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Mailchimp Partner Pure Firefly Gives Back

This agency helped triple a nonprofit’s donation goals

It’s no secret—our Mailchimp partners are phenomenal. This community of experts boasts some of the best email marketers around. Every day, partners help clients achieve their marketing goals. But many also donate their professional skills to worthy causes, helping nonprofits expand their reach so they can focus on their mission.

Kristy McCarley, owner of Pure Firefly, is one of these partners. The Guild of Scenic Artists—an organization dedicated to fostering community and providing educational resources for artists in this industry—was planning to launch their first public webinar for both members and non-members, but needed help to ensure its success. Kristy and the team at Pure Firefly stepped in with a marketing plan to do just that. Here, we sat down with Kristy to chat about professional giving.

Why were you interested in helping the Guild of Scenic Artists?

I’ve always been an avid fan of the theatre and film industry. I was fascinated by the technical skills and amount of work that the scenic artists do behind the scenes to make every performance look and feel as authentic as possible. I also had a great first meeting with the Board Chair Lili Lennox. So, it kinda seemed like I found my tribe.

Can you tell us about what you did for the Guild of Scenic Artists?

The Guild of Scenic Artists was planning their first member webinar in spring 2021. They enlisted Pure Firefly to help them craft a marketing plan that included their website, email, and social media.

Were they happy with your work?

Extremely. We exceeded all of our objectives. We surpassed our webinar registration goal by 200%, and our final donation total was 3 times what we had hoped to raise.

"We like being able to actually see the fruits of our labor and how they impact real lives—you can’t do that when you just write a check."

Many folks would just donate money to a nonprofit and call it a day. Why do you think it’s important to volunteer your professional services to such organizations?

We find that most often people or organizations are grateful for every donation no matter how small, but also are not always adequately prepared or skilled enough to know what to do with the donations. So as a result, many donations are not maximized. We like being able to actually see the fruits of our labor and how they impact real lives—you can’t do that when you just write a check. Typically, we offer a 20% discount to nonprofit clients, but for this campaign we reduced our fees by 50%.

Do many organizations ask for your help? If so, how do you decide which ones to donate your time to?

Most organizations assume there will be a fee and are honest about their budget up front. We will then try to find a solution that meets their needs and stays within budget, often providing many additional services at no cost.

“We exceeded all of our objectives. We surpassed our webinar registration goal by 200%, and our final donation total was 3 times what we had hoped to raise.”

Do you have any advice for young professionals looking to donate their professional skills?

Give your time to causes you are passionate about or organizations that you have a great rapport with.

Do you set any give back goals for yourself annually? Do you try to give to a certain number of charities or spend any number of hours per month on pro bono work?

We try to choose one non-profit organization per year that we offer substantial marketing support to at low or no cost.

This is part of our Partners Who Give Back miniseries. Read more about marketers who donate their professional skills to worthy causes:

Kim Darragon

is helping refugees to thrive through the power of their own ideas.

If you’re a freelancer or a member of an agency looking to build your reputation, learn new skills, and network with awesome peers like Kristy, join Mailchimp & Co. Membership gets you access to tools (to help you manage your clients) and resources designed to help you grow your business your way.

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