In 2014 JMU launched the quiet phase of its comprehensive campaign, aiming to raise $200 million from 6,000 donors by June 31, 2022. In 2017 the school prepared to enter its public phase of Unleashed: The Campaign for James Madison University, and I was hired to develop materials for strategic gift officers to share with major donors.

 

In the first few months on the job, I helped develop cases for support, repurpose copy to build web pages and script the public launch. I also established and implemented key systems for collaboration and project management.

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Update: JMU exceeded its goals ahead of schedule. Totals as of the end of May were nearly 63,000 donors and more than $243.5 million.

 

​Click the Furious Flower image for a PDF. My work on this and five other Unleashed "mini" cases included researching, interviewing, writing, selecting photos and collaborating with key campus partners.

 

I cut my teeth on managing Advancement Marketing projects — providing final editorial review, preparing text for layout, coordinating with designers, moving proofs through the rigors of approval, proofreading — by shepherding 13 of these along with the overarching campaign case folder. Of course, I had been managing projects for years, from brochures to full-length books to websites and publicity campaigns, but every work environment is different and calls for flexibility and customization of processes.

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On March 23, 2021, the president announced that we had hit the dollar target more than a year ahead of schedule and that the rest of the campaign would be focused on raising funds for scholarships.

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Above: 2018 drone shot of JMU campus by Cody Troyer, campaign brand and wordmark by Snavely & Associates. Below: 2019 photo of Amanda Gorman by Greg Gibson, case style established by Snavely & Associates, copy by Karen Risch Mott, graphic design and production by Jennifer Dehoff.