Appeals to Parents Through PTA Bring in Donations
Forest,
Virginia (pop. 20,000)
The Forest Volunteer Fire Department worked for about nine
months of 2003 with the local PTA to raise money for a second
thermal imager. A committee of firefighters employed ideas
from inSIGHT materials to formulate campaign plans, as well
as using tools from the kit to make formal and informal appeals
to their target audience of parents with young children.
Approaching the PTA was the idea of Zach Coleman, son of
Asst. Chief Monty Coleman.
Assistant Chief Monty Coleman: “In early September, we set up an open house at the station, during which parents could come see a demonstration of the thermal imager. We set up a booth in one of our apparatus bays, and closed it off with black plastic. It was pitch black in there… we had some furniture set up, and there was a closet where someone could be hidden. We took the kid inside and asked the adult to find him or her without a camera, then with a camera. The inSIGHT video played at a table outside. We raised $1,600 that day alone.”
Funding Tip:
When Forest Volunteer Fire Department leaders chose to appeal to parents, they found a very personal way to demonstrate thermal imaging to their target audience. Regardless of your target, consider which benefit of thermal imaging will hit potential donors in the most personal way. A group of business people, for example, may be most effectively reached through a discussion of property preservation.