On April 22, 2004, Pat Tillman tragically lost his life serving his country in Afghanistan. To honor Pat’s life as an Army Ranger, NFL Arizona Cardinal, and Arizona State University scholar, the Tillman family created the Pat Tillman Foundation with the mission of carrying forward his legacy by inspiring people to make positive change in themselves and in the world around them.To achieve this goal, the Foundation implemented the Leadership Through Action™ Initiative, a program designed to provide the tools and experience to help tomorrow’s leaders identify problems in their community, develop solutions to those problems, and ultimately, implement those solutions with funding from the Foundation and community. In addition, the Foundation also hosts Pat’s Run, a 4.2-mile run and walk, each April.
The Pat Tillman Foundation selected Gordon C. James Public Relations as its public relations firm to address a number of objectives. Our goals were s follows: increase awareness of the Foundation and its activities; establish Leadership Through Action as an educational initiative that could be expanded to additional educational institutions; develop and maintain existing sponsor relationships and identify additional fundraising opportunities for the Foundation; and increase inquiries from the public to volunteer and support the Foundation and its activities.
To achieve these objectives, GCJPR developed a comprehensive communications plan addressing media relations and fundraising needs. The plan included developing a brand presence for the Pat Tillman Foundation and Leadership Through Action Initiative; developing and executing local, regional and national communications plans to publicize the Foundation and Leadership Through Action; developing a corporate marketing plan focusing on delivering value and activation to sponsors; initiating and managing networking efforts for fundraising and sponsorships; media training for Foundation directors; identifying and researching potential growth opportunities for the Foundation; identifying media opportunities that help raise the profile of the Foundation; assisting with event management services for all Foundation sponsored events; coordinating media outreach and sponsor development for Pat’s Run; and ensuring consistent branding and messaging across all Foundation communication platforms, including its Web site, video, and media appearances.
Our partnership with the Foundation proved to be very successful. The communications plan has been effective in positioning the foundation and the Leadership Through Action Initiative in both the media and the corporate community.
As a result of GCJPR’s promotion of the Pat’s Run event, the Foundation’s profile was elevated significantly within the community. The 2nd Annual Pat’s Run at Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona attracted more than 10,000 supporters, nearly double that of the 2005 run. Additionally, Pat’s Run was expanded to include Pat’s hometown of San Jose, California where over 4,000 people came out to show their support for Pat and the Foundation. In Fall 2006, the Foundation’s Leadership Through Action Initiative is expanding to San Jose High Schools.
The media relations efforts of GCJPR, in partnership with the Foundation and the Pat’s Run Committee, garnered more than 29 million media impressions in Spring 2006 for the Foundation. Through maintaining existing sponsorships, developing new sponsor relationships, and coordinating numerous fundraising events, GCJPR was able to assist the Foundation in raising well over $350,000.