Events & Campaigns

Brookside CDC’s annual Celebration Dinner is an event designed to bring together community members, donors, and volunteers to celebrate the progress made and look forward to what’s to come. This is a fundraising event, with the primary goal being to raise money to support Brookside’s programs throughout the year.

In 2025, I stepped into the lead position for this event. We chose to shift away from the traditional “gala” format used by many non-profits, and instead focused on honoring donors and contributors through a lighthearted, casual event. Our focus was fun, and we incorporated games and free raffles for guests to participate in.

Our branding, also developed by me, was derived from a Bible verse central to the organization. I pulled inspiration from a past campaign, keeping some familiar themes while still making the event distinct and clearly recognizable. I used several social media platforms, as well as targeted emails, to market this event.

The Indianapolis Gives Challenge is a 10-day friendly fundraising competition in which local charities compete to raise the most money. The top teams win cash prizes from the Indianapolis Monthly magazine.  2024 was the inaugural year, and Brookside CDC chose to join! I designed, led, and executed our campaign.

My goal was to reach as many people as possible and raise money for our programs. I chose to take a Peer-to-Peer approach, motivating our existing community to help us reach new donors and volunteers! I did not pursue a specific message, opting instead for a general push for Brookside’s mission and vision. I also made the somewhat controversial decision to pursue individual donors instead of a dollar amount. Ultimately, these decisions were intended to result in a people-first and people-driven community campaign to spread awareness about Brookside and its mission.

This campaign was completely digital, with website, social media, and digital flyer design requirements. I chose to focus the design on pre-existing Brookside branding to make our communications feel familiar and distinctly Brookside. It also required an extensive research and strategic planning period, as well as constant attention and adaptation during the actual campaign.