From Ideation to Takeoff
Learn how we helped incubate, fund, and capture national publicity for a new veteran-serving nonprofit. Here’s how we launched MilitaryConnected.org in a crowded "Sea of Goodwill."
Jonathan Fermin-Robbins | Senior Advisor, MilitaryConnected.org
“American businesses have a tremendous opportunity to not only address the issue of underemployment among our nation’s heroes, but also benefit from their invaluable skills and experiences. By being military ready, businesses can tap into this exceptional talent pool and foster long-lasting careers.”
Left to Right: MilitaryConnected.org’s Executive Director Kevin Emore & DAROE Director Dr. Chris Cate (Source: MilitaryConnected.org)
Brief
Evocati PR leveraged all of its service offerings over 18 months to successfully fund, launch, staff, and promote a new veteran serving non-profit featured in USA Today, Yahoo! News, The AP, and more. This was achieved despite the fact that there are already over 40,000 veteran nonprofits, most with limited fundraising support and share of voice.
Challenge
In 2022 Evocati PR partnered with Aliro, Inc. to support its advisory services to employers who wanted to better attract, support, and engage military-connected talent.
The service was popular and well-reviewed but failed to fit inside both companies' core business offerings. Leaders from each business decided to spin-off the service offering as a new nonprofit. But doing so was no easy feat.
America's Sea of Goodwill is currently composed of more than 40,000 veteran-serving nonprofits operating in a competitive landscape with finite funding sources. The space is crowded. Fundraising opportunities are diffuse. Capturing share of voice is difficult. Donations are not keeping pace with the needs of an aging veteran population.
This new nonprofit would have to differentiate itself through unique programming and world-class talent. It also needed a novel approach to successfully launch to the public and immediately differentiate itself in the Sea of Goodwill.
Strategy
Evocati PR established four key strategies to effectively incubate and launch MilitaryConnected.org to the public including:
Develop and execute a business plan and pitch deck to engage in a Fundraising Campaign for an initial seed round to launch the nonprofit.
Execute a Talent Recruitment Campaign placing leaders who would immediately position it as a key contributor in the military-connected nonprofit sector.
Establish brand equity and share of voice through a Soft Launch Campaign, including a nationally distributed press release, placement of thought-leadership op-eds, and interviews.
Establish goodwill and partnerships through a Stakeholder Outreach Campaign, placing senior leadership in meetings with federal, corporate, and military and Veteran Service Organizations.
Execution
Under the working title, Ready.org, representatives from both companies spent nine months (October 2022 through June 2023) incubating the nonprofit for the Fundraise Campaign.
At Evocati PR, this was done through its evoX service, which supports veteran entrepreneurs. The work included creating a comprehensive business plan that defined the problem, customer pain points, the value proposition, programs, fundraising goals, competitive landscape analysis, and more. Completed, Evocati PR pitched Ready.org to prospective funders. Ready.org was branded MilitaryConnected.org and established in July 2023.
With seed funding secured, Evocati PR moved to a Talent Recruitment Campaign, recruiting new staff members who would add legitimacy and grow the company after launch. This included accessing its network and professional associations raising awareness on the positions of needs, screening candidates, and referring them to decision-makers for interviews and selection.
With staff in place, Evocati PR shifted to crafting and executing a Soft Launch Campaign to announce the nonprofit to the public and nonprofit community. With branding, a website, and a marketing plan designed by Evocati PR, the organization executed its launch through a nationally distributed press release, complimented by pitching and placing op-eds to capture brand equity and thought leadership.
Once brand equity was established, Evocati PR executed a Stakeholder Outreach Campaign, strategically organizing meetings over a month-long period with leaders in the federal, nonprofit, and corporate sectors. This included cold emails and pitching to executives, coordinating calendars and locations, and designing White Papers and bios for distribution.
Results
Evocati PR pitched MilitaryConneted.org to prospective funders and successfully secured $500,000 in a seed raise in its Fundraise Campaign.
Evocati PR successfully referred and placed MilitaryConnected.org's Executive Director and its Director of Data and Research Center of Excellence in its Talent Recruitment Campaign.
Kevin Emore was named Executive Director in January 2024. A retired Captain and Team Leader in the U.S. Army, Emore earned a Bronze Star and Combat Action Badge for service in Iraq. After transitioning from the military, he held various leadership roles, including Director of Special Projects for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, and Global Partnership Manager for Food and Fitness at Nike, Inc.
Dr. Chis Cate was named Director of the Data and Research Center of Excellence in October 2023. Dr. Cate most recently served as Vice President of Research of Student Veterans of America for over a decade, where he pioneered new research into student veterans and veterans' education benefits.
The Soft Launch Campaign included national coverage by the AP News, Yahoo! Finance, and MarketWatch. The organization's first op-ed, focused on how employers should shift their goal of being military-friendly to "military ready," was published in Military Times and amplified by Yahoo! News. A second op-ed about the need for more veterans studies research was featured in The Tennessean and republished by USA Today. Emore was featured in interviews with the Welcome Home Veterans Podcast and the Celebrity Salute Podcast. Total impressions and reach across print and digital exceeded 310M with an advertising value equivalent of $2.8M.
As part of its Stakeholder Outreach Campaign, Evocati PR successfully secured and orchestrated meetings with executives at the following organizations:
Disabled American Veterans
Hiring Our Heroes
Paralyzed Veterans of America
The Wounded Warrior Project
U.S. House Committee on Veterans Affairs
U.S. Department of Defense, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Military Community and Family Policy
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Outreach, Transition, and Economic Development
Google
As of April 2024, MilitaryConnected.org announced First Advantage as its first corporate partner with more to follow.
Results Highlights
$500,000 Seed Raise
310M + Impressions Across Digital & Print Outlets
Advertising Value of $2.8M
Featured in USA Today, Yahoo! News, the Associated Press, and MarketWatch