ArtPrize gets it right

"Intersections" by Anila Quayyum Aghawon
won the people's vote and split the juried vote.
(Ignore the purple light - that was an inartistic
side effect of the camera flash.)

This was the sixth year that I’ve been to Art Prize in Grand Rapids. Artists from around the world enter their artwork for a chance to win the $200,000 top prize voted on by the public. In total, about 1,500 are accepted into the event and hundreds of thousands of people walk the city to see this fantastic array of art: from steel structures of beasts to intricate woodcarvings and plant-based artwork.

With each year of this masterful exhibit, the “way finding” gets easier. It’s not just because I’ve been there before, it’s also because the printed maps of the exhibits are getting better.

Isn’t it amazing how good organization can make a special event even more special? It’s easier to find the works of art. There is less getting lost or wandering to places where not much is showing. With about 15 miles worth of walking to see the whole show, it is extremely helpful to know where you are going with an idea of what you will see.

One of the best maps this year was a two-sided piece that showed the top 20 artworks on the front with a key of where each was located. It helped that some of the larger buildings hosted more than one “top 20.” While I wish that I had produced that map with my graphic design team, I know that it took brainstorming and many renditions to get it right.

What this good organization meant to me is that my friend and I saw nearly the entire top 20 in about four hours – a long afternoon. In the past, another friend and I wandered around trying to find the top artwork as we consulted a map that was far less graphic and detailed.

I am an organized person. There were times when I thought that being organized was boring. Wouldn’t it be more exciting to shake things up and try to find things as if one were in a road rally? Not really. Being organized makes things run smoother.

Good organization for printed materials and websites can mean a tremendous difference in the user experience. Being able to find things easily and drill down into the subsets of an item take you where you want to go – seemingly effortlessly. That’s because all of the effort was put in at the front-end to keep things flowing smoothly and easy to find for the user.

Think about that the next time you are tasked with a big, audacious, voluminous job – whether it’s a website, a report, an info-graphic, or a map. Breaking it down into an organized fashion can be done with some fairly easy grouping measures.

Here are 5 ways to produce an organized, effective marketing piece for print or websites:

1. Color-code groups of similar items or locations, so users can see them at a glance.
2. Group related items together – e.g. indoor art on one side of the flier and outdoor art on the other (this was done on an ArtPrize postcard that served as a guide)
3. Don’t just bullet-point items, number them. Remember how easy it is to order from a Chinese menu when you can say, “I’ll have #22.”
4. Drill down. Have an umbrella term for an item and group related items in that category. For example, when I work on a project, I’ve got individual electronic folders for background information, interviews, drafts and final copy – all tucked into a master folder with the name of the project. Use this tactic for website subheads.
5. Be intuitive where you place items in print or in a website. Just like you might hang a key hook by your back door, it helps to put items where people typically look for them. If you’ve got a detailed file on one page with symbols linked to a key, don’t make readers turn the page to find the key. Group them together, so it’s a simple glance up and down on the page. Think of road maps and how the legend is on the same side as the map.

What are your tricks for staying organized in print, websites or online projects? Another item to think about – can you recall an event that you attended that was easy to navigate due to the signage, graphics or way-finding maps or fliers? (Think zoos, museums, parks and concerts.) And lastly, if you attended ArtPrize, what did you enjoy most about it?

Photos by Liz Cezat. Art by some amazingly talented artists.

How to get new donors to support your major initiative

Bring your fundraising goals down to earth through
targeted communication. Photo by Liz Cezat.

Before you try to convince new donors to embrace and support a major initiative, you will need to find out something about their beliefs. If you are making a presentation, you may want to invite people from certain work places, clubs or neighborhoods, based on a scale of attributes that closely match your existing donors. Think of cloning the persona of your most avid donors. If you are planning a letter request,  target the message in a manner that explores the initiative fully and also points out how this initiative speaks to the new donors' interests.

Let’s say a fundraising professional needs to raise $5 million to name an endowed chair at the engineering school of a leading university. That professional knows to address the topic of a new endowed chair. Yet, he or she must adroitly weave in the core message, "What’s in it for the funder?" Because the funder or donor needs to be moved to make a generous donation for  this program.

You, as a fundraising professional, could proceed to talk about how the endowed chair will improve the faculty’s ability to teach because they will have new tools and technology to do research and be better equipped to teach their courses online or in the classroom. That same endowed chair will benefit students because it will provide funds for the university to upgrade their science laboratories. For donors, funding such a chair will enable them to feel empowered about advancing the level of education at the university, plus it will mean a more educated workforce for the businesses that these donors own or operate. The answer to the core message is: "Take ownership in this educational advancement."

As a fundraising professional, you need to provide descriptive details about how this new program will impact not only the university but also the larger community. Create a vision through your words and phrases to make it desirable to new donors. Illustrate through technological advances and personal touch-points how it will improve the standard of living in a community they care about. While the technological advances of the initiative provide a macro overview,  the personal touch points can make a connection with a micro view. 

The tone of your message - for print or in presentations - is vital to the success of your campaign. Striking the right balance between the appeal and making it appealing can elevate your website copy, newsletters, brochures and annual reports for a dynamic impact. The right approach can ensure the success of your fundraising goals for a university, health care system or a community-based nonprofit. 

I have expertise in crafting fundraising appeals for case statements, marketing materials and community relations/PR. Plus, my writing is supported by professional graphic design. I welcome your questions to help you achieve greater success in your campaign.