10.17 Developing a Promotional Message at the EdFirst Foundation

(LO10.6, LO10.7)

Angela Nguyen, director of donor relations, sighed. She glanced at the statistics for the last quarter. Donations to the EdFirst were down 6 percent. Even worse, donations were down nearly 23 percent from two years ago. The foundation received about 5 percent of its revenue from program participants, about 35 percent from federal and state grants, and roughly 60 percent from individual donations. The foundation would need to drop critical services if donations didn’t pick up soon.

The EdFirst Foundation provided mentoring, after-school programs, and other resources for K–12 children from low-income families in inner cities. Any child in any of the ten cities EdFirst operated in qualified for the program. Children from families that fell below the federal poverty line received all services for free.

Children from families above the poverty line received the services at highly discounted rates of between $25 and $75 per year. Approximately 92 percent of children participating in EdFirst programs came from families that fell under the federal poverty line.