to 2004: very little activity  2010: 78 gifts totaling $140,000  Future: focus on corporate giving more than law firms; cultivate law firms via combined individual gift/law firm campaign  Additionally… endowment and planned giving  Other Special Projects (government grants, partnerships)

Communications  Clients  General Community / Public Relations  Media Relations  Government Relations

Communications Results…  Clients  Prior to 2004: good-quality brochures produced in limited quantity; distribution and coordination of message was not consistent between offices/practice groups; design done internally with desktop publishing programs  2010: public presentations, brochures created with professional designers (translated into Spanish), new website  Future: maintain consistency and increase number of publications so all practice areas are represented  General Community / Public Relations  Prior to 2004: minimal attendance at bar association and other community events; Legal Aid attorneys were not encouraged to be “out and about”  2010: budget created for community tickets (lunches, meetings); attorneys attend one/event annually; Legal Aid “brand” evident  Future: simply continue

Communications Results…  Media Relations  Prior to 2004: average of 4-8 media mentions annually  2010: more than 140 media mentions in a variety of medium  Future: continue, but work closely with new Advocacy Committee on targeted media campaigns  Government Relations  Began in 2010: project to educate legislators (state and federal) about Legal Aid  Future: continue and expand

Ideas for OLAF Support & Statewide Collaboration  Statewide “philanthropy audit” or “fundraising/communications analysis” to give programs meaningful feedback on fundraising and communications work  Collaboration on proposals to national foundations for creative/innovative legal services work (with help of grant writer – so not one program is burdened)  Better coordination of statewide messages regarding legal services (ie, “Save the Dream” program not the example)  “Statehouse Day” and “Capitol Hill Day” for Ohio legal services  Someday: consultant support or wealth research for potential statewide operating/endowment campaign  Perhaps: Statewide workgroup focused on fundraising/communications