Akoya Takes Capital Campaign Virtual — and Surpasses Its Goal

Learn how Akoya helped a community food bank engage its audience, tell its story, and raise money and awareness for food insecurity in Western Pennsylvania.

Client Overview

It’s March 2020, and you’re the director of the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank. Everything has gone remote. Covid-19 is gobbling resources — money, time, energy — while food insecurity surges across the region. You’ve pushed off planning your capital campaign due to the crisis. Now you’re two months from the launch. You’ve come up with a concept called “Grow Share Thrive” and little else. What do you do?

Activities & Deliverables

Designed and built a website in WordPress
Wrote and designed print collateral in multiple sizes and lengths
Created short and long videos of the campaign’s launch

Awards & Recognition

2021 Telly Award (silver)

What we did

In only seven weeks, Akoya planned and launched a capital campaign to raise funds for a Food Bank facility that was badly in need of updates and expansion. We developed an integrated suite of materials, including a dedicated microsite; print and digital fact sheets; a slide deck; and an award-winning, livestreamed, 15-minute video of the virtual groundbreaking featuring the Pennsylvania governor and other dignitaries. The campaign exceeded its goal ahead of schedule, raising more than $23 million.

Grow, share, thrive… virtually?

Under a tight deadline, the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank (GPCFB) chose Akoya to convey its urgent need for an expanded facility. The tone had to be warm, competent, and reassure donors that GPCFB had a responsible plan that would grow its capacity to serve.

We moved fast. We knew we had to be shrewd with our approach and resources to beat the calendar. Within 2 weeks, we had created key messages and related visuals. At a month, we delivered print collateral in the form of four one pagers. We wrote content and presented two design options for the campaign microsite. We then worked with GPCFB media staff to brainstorm and script the centerpiece of the campaign, a longform “virtual groundbreaking” video.

In the final three weeks, we executed the video plan, leveraged existing facility footage, shot new video, and mastered the then-new concept of working with Zoom video for more than 40 individual testimonials from leading government and NGO officials. At one point, 40 officials were onscreen to say, in unison, “Congratulations, Food Bank!” We also designed a PowerPoint deck and adapted key message language for GPCFB to use in further fund raising.

A hundred million thanks to the Akoya team for helping us bring all this to fruition! We are SO thankful for you. We absolutely selected the perfect partner to help us with this project on such a tight timeline. We are grateful for all your work to bring our vision to life!

Charla Irwin-Buncher, Chief Development Officer, Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank

Kate Freed and the entire Food Bank team

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WOW—look what we accomplished in just a few weeks! This would never have happened without your support, dedication, and enthusiasm for the project and the Food Bank. THANK YOU!

Kate Freed and the entire Food Bank team

Cover image for the Virtual Groundbreaking video

Grow Share Thrive: A virtual groundbreaking

This video featuring Governor Wolf and other state and local officials won a silver 2021 Telly Award.

Two women walk down a hallway discussing something with smiles on their faces.

Let’s Work Together

Reach out to genna@akoyaonline.com or complete our contact form to to discuss your communications needs and to develop a scope of service and quotation.