The Insider Q4 2010

1. The Pat Tillman Foundation began as a regional foundation, based in Tempe, Ariz., but has grown into a national foundation, with events and initiatives in different markets around the country. Talk about that transition from regional to national, and how can other, similarly sized foundations, grow to that magnitude?

The Pat Tillman Foundation was founded in April 2004 following Pat's death. The foundation committed $1.25 million to Arizona State University, Pat’s alma mater, to create and endow the Tillman Scholars ASU program. This program celebrates Pat’s legacy and serves as a lasting tribute to his extraordinary academic and athletic accomplishments at ASU, both in the classroom and on the football field. In the fall of 2008, with the ASU endowment complete, the Pat Tillman Foundation refined its mission and focus towards veterans and military families with the creation of the Tillman Military Scholars program. With over two million individuals having served since September 11, 2001 and over 300,000 troops returning to school or work annually, there is an increasing demand on the limited amount of educational resources available to military families.

While the foundation continues to be headquartered in Tempe, Ariz., we now serve a nationwide group of scholars. When the Board of Directors, led by Pat’s wife Marie, redefined the mission of the foundation to focus on veterans and military families, we went from a small regional foundation to a small national foundation. For other foundations looking to grow, I would advise them to look at the goals and the mission of their foundation. Growth isn’t necessarily about a region or being national but should be about the cause or population you serve as a nonprofit. If staying small and regional is the best way to serve the people your foundation aids then, be the best small regional foundation doing that work.

2. After only six years, “Pat’s Run” has become one of the largest fundraisers and running events in the country. What kind of responsibilities do you have for the race and what advice would you give to other nonprofits that want to run and manage significant, large-scale events?

The Pat Tillman Foundation is grateful to not only have amazing support in our local community and throughout Arizona, but from the entire nation. In 2005, the first annual Pat’s Run saw 6,000 participants run the 4.2 mile race. In 2010, the sixth annual Pat’s Run had record-breaking numbers with 30,000 participants from 48 states. Pat’s Run is the signature annual fundraiser for the Pat Tillman Foundation and the sole fundraising event each year that the foundation staff organizes and manages.

My responsibilities for the race include all public relations and marketing outreach for the race. Everything from listing the event on community and race calendars nationwide to coordinating with local Arizona media to promote registration and Team Tillman. From a marketing perspective, I work hand-in-hand with our pro-bono design firm to create everything, including registration, brochures, posters and the race program. My advice to other nonprofits who want to run a large scale fundraising event of any kind – be it a run/walk, golf tournament, gala dinner, etc. – is to bring together a core team to plan and execute the event. It definitely takes a clear vision and dedicated team members (and additional volunteers) to create a memorable event that supports your cause.

3. The foundation gets a lot of requests from different organizations and media outlets. How do you decide which opportunities to pursue, and which ones may not be a fit?

The Pat Tillman Foundation receives dozens of requests each week from organizations around the country looking to form a partnership of some kind. We consider who to partner with based on our mission and goals as a foundation. In the last two years the foundation has focused its mission to invest in veterans and military families through education, community and advocacy. We accomplish this through the Tillman Military Scholars program.

4. Your foundation has a very strong social media presence, with your foundation having nearly 40,000 fans on Facebook, and your Twitter handle having more than 1,000 followers. How does social media help your foundation? What are some of the positives/negatives of having such a large following?

Social Media is very important to the Pat Tillman Foundation because our supporters and those who are fans of Pat and his story are a geographically diverse group. Social Media – primarily the Pat Tillman Foundation blog, Pat Tillman Foundation (Official) on Facebook and @pattillmanfnd on Twitter – allows this group to not only follow the happenings of the foundation but also gives them a forum to connect with each other. This connection is a true positive. The only negative is being targeted by spammers trying to push their message on the group. We are very diligent in deleting spam from wall posts.

5. Recently the new Pat Tillman Documentary “The Tillman Story” was released to outstanding reviews. Jack Krakauer’s book “Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman” was a bestseller. How can you utilize the successful book and movie to help build the Pat Tillman Foundation’s platform and generate more exposure around your initiatives?

The Pat Tillman Foundation, while not directly involved with the books and movies that have come out about Pat Tillman, is grateful for the exposure it provides to those who don’t know who Pat Tillman was or his story. We hear from people around the country weekly who have just come to learn about Pat for the first time because they have read Krakauer’s book, or Mary Tillman’s book “Boots on the Ground” or seen the documentary. These pieces provide a detailed look at Pat’s background, his time in football and in the military and the years of work his family has done to find the truth about his death. As a foundation, we view these pieces as the springboard to tell the story of Pat Tillman’s legacy.

If you look at “The Tillman Story,” it ends with a mention that Marie started a foundation in her husband’s name and that every April there is a charity run in his honor. That is our platform and opportunity to show that there is more to this story than the controversy and the history. The story we tell is that of our Scholars, like Richard Garcia, who being linked to Pat and the foundation has allowed him to do more and complete his education. He is a prime example of the extraordinary potential and desire our Scholars have to make an impact and difference in the world around them.

In the first two years of the Tillman Military Scholars program, the Pat Tillman Foundation has pledged over $1.3 million in scholarship funds to 111 Tillman Military Scholars attending 46 universities in 28 states. We encourage everyone to take a moment and read about the current 2010 Tillman Military Scholars. Their yearbook and stories can be found on our website.

This quarter, we'll be speaking with Christie Garton, a moderator and blogger for USA Today. You can read Garton's work at the "Kindness Community" on USAToday.com. Please click on the play button below to listen.

When Microsoft created its PowerPoint program, the software giant put the software on the market as a presentation tool, not as a presentation. Too many professionals overlook that simple, but powerful concept. PowerPoint and Apple’s Keynote are tools designed to help improve your presentation, not tools that should become your presentation.

Too many people, when facing the task of building a presentation, start with building their PowerPoint. Try a different approach next time. Start with these questions instead:

• What’s the purpose of this presentation?

• How will I know if this presentation succeeded? Will it lead to more sales, better morale, increased involvement? Set specific measureable goals.

• What are the key points I want to get across?

Next, ask yourself how you would deliver the presentation if PowerPoint didn’t exist:

• Would you use models, posters, props and other low-tech support?

• Would you get more people in your audience involved in the presentation?

• Would you spend more time making eye contact with your audience?

Finally, take the answers to the above questions and use at least half of those ideas. Cut your PowerPoint in half, and watch your results improve.

There’s nothing wrong with PowerPoint, but most people either use it incorrectly or use it too much. The soul of your presentation is about ideas, actions, and measureable outcomes… not the next slide.

Gerry Sandusky is a communications consultant, TV & Radio sportscaster, and the Voice of the Baltimore Ravens. His company, The Sandusky Group, is on the web at www.SanduskyGroup.com.

July 14, 2010 marked 50 years since Dr. Jane Goodall began her groundbreaking study of chimpanzee behavior when she arrived at what is today Tanzania’s Gombe National Park. The chimpanzee behavioral research she pioneered there has produced a wealth of scientific discovery, and her vision has expanded into a global mission to empower people to make a difference for all living things.

This milestone was showcased as the feature story in the Associated Press “This Date in History,” as well as in outlets such as The Washington Post and The Houston Chronicle. Dr. Goodall also submitted a remarkable article to The Wall Street Journal that ran on July 24 and CNN International ran a wonderful piece on this milestone.

In addition to celebrating the extraordinary anniversary, JGI’s Roots & Shoots program continues to impact underserved communities all across the globe. In light of the terrible oil spill crisis that devastated New Orleans over the summer, 25 youth leaders, aged 15-23, from Roots & Shoots programs across the country gathered in New Orleans to help in any way they could. Roots & Shoots partnered with the Louisiana Bucket Brigade to help those impacted by the crisis. Their noteworthy work was featured locally by The Times-Picayune and nationally by USA Today.

For more information on the Jane Goodall Institute, visit www.janegoodall.org. For more information on their Roots & Shoots program, visit www.rootsandshoots.org.

Maroon PR will feature a regular column by someone from our team, in an effort for our readers to get to know us and hear our opinions. This quarter, we’ll hear from Maroon PR President John Maroon about growing a small business in tough economic times.

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We have been very fortunate that 2010 will be our most profitable year to date, while also seeing us grow in business and in team members.

I wish I had some sort of formula that I could tell you that allowed us to continue to be successful during these challenging economic times but I do not (excuse me while I furiously knock on wood). There are some very simple principles that mandate the way that all of us do our jobs and I am sure that has played a major role…

• Hire loyal, hard-working, ethical people and let them do their job
  
• Create, as best you can, a happy and comfortable work environment that promotes creativity
  
• Give your team the tools that they need to do their job effectively
  
• Get to know your clients and their business and respond promptly to their needs
  
• Be a great value to your clients and not just in traditional roles

It’s pretty simple actually. We work with organizations that have internal PR teams and we act as another set of hands for them. We work with organizations where we are the PR department. In both cases, we want to make sure we’re a valuable and trusted resource. We believe that by working with us, the client will receive several experienced individuals acting on their behalf at a price that makes sense; especially in these trying economic times

The challenge that we face now, with 13 team members and growing, is the ability to maintain the culture that we have developed and make sure that everyone is happy, fulfilled, productive and challenged. I am sure to many of you, 13 people seem very manageable, but when we were a team of three just four and a half years ago, 13 seems like a lot!

One other thing I would encourage all small business owners and their team members to do as best you can…ignore the naysayers. So many people have such a negative attitude about the economy and business. We have chosen to ignore them and instead focus on growth and opportunity. As much as the recession has hurt, it has also presented us with new opportunities…smart business starters who know that the time to market and get out there is now more than ever. And it has worked. Maybe it’s as simple as knowing that a negative outlook impacts everything and there just isn’t room for it.

Thanks to all of my incredible friends who I work with here at Maroon PR… every day I am thankful for them and I am blown away by their work ethic, creativity and effort.

John Maroon is the President of Maroon PR. He can be reached at john@maroonpr.com.

In 2010, Maroon PR has been posting and updating its "Maroon Blog" consistently, in an effort to give our opinions about public relations, communication, marketing, sports, business and more. For our "Spotlight Blog" this quarter we've chosen "Is the End Near for all Print Newspapers" written by Maroon PR Senior Account Executive Matt Saler on September 9.

You can view all of our blog posts from last quarter at maroonpr.blogspot.com.

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I was pretty shocked to read the other day that The New York Times publisher, Arthur Sulzberger Jr., said the following words: “We will stop printing The New York Times sometime in the future.” He did not give a specific date to this inevitability, but it begs the question… if one of the most read daily newspapers in the country goes strictly to digital, is it the beginning of the end for print newspapers as we know it?

Clearly, a lot of folks in the media industry were buzzing about this news, as many see digital as the present and future. If the majority of the revenue generated by The Times is from its online revenue, it only makes sense that this would be the direction that they would move toward. Business Insider blogger Henry Blogget conducted some interesting research on the topic and came up with the following numbers:

“We estimate that the NYT currently spends about $200 million a year on its newsroom and generates about $150 million of online revenue. If the paywall is highly successful—attracting, say, 1 million subscribers who pay $100 a year—this will add another $100 million of online subscription revenue (assuming the company doesn't lose ad revenue). With $250 million of revenue, the NYT might be able to sustain newsroom costs of about $100 million.

Now, a $100 million newsroom budget is a HUGE newsroom budget--one that most online publications would kill for. So The New York Times isn't going anywhere. But $100 million is also a lot less than The New York Times current newsroom budget.

So if Arthur Sulzberger is right that The New York Times will eventually have to stop printing the print paper--and we certainly think he is--his company is likely to have to be restructured.”

As one who enjoys opening up a paper and reading through the news of the day, should I be worried that these days are quickly coming to an end? Stay tuned.

Matt Saler is a Senior Account Executive. Contact him at matt@maroonpr.com.

After two decades with various sports teams and leagues John Maroon opened Maroon PR in April of 2006. We opened our doors with two clients, Ripken Baseball and the Babe Ruth Museum, and we are proud to say that they are still with us. We now manage over two dozen active clients that include sports properties, non-profit organizations and small businesses. Our Vision Statement is "We Drive Growth Through Relationships" and it is so much more than a statement, it is the way we do business each and every day to help our clients. Visit the Capabilities section of our site to learn more.

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