Request for Proposals for a Statewide Affordable Housing Communications Campaign
Organization Description:
The Strategic Communications and Fundraising Group is a collaboration of Vermont non-profit organizations whose missions include the promotion of equitable opportunities for affordable housing. The organizations in the group are Cathedral Square, Champlain Housing Trust, Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity, Downstreet Housing & Community Development, Lamoille Housing Partnership, Evernorth, Shires Housing, Vermont Affordable Housing Coalition, Vermont Housing & Conservation Board, Vermont Legal Aid, and Windham & Windsor Housing Trust. The purpose of this collaboration is to align efforts around supporting the creation of new affordable housing across the state to address the shortage of housing and meet the needs of all Vermonters.
Statewide Communications Campaign Goal:
The goal of this campaign is to develop a unified message and toolkit that can be used at both the state and local level.
Overall Vision:
Vermont has been experiencing a housing crisis for decades. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought new attention to the issue of homelessness and the need for more affordable housing in general. As a group of non-profit organizations committed to providing equitable opportunities for access to safe, stable, affordable housing for all, we are eager to capitalize on this renewed awareness and energy around affordable housing in order to garner support for each of our organizations’ work in the form of activism and financial donations. It is important to us to continue to raise awareness of the need for the work we do and to motivate individuals to get involved by taking action in their local communities, reaching out to their legislative representatives, and offering financial support to their local affordable housing organizations. It is critical to us that this campaign be inclusive in regards to race, ethnicity, gender identity, age, physical and mental ability, and other characteristics that have traditionally caused many to experience systemic housing discrimination.
Why a state-wide campaign?
The organizations who are behind this effort are all interested in raising awareness of the dire need for more affordable housing. We want to help Vermonters understand what affordable housing is and the benefits it provides not only to residents of affordable housing, but also to our neighbors, our workforce, and our communities. We have decided to pool our resources in order to create something that can be communicated broadly across the state, with a toolkit that each of our individual organizations can utilize within our local regions. We hope to reduce the NIMBY (not in my backyard) reaction that many have to the development of new affordable housing, and to plant the seeds for a long-term affordable housing “movement” that Vermonters care about and actively participate in.
Scope of Work/Desired Deliverables:
We are seeking a consultant to create an overall brand and messaging strategy for a statewide affordable housing communications campaign that will raise awareness of the need for more affordable housing and inspire state-wide audiences to take action. Expected deliverables include:
• Develop a visual system including a logo and graphic elements to create a visual “brand” connection to this movement
• Create a campaign website landing page, navigation system, and a template for subpages that we can build out for various topics:
o Calls to Action – what you can do to get involved
o Briefing papers on various issues
o Resources for citizens (housing tool kit)
o Resources for municipalities (Zoning for Great Communities, speakers bureau)
o Examples of recent new housing, photo gallery o Success stories of residents, quotes from residents, municipal officials, local business people, faith communities
• Provide messaging around an affordable housing movement, including a tagline, call to action and overall language that inspires people to get on board with the movement
• Develop template graphics for social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter)) and print media • Attend 2 broad community meetings on affordable housing messaging.
Point of contact: Cara Hansen (802) 477-1330 chansen@downstreet.org
Proposals shall be submitted no later than Wednesday, March 2nd.
Please send an electronic version of your proposal to: chansen@downstreet.org
