Bath Volunteers for Service rebrands with marketing grant

by Laura Bednar

Bath Volunteers for Service received a grant from Akron-based design and marketing company TRIAD for the second year in a row.

BVS first applied for the “Design4Good” grant last year to rebrand its annual “Tour of Distinctive Homes” event. Due to the pandemic, the tour was canceled in 2020 and virtual in 2021.

“Even before COVID, we knew we needed to become more competent in email marketing and social media,” said BVS member Miekeleen Hart.

TRIAD employees helped create a website specifically for the tour, bvshometour.org. They also enhanced the group’s social media capabilities and marketed the tour, according to Hart.

“It was the most successful home tour we’ve had in several years,” said Hart. “It made a big difference in how we are able to continue fundraising.”

The grants are awarded in-kind, meaning the dollar amount is translated into hours of time that a TRIAD employee will work with nonprofit groups on their marketing and design efforts. The agency offers a grant for nonprofits yearly.

“Organizations and communities need the support of local businesses like TRIAD,” Rick Krochka, TRIAD president, said in a press release. “We hope Design4Good grants can help stretch the budgets of these organizations so they can continue their great work within the community.”

BVS will use this year’s grant to rebrand and create a strategic plan. Hart said the goals are to find out how to encourage people to join the group, how to engage with sponsors and educate people about BVS and how they help the Bath and Akron communities.

“We need time to step back and evolve as an organization,” Hart said.

To maximize the group’s philanthropic impact, TRIAD employees in the branding, advertising and website development departments will help in the strategic plan and upgrade the group’s existing website, bathvolunteerforservice.org. Hart said the site will have a new look with easier navigation. It will launch by mid-summer. ∞