Furman University

Campaign Brand

messaging strategy

Case Statement

Crafting a campaign message that resonates.

Furman University—a nationally recognized liberal arts institution in Greenville, South Carolina—engaged Mackey Strategies ahead of launching the private phase of its campaign with initial plans to develop a traditional suite of fundraising collaterals.

Our discovery research and conversations with high-level donors revealed the University's real need: a multi-phased, multi-year approach that facilitated tailored outreach with donors’ preferred giving interests in mind.

For the campaign's private phase, we created a customizable pitch deck and trained the advancement team in applying it in donor conversations. The feedback gleaned from donors during those discussions intentionally informed the public phase collaterals, which included our development of the campaign name and overarching narrative, a brief case statement, and mini-cases for each campaign priority. Throughout this engagement, we also guided Furman’s in-house design team in creating the campaign’s visual identity and full suite of collaterals.

The resulting campaign identity, "Clearly Furman," and tailored collateral plans were embraced by the president and board for their clarity and resonance. This alignment at the highest levels of leadership contributed to the campaign’s remarkable success, as the University met and ultimately surpassed its ambitious fundraising goals.

Leadership Phase Pitch Deck

Working with the in-house design team, we created a customizable pitch deck for the private phase of the campaign that empowered the advancement team with a tailored tool to engage donors in meaningful, interest-aligned conversations.

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Campaign Name & Case Statement

Informed by donors' reactions to the pitch deck messaging, we then wrote and oversaw the design of the "Clearly Furman" case statement, which included a message from the president and a concise, compelling narrative that captured the campaign's vision and priorities.