Email campaign | Nonprofit

America’s new business plan Request for proposal

The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation launched America’s New Business Plan RFP to find and fund projects that advocate for small businesses and entrepreneurship in local, state, and federal politics. Through email marketing, we recruited more than 80 organizations nationwide to submit project proposals in need of financial support that could infuse the voice of entrepreneurs into policy debates while also promoting the foundation’s new bipartisan policy roadmap to create an equitable economy, America’s New Business Plan.

My role: plan, execute, and evaluate an email strategy using Mailchimp to drive applications from entrepreneurship advocates.

The results: Increased the number of proposals to 45 more than the year prior and created a pool of projects that represented all geographical regions of the U.S.

Writing samples from the email campaign and a strategy run-down are below.

Seeking_Proposals_to_Advance_Entrepreneurship_Advocacy-2.jpg — *campaign launch: General*

**Subject Line:** Seeking proposals to advance entrepreneurship advocacy
**Audience:** Entrepreneurship support organizations that have a history of political advocacy.
**Goal:** Cast a wide net while limiting outreach to only participants with experience in political advocacy.
Mention the basic elements of the grant and its supporting bipartisan policy roadmap: America’s New Business Plan.

Seeking_Proposals_to_Advance_America’s_New_Business_Plan.jpg — *campaign launch: Start us up members*

**Subject Line:** Seeking proposals to advance America’s New Business Plan
**Audience:** Members of the Start Us Up coalition, an entrepreneurship advocacy group that has worked with the foundation’s policy team.
**Goal:** Target a relevant advocacy group that has previously worked with the foundation’s policy team.

Funding_Projects_to_Put_America_s_New_Business_Plan_into_Play.jpg — *REMINDER:*
*START US UP COALITION*

**Subject Line:** Funding projects to put America’s New Business Plan into play
**Audience:** Members of the Start Us Up coalition.
**Strategy:** Deliver to recipients who did not engage with the previous email (non-clicks and non-opens). A call-to-action was added to the end to encourage sharing the opportunity with their networks.

Reminder__The_America’s_New_Business_Plan_RFP_closes_on_December_6-2.jpg — *Last reminder:*
*Everyone*

**Subject Line:** Reminder: grant application closes on Dec. 6
**Audience:** All previous campaign recipients that engaged with our email campaign through replies, clicks, and opens.
**Goal:** Boost the number of applications and provide a basic structure of the application process so recipients feel less intimidated.

announcement of winners – communication package

Below is an email template for program officers to personally send to grant recipients. It includes media do’s and don’ts, boilerplate language, pre-made social posts, and quotes from Kauffman Foundation associates.

Audience: Finalized grant recipients.

Goal: Provide easy-to-use language for grantees to create media releases and share to their networks.

Announcement

Meet_the_America’s_New_Business_Plan_RFP_grantees_–_Ewing_Marion_Kauffman_Foundation___Kauffman_org-4.jpg

Meet_the_America’s_New_Business_Plan_RFP_grantees_–_Ewing_Marion_Kauffman_Foundation___Kauffman_org-2.jpg

Meet_the_America’s_New_Business_Plan_RFP_grantees_–_Ewing_Marion_Kauffman_Foundation___Kauffman_org-6.jpg

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Email Campaign

Entrepreneurship Advocacy Day

Every year, the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation brings together entrepreneurs, advocates, and policymakers to discuss the issues facing small business owners and cultivate solutions from those conversations.

My role: design and write an email campaign to recruit advocates and entrepreneurs to fly out to D.C. to talk with their representatives in Congress. However, in the middle of our campaign, the COVID-19 pandemic forced the event to be postponed and reimagined, and it called for a new content strategy centered around the immediate needs of entrepreneurs.

Writing samples and strategy synopses can be viewed below.

Save_the_Date_–_Make_Your_Voice_Heard_in_Washington__D_C___May_4-6.jpg — Campaign launch

**Subject line:**
Save the Date — Make Your Voice Heard In Washington D.C.
**Audience:**
Entrepreneurship support organizations that have a history in political advocacy.
**Strategy:**
Clearly lay out necessary information about the trip and offer resources on Kauffman.org to give a better picture of what to expect.

Entrepreneurship_Advocacy_Trip__Nominate_an_entrepreneur_to_join_us_on_Capitol_Hill.jpg — nominate an entrepreneur

**Subject line:**
Nominate an Entrepreneur to Join You in D.C.
**Audience:**
Entrepreneurship support organizations.
**Strategy:**
Build a network of entrepreneurs by leveraging external partners and participants.

Register_now_to_make_your_voice_heard_in_Washington__D_C___May_4-5.jpg — Registration is open

**Subject line:**
Register Now to Raise the Voice of Entrepreneurs
**Audience:**
Support organizations and nominated entrepreneurs.
**Strategy:**
This was part of a series of reminders to register for the event.

Entrepreneurship_Advocacy_Trip_Rescheduled_to_September_21-23___How_to_Seek_Small_Business_Relief.jpg — covid-19 response

**Subject line:**
Advocacy Trip Postponed & Help For Those Who Need It
**Audience:**
Support organizations and entrepreneurs.
**Strategy:**
Communicate updated event plans and provide resources to address immediate needs of small business owners as a result of the economic fallout due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Save_the_date_–_Entrepreneur_Advocacy_Day_is_still_on__just_without_the_trip.jpg — New event schedule

**Subject line:**
The Trip’s Still On, But with Some Updates
**Audience:**
Support organizations and entrepreneurs.
**Strategy:**
Inform participants on the new schedule of the event and that it will be virtual.

Let_‘em_know__How_policymakers_can_Rebuild_Better.jpg — Advocacy in the context of Covid-19

**Subject line:**
Let ‘Em Know: How Policymakers can Rebuild Better
**Audience:**
Support organizations and entrepreneurs.
**Strategy:**
Provide participants with new policy topics that are updated to fit the context of the pandemic to better prepare for their policymaker meetings. Encourage them to begin advocacy work prior to the event.

REMINDER__Please_fill_out_this_quick_Advocacy_Day_survey.jpg — event evaluation Survey

**Subject line:**
REMINDER: Please Fill Out this Quick Advocacy Day Survey
**Audience:**
Support organizations and entrepreneurs.
**Strategy:**
Give participants a chance to communicate their likes and dislikes about the event so we can make it better and if they plan to return to future ones.