Beth Willard Patton
DESIGN | COMMUNICATION | FUNDRAISING

Our Big Backyard

In 2018, I had a vision: to engage children and families in a way that Foothills Conservancy had never done. By leveraging existing partnerships and $12k in successful grant awards, I implemented a fully grant-funded, traveling, summer, day camp for Foothills Conservancy of North Carolina in June, 2018. Funding increased to $26k in 2019 so we expanded our programming from 40 children to 52 and traveled across our region, immersing children in nature, adventuring and expanding their environmental literacy. In the fall of 2019, I further expanded the program to include more than 300 elementary school children in a brand new Art + the Environment at their elementary school. 2020 brought new challenges so I quickly pivoted and brought “Camp in a Box” to life. The fully virtual kit camp incorporated STEAM activities over 4 weeks of boxes in addition to online instruction and interaction through Moodle. The highly successful camp served 60 children, virtually, during the summer of 2020 and brought in over $25k. Below are the materials for week one of Our “Virtual” Big Backyard.

Summer Appeal Letter

Each year I leverage $40,000 in private gifts with a direct-mail solicitation that matches contributions $1 for $1 over a 2-month period, raising more than $90,000. The donor mechanics in 2020 featured the tear-away coupon you see above.

Writing Samples

Flavors of the Foothills

It was time to breathe new life into a traditional fundraiser in 2018! I created partnerships with Curbside Composting, Simply Green Recycling, Fonta Flora Brewery, City of Morganton, Freedom High School and the Morganton Farmers Market to transform a lackluster dinner and auction to a farm-to-fork dinner in the street! The auction was held in a venue one block from the meal and the new, exciting event brought in more money and donors than ever before!

Willard Agri-Service 2020 Spring Newsletter

Twice a year I design an employee newsletter for Willard Agri-Service. In addition to providing layout and photography services, I serve on the content planning committee and as a ghost-writer for the publication.