It’s not called March Madness for nothing!
There are always upsets in the NCAA Tournament, but 2018 seems to be the year of the underdog. Just in the first round alone, there were three Cinderella moments: No. 13 Buffalo beat No. 4 Arizona, No. 13 Marshall beat No. 4 Wichita State, and then there’s the mother of all upsets – No. 16 University of Maryland Baltimore County put a hurting on the number one seed Virginia! Talk about David vs. Goliath! The only time in NCAA Tournament history a No. 16 seed has beaten a No. 1 seed.
But how in the world is the NCAA tournament relevant to Angel Oak Creative’s blog? It’s actually pretty simple:
You’re never out of the fight!
In a marketplace driven by profit, it’s pretty fair to say that nonprofits are the underdogs. They’re working each day to defeat a problem much bigger than their capacity, and then on top of that, they have to focus on raising enough money to survive. So we love it when the underdog wins! We’d like to recognize three clients who overcame amazing odds to meet or exceed their goals. They’re the ultimate champs in our books!
Executive Director Joy Currey had nine months to save the land where CORRAL operated for the girls who called it home. But one million things stood in her way, that is $1MM. Thanks to an amazing community response (and a lot of divine orchestration), CORRAL raised the $1MM in just three months, six months ahead of schedule. How?
By believing it could be done. Talk about a Million Dollar Miracle!
Click here to learn more about CORRAL’s Forever Home campaign.
For 67 years, New Life Camp had served more than 100,000 kids, and the camp was experiencing “a little” wear and tear from all that activity. So, how does a small summer camp in North Raleigh beat the odds and raise $2MM (phase one) to rebuild its facilities during its busiest time of year?
Believe it can be done. Director Greg Burton took a leap of faith and launched the CAMP ON campaign. E
ight months later, it successfully met its phase-one goal! We call that a slam dunk!
Learn more about the CAMP ON campaign here.
Within 18 months, Hope Reins grew its annual revenue from $350k to $1MM+ because they believed it could be done. How? By looking like a $1MM organization before they became one. All it took was an investment in “growing up” their brand. They stopped cutting corners on graphic design and started looking the way they wanted to be perceived. Learn more about Hope Reins’ facelift here.
Underdogs who beat the odds inspire us all. It may not be as dramatic as UMBC putting a record-breaking smack down on UVA, but these and other amazing nonprofits make an even bigger impact on the world. Let us know if we can help you face your giants.
– David Chatham, Senior Marketing Consultant
