E&A Collaboration with Witt Crushes $100M Goal
In June 2023, Wittenberg University officially closed the books on its first major fundraising campaign in two decades having raised $113M — $13M over its ambitious $100M goal. E&A Collaborative’s work with President Michael Frandsen and the Office of Advancement & Alumni Engagement started during the quiet phase and wrapped with the launch of Having Light. Our comprehensive campaign creative won multiple awards, and, most importantly, it resonated with key constituencies, elevated the institutional brand, and helped move 10,400 donor households to participate in this remarkable effort.
“Without the structural foundation that E&A built for our Having Light campaign, we never would have gotten where we did. Through interviews, an alumni survey, campaign committee feedback, and the whole process of drafting and revising the case, E&A’s process got us to the right priorities — priorities that fit with who our alumni are. E&A value the end product, and they truly care. They invested in the project and our people, and that’s a huge part of the success that we had. E&A was not just a firm; it felt like an extension of the team. And it shows. We did it!”
Campaign Identity System
Campaign Case for Support
People are the first pillar of the Campaign for Wittenberg, so alumni stories make the case. Given the social distancing constraints of COVID-19, E&A hired illustrator Rebecca Clarke to work from existing headshots and selfies, rather than send a photographer to take portraits in person. Five spreads at the back detail fundraising priorities, some of which are punched up by graphic visualizations of findings from an alumni survey created by E&A and fielded by Witt’s alumni relations team for this creative purpose.
Capital Campaign Microsite
Made for the broadest audience, this online case-making and fundraising tool was designed and written by E&A and custom-built on WordPress by DesignTLC with unique templates for each page and plenty of calls to action to get involved and give.
Social Media Stories
E&A and Witt’s alumni engagement staff worked with more than 40 alumni to develop first-person accounts of the Wittenberg experience. These stories make the case for Witt to donors and admission audiences alike. Rolled out one at a time on social media during the quiet phase, #wittstories appeared together on the campaign microsite at launch, where the entire collection balances descriptions of campaign priorities with alumni’s authentic accounts of why Wittenberg means so much to them.
KYle’s story
"First semester freshman year I took an education class with Dr. Yontz. We looked at school systems in places like where I came from in Indiana — very urban, very rough schooling. Our final project was to figure out how we would make it better. Getting to say, ‘Okay, this is how I would change the system,’ ignited something in me. Now I’m the third grade teacher whose class is on top of our chairs acting like pilots, doing multiplication chants. I want to be the principal in the lobby greeting my students every single morning. Wittenberg found the motivation in me. To this day, my ultimate goal is to open my own school."
—Kyle Powers '17 has been a teacher since graduating from Wittenberg, first in Ohio and now in Chattanooga, TN. He majored in early childhood education, joined a fraternity, and was elected Homecoming King — all to his surprise. #wittstories #whywitt
Campaign Video
The university anthem video sets the tone for the campaign, reveals the name, and makes an emotional connection to an audience of Wittenberg University alumni and friends.
Concept and script by E&A Collaborative. Video production by Laux Creative.