St. Vincent Meals on Wheels (SVMOW)

Case Study: The country’s largest, privately funded senior meals program serves over a million meals a year in the metropolitan L.A. area.
Challenges: Although the SVMOW program itself is successful and very efficiently run, its donor base is not growing significantly or attracting a “next generation” of supporters. Additionally, its brand image is somewhat staid and not dynamic, thus limiting media coverage and overall public awareness, particularly among the youth and young professional demographic who will ultimately be key to the program’s continued longevity.
Solutions: Conduct media outreach and secure coverage for existing SVMOW events; create new events geared towards wider, younger demographic; establish or expand upon strategic alliances with high profile individuals in the food and restaurant community; establish greater online presence, including outreach with social networking sites.
Tactics:
1. Reach out to young celebrities to fill newly created position of Youth Ambassador for SVMOW’s annual Beach Bike-A-Thon. Target middle and high school campuses for presentations at school assemblies; create youth page on SVMOW website and established links with MySpace and Facebook; created branded “Angel” T-shirt and screen saver for youth supporters of SVMOW
2. Partner with Harrahs Entertainment Charities to bring NASCAR racer Robby Gordon and his race car to kitchen facility in Los Angeles: Gordon delivered meals in race car and invited local TV crews and radio to cover designated delivery route between kitchen and client’s homes.
3. Organized All Star Chefs’ Event as cornerstone of fundraising event: held the gala fundraiser right in the SVMOW Kitchen downtown, but with some of L.A.’s most celebrated chefs from the hottest restaurants in town each contributing a dish to the gourmet, multi-course meal.
4. Publicized board membership invitational events featuring speakers on range of timely topics such as “green living”, conservation, etc.
Results: Secured Disney’s Lizzie Maguire and Gracie star Carly Schroeder to serve as Youth Ambassador for Bike-A-Thon, Schroeder visited Southland middle and high schools, recorded PSAs and created a SVMOW donation page on her official website; beachside event covered by local radio and TV (KNX, KFWB and KTLA) and resulted in an event attendance increase from previous year;
NASCAR delivery of meals to SVMOW clients resulted in coverage from KTTV, KCBS, KABC and KTLA who broadcast footage of driver doing tricks on Hollywood FWY before delivering meal; Local TV, radio and print media including LA Times, KABC, KTLA and KCAL covered the chefs preparing meals in the SVMOW kitchen during the All Star Chefs Event.