Aglow Marketing's Blog

Do Good For Indiana unveils its first project: Seeds of Hope Annual Report

Last October Aglow and Creative Roots teamed up and dreamed up the Do Good For Indiana program, where we would help smaller non-profits better define their strategies and messaging both visually and in written format.

Our first project was to help Seeds of Hope set the tone for 2011 with their year end 2010 Annual Report.  We began by Aglow taking updated headshots of Father Glenn and Executive Director, Marvetta Grimes.  We also took a new picture of the Seeds of Hope home.  Having clear, bright pictures really make a difference. 

Then Creative Roots established a color palette of green, orange and blue to complement the Seeds of Hope logo and new website.  These colors will also be carried through in all upcoming materials.  Their ability to both create a presence with color coupled with organizing dense content into a visually appeallng end result has been nothing short of miraculous.  (Coming soon are the 2011 Annual Campaign, business card, letterhead and brochure!)

Aglow was also proud to create new messaging alongside the Seeds of Hope logo. Across the top it now reads, "A Women's Drug & Alcohol Recovery Program".  Across the bottom the new tagline reads, "Where a life of addiction ends and a life of hope begins."

 

We are so honored to be trusted to help Seeds of Hope "find their voice" and to work alongside the passionate staff and volunteers that have brought this program to life over the past 11 years.  To learn more about the Do Good For Indiana program, visit our website at www.DoGoodForIndiana.com

 

We'll Do Good One Way Or Another...

After 2 months of your amazing voting support, the race for the Pepsi grant has come to an end. While we didn't finish in the top 10, the Do Good for Indiana story is far from over.  We are more dedicated than ever to bring the program to life in 2011.  

We are in the process of working with  CanINE Express, Indy Reads, Jameson Camp and Seeds of Hope to formulate a new plan to launch this program next year.  It might not be as big as we'd initially hoped for, but it will still be meaningful and have great impact.   In time, we also plan to reach out to corporate sponsors to help us in expanding the program.

Again, many, many thanks for your votes and emotional support during these last 2 months.  To get a sense of the impact we've made…we’ve had:

• 944 Visits to the Do Good for Indiana Web Site
• 358 Unique Visitors to the Web Site
• More than 160 subscribers to our daily voting reminder
• 70 views of our Do Good for Indiana You Tube Video
• 61 Daily Voting Reminders, which is given new exposure to our great non-profit groups
• Who knows how many votes on refresheverything.com!

Even if you did not get a chance to vote or if Do Good for Indiana is new to you, we hope you'll come along with us in 2011 as we tell the stories of these non-profits.  If you have any suggestions, resources, ideas or would like to help, please don't hesitate to contact us.  We'd love to hear from you.

Have you heard the good news in Indy?

When I went to bed last night, it was with the joy of another Halloween behind us and too many pieces of candy in us.  Yet, I knew today the more than the sugar rush would be over.  Our chances of winning a $50,000 Pepsi grant for 4 Indianapolis non-profits would be gone along with the bags of Halloween candy given out last night. 

But imagine my surprise this morning when there were a couple more treats to collect on behalf of Do Good For Indiana.  Through all the amazing supporters last month we cleared the top 100 and landed in another round of voting through November.  Plus we made a big leap forward to #75!

So, if you voted for us last month, thank you.  A huge and sincere THANK YOU! because we wouldn't even have this second chance without you.  If you'd like to keep helping us this month, here's all the details you'll need:

1. Sign up for a daily voting reminder (short & sweet every day!)
2. Vote online on Pepsi's Refresh Everything site
   
3. Send text to: 73774 with text message of 103035. (You send the text, they send a confirmation text back.)
4. Vote via Facebook by installing the Pepsi Voting App

We look forward to seeing how November plays out - hopefully with a big win for CanINE Express, Indy Reads, Jameson Camp and Seeds of Hope!

Benefit of being an entrepreneur: Loving the people you work with!

Yesterday I was on my way to pick up a camera lens rental from Roberts Imaging downtown and thought it would be a good time to listen to a new podcast. I had downloaded a series titled Entrepreneurial Thought Leaders from Stanford University which I thought sounded intriguing.  I scrolled through the titles and settled on 5 Must-Haves of an Entrepreneurial Career featuring eHarmony CEO Greg Waldorf.

Waldorf was a good speaker and easily engaged me along my ride back and forth.  Even more, his very first point in the lecture really hit home with me.  It was along the lines of loving the people you work with and that the rest would figure itself out.  I couldn't agree more.  Working with Laura is both challenging and a joy.  We push each other to be better and lean on each when we need to.  We know that together our possibilites are endless.

Our latest possibility involves starting a marketing education program for non-profits called Do Good For Indiana. It's a project we dreamed up togther with Alan & Anna from Creative Roots Design Group - more people it's a joy to work with!  We hope to start our pilot program supporting the following four organizations that positively impact our community: CanINE Express, Indy Reads, Jameson Camp and Seeds of Hope.  The full Do Good For Indiana website launches September 30th.  In the meantime follow us on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest happenings!

Clients appreciate love, too...

So often we associate Valentine's Day with couples or school-aged children but what about businesses and customers?  I was reminded that this "holiday" was a perfect opportunity to just say thank you or we appreciate you to your clients or supporters by one of my favorite local charities, Indy School on Wheels.

They sent me a simple and classy e-mail just saying thank you and reminding me what my donation is doing to help local homeless children receive tutoring and supplies this year.  They helped me feel good about supporting their cause long after the check cashed.  And they didn't ask for more money.  Just thanks. 

So, now I say thank you to Indy School on Wheels for the gentle reminder that little gestures do go a long way in real life and business.

A thumbs up for Second Helpings....

I was driving in traffic the other day and spotted a large delivery truck for Second Helpings, an Indianapolis charity. I became familiar with their organization at a wedding for one of my LBS Photography clients. Featured at left is the requested bride and groom cheesecake - both adorable and delicious.

What makes Second Helpings so amazing is they meet three goals - rescue food (not for catering, though), train disadvantaged adults for jobs in the culinary field and feed the hungry.

I remember when I worked HR at Target the amounts of good food that had to be thrown away in the deli and bakery because it was 2 or 3 days from expiration. It made me sick to see all that food go nowhere.  However, now Second Helpings takes that food, makes it even more delicious and gets it to the people who need. All while providing training for people who need it, too.

Read more about their mission here. If you'd like to donate to Second Helpings, click here.