PATH
PATH works in more than 70 countries around the world to develop solutions to the complex problem of global health crises in the developing world. While a substantial portion of PATH’s funding comes from philanthropic foundations like the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the organization relies on individual donors to provide the unrestricted funding they need to explore cutting-edge ideas and expand pilot projects around the world. Based on our belief that their existing supporters were their most powerful marketing channels, DDB worked with PATH to develop a strategy to “inform, inspire and engage” existing donors and provide them with the tools to serve as “ambassadors” for the mission and message of the organization.
We developed “buzz kits” that helped donors better tell the PATH story and stimulated them to think of creative ways to reach out to the people in their online and offline social networks. The recommended activities in the buzz kits called on supporters to do a great deal more than encourage others to give money. Instead, the kits provided a literal checklist of opportunities from which to choose, enabling supporters to contribute in a way that aligned with their unique talents, level of interest and ability to make a financial contribution. This message — that PATH values all types of support in pursuit of its mission — helped the organization to expand its network of supporters and achieve their goal of increasing unrestricted funding from individual donors.