Launching an annual day of giving in New Orleans

Written By Alicia Vial

Situation

The Greater New Orleans Foundation (GNOF) is one of the oldest and largest philanthropic organizations in the region whose mission is to create a thriving community for all. GNOF engaged Gambel Communications to create a strategic media and community outreach campaign to help launch the organization’s inaugural GiveNOLA Day.

Strategy

Both large and small nonprofit organizations in the Greater New Orleans area are encouraged to sign up for GiveNOLA Day. All money raised is amplified on this one day of giving through a local pool of incentive dollars for participating organizations. Every dollar donated on GiveNOLA Day is also stretched with additional “lagniappe” dollars provided by GNOF and GiveNOLA Day sponsors.

To announce GiveNOLA Day and generate nonprofit participation, Gambel Communications arranged a press conference featuring representatives from the City of New Orleans, the GNOF team and select nonprofits.

As the day of giving approached, Gambel Communications continued to conduct strategy media relations and earned extensive coverage in print, online, television and radio media channels. The agency meets with targeted local media and worked with the mayor’s office to generate public support, disseminates e-blasts to community leaders and work with business and professional organizations to encourage sponsorships and participation. The team continually secured spots on all the local television morning shows; coordinated multiple live remote interviews during GiveNOLA Day and provided updates throughout the day to media on dollars raised and donor participation.

Results

A local philanthropic movement was ignited with the launch of GiveNOLA Day, culminating in 19,623 gifts and nearly $2.3 million raised for 309 regional nonprofit organizations. This far surpassed the initial goal to involve 250 nonprofits, receive 5,000 gifts and raise $1 million. As a result, there has been extensive and consistent local coverage across all platforms leading up to, during and after GiveNOLA Day for six consecutive years.

Giving on the second GiveNOLA Day increased 78%, resulting in $4 million raised and 34,000 gifts to 571 regional nonprofits to again surpass GNOF’s goals. Despite a technology failure that affected the shut-down of dozens of giving websites, the third annual giving day raised another $4 million from 28,000 donations for the 713 participating nonprofit organizations.

By the sixth year, GiveNOLA Day resulted in nearly $6 million raised from more than 50,000 donations to benefit 700+ participating nonprofit organizations.   

Alicia Vial

Alicia Vial is a New Orleans native with more than a decade of experience elevating client stories and leading crisis response. As the senior director of strategy, Alicia acts as a leader within the Gambel Communications team ensuring each agency team member is positioned to deliver strategic public relations services that meet the highest standards of the industry. In addition to supporting the agency’s long-term business growth and development, she coordinates day-to-day account services and oversees strategic direction while staying abreast of best practices and industry trends to provide innovative solutions to meet client’s needs.

Before joining Gambel Communications, Alicia served as the communications director for the Louisiana SPCA, the oldest and largest animal welfare organization in Louisiana that impacts more than 74,000 animals per year. During her nearly eight-year tenure, Alicia oversaw numerous crises, served on national communication taskforces, oversaw all aspects of internal and external relations and worked alongside the development department to raise critical funding. Prior to that, she worked in the fast-paced New Orleans hospitality industry focusing on digital public relations for multiple hotels.

Alicia is a member of the Public Relations Association of Louisiana (PRAL), Southern Public Relations Federation (SPRF), a board member of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) New Orleans Chapter and a member of the New Orleans Regional Leadership Institute. An accredited public relations practitioner (APR), Alicia is also certified in crisis communications, organizational leadership, content marketing and social media.

A well respected and trusted public relations practitioner, Alicia has been recognized by SPRF as a ‘Senior Practitioner of the Year’. Dubbed early on in her career as one to watch, she also received the ‘Rising Star’ award by PRAL and was profiled in St. Charles Avenue Magazine as part of their Young Bloods series. Most recently, she was recognized at PRSA’s annual Fleurish Awards and received four Awards of Excellence for her work along with the ‘Plate Spinner’ award for her efforts on the board of directors for the chapter.

An LSU graduate, Alicia received a bachelor's degree in mass communications with a concentration in public relations and minors in business administration and leadership development. She is a frequent speaker and presenter on public relations topics, most recently presenting at the Jefferson Economic Development Commission and SPRF annual conference.

When Alicia is not at work, you can find her at the ballpark with her three boys or cheering on the Tigers in Death Valley.

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