The PR campaign proposes raising awareness of and fundraising for Alpha Phi's annual Red Dress Gala event to support the Alpha Phi Foundation. A press release and social media campaign will publicize the event to sell 200 tickets within a week and increase knowledge of the Foundation. Local businesses will be engaged to increase donations for the silent auction. An inspirational speaker will educate attendees on heart health issues supported by the Foundation. Effectiveness will be evaluated through a post-event survey.

1. Hailey Bauer
Journalism 312
March 11, 2020

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Executive Summary
This Public Relations Proposal is for my philanthropic women’s organization on campus,
Alpha Phi’s, annual Red Dress Gala. It is our biggest philanthropy event of the year and
is aimed at fundraising, as well as bringing awareness and educating the public about
heart health and cardiac care.
The fundraising that will be going on at the event is to raise money for the Alpha Phi
Foundation, a foundation that ​supports its members, and the communities in which they
reside in the pursuit of advancing women’s lives now and into the future. The public
awareness portion is going to be aimed at potential donors and or sponsors that may be
willing to work with Alpha Phi from the San Luis Obispo community, as well as the
members and guests of the sorority that will be attending the event. All guests and
donors will hopefully be inspired to donate to the Alpha Phi Foundation to support all the
work that the young women of Alpha Phi do all year long to help this amazing cause.

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PR Campaign:
Public Awareness Campaign
The Alpha Phi Foundation is a nonprofit organization, that depends on their 172 active
chapters and over 250,000 initiated members for their donations from fundraising
events like Red Dress Gala. They also want to spread awareness, not just about their
foundation, but for women’s cardiac care everywhere.
PR Campaign Planning:
Background Information:
Campaign Client​: Alpha Phi Epsilon Chi Chapter, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
Contact Person​: Lindsey Rutherford, VP Community Relations,
sloaphivpr@gmail.com, (925) 819-1993
Mission Statement​: Advancing women’s lives through the power of philanthropy
Vision Statement:​ As a preeminent philanthropic organization, Alpha Phi
Foundation is recognized for the strength of our endowment and for innovation in
cultivating and sustaining donor participation. We strive to be the
philanthropy-of-choice among our members, with every Alpha Phi supporting the
Foundation.
Value Statement:​ In 1956, Alpha Phi became one of the first women’s fraternities
to establish a Foundation. It was created as a trust agreement to award
scholarships and promote cardiac aid. Today, the original priorities hold true in
our five vital programs:

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● Supporting innovative ​leadership training and programming​ led by ​Alpha Phi
Fraternity
● Awarding ​scholarships​ to undergraduate and graduate Alpha Phis
● Investing in the advancement of ​women’s heart health
● Helping members in need through the ​Forget Me Not Grant Fund
● Celebrating the forward-thinking women that shaped Alpha Phi by preserving
our rich ​heritage
Campaign Goal:​ To create awareness for the annual Red Dress Gala event in
order to raise money towards the Alpha Phi Foundation.
Company Objectives:​ To sell 200 tickets to the event within one week of the
news story going out about the event.
To increase awareness about the Alpha Phi Foundation and its chapter at
Cal Poly by having five people who are not members of the sorority ask for more
information within two weeks of the article running.
To have 20 local companies willing to donate to Red Dress Gala based off of
what they learned about the event within four weeks of the article running.
Needs of the Company:​ The Alpha Phi Epsilon Chi chapter at Cal Poly is always
trying to improve the amount of money they raise each year during fundraising
events like Red Dress Gala. This particular chapter is so lucky to have all of the
amazing members they do and to be in the great community of San Luis Obispo
where the people are so kind. Alpha Phi needs the help of not only its members

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who are required to attend the event and more likely to donate to their cause, but
for the rest of the community to want help as well. This includes the many small
business owners in the area, as well as Cal Poly students who are not a part of
Alpha Phi.
Publics:​ The publics for the Alpha Phi Epsilon Chi chapter at Cal Poly are the
members themselves, their families, their friends, the sponsors and donors, the
Alpha Phi Foundation headquarters, the venue managers, the panhellenic
community on campus, Cal Poly students, and potential volunteers and donors.
Needs of Publics:​ The members and their families need to be proactive in
marketing Red Dress Gala to people that may not otherwise be familiar with the
event or have never even heard of the Alpha Phi Foundation can be aware of the
event so that ticket sales can increase from previous years and be a great
baseline for the money raised and soon to be donated to the Alpha Phi
Foundation. The coordinators putting on the event, that are also members of the
chapter, need to obtain as many donations as possible from local SLO
businesses so that they have as many auction items as they can for attendees to
bid on during the event, and to raise awareness to these local businesses and
encourage them to attend the event as well. Lastly, the directors should be in
contact with a woman in the SLO area who has been affected by heart health to
come and give an inspirational and educational speech at the event so that
people who donate have an idea of exactly who they could be helping.

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SWOT Analysis:
Strengths
● Has many other chapters they
could look at for support and
advice on what worked and
didn’t work for them.
● Have done this event many
times before so there is a
baseline.
● Has amazing members that
believe in the foundation and
truly want to do better.
Weaknesses
● Not enough awareness outside
of the members of the
organization.
● Sometimes negative feelings
from the public towards greek
life because of bad press,
especially at Cal Poly.
● Not a ton of motivation for
attendees outside of the
organization to come.
Opportunities
● Throw more events that are
open to the public and outreach
so people can find and attend
these events, and become
donors/sponsors, or just have
overall better feelings towards
Alpha Phi.
Threats
● There are many other sororities
also trying to get the public to
their own philanthropy events
so these groups may already
be getting more exposure or
obtaining donations from local
businesses in SLO.
SWOT Recommendations:​ The Alpha Phi Epsilon Chi chapter at Cal Poly needs
to use the fact that they support an amazing nonprofit foundation, the Alpha Phi
Foundation, to their advantage so that they can raise awareness in the San Luis
Obispo community to gain support in raising money for a great cause, women’s
heart health and cardiac care at their annual event, the Red Dress Gala. They
also need to gain as many donations as possible for the silent auction at the
event so that they can raise more money than ever at their 2020 Red Dress
Gala. It is also important that they are mindful of what other sororities on campus
do for publicity so that they are able to try and match that as well as go above

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and beyond so they reach potential donors from the San Luis Obispo community
first.
PR Campaign Proposal:
Section 1:
Introduction:​ For the Alpha Phi Epsilon Chi chapter at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo,
there are several ways for their annual Red Dress Gala to be a success and not only by
raising money for the Alpha Phi Foundation, which supports women’s heart health and
cardiac care, but by also helping to spread awareness about what Alpha Phi is doing to
support women with heart conditions in the San Luis Obispo region.
Foreseeable Complications:​ The event has to be moved completely inside, instead of
having it be naturally flowing both inside and outside of the event space (SLO Brew
Rock). This would only happen if the weather wasn’t cooperating and it was a rainy day.
Section 2:
Discussion:​ Red Dress Gala needs to be publicized so that the San Luis Obispo
community knows that even if you are not a member of Alpha Phi, or even a part of
greek like at all, that they are still able and encouraged to buy tickets and attend the
event. Also, any communications with the media should also include an awareness
component about the Alpha Phi Foundation, so that people who may not be able to
attend the event, can still learn about the organization and donate to the nonprofit if they
wish to.

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Requirements:​ Red Dress Gala will consist of a cocktail hour, followed by a station style
dinner, and there will also be different types of ways to donate throughout the event. For
example, attendees could donate $20 to the Alpha Phi Foundation and pop balloons
with gift cards inside of them for local restaurants that have graciously donated, and the
gift cards could have up to a $50 value. Also, throughout the night there will be a long
table filled with silent auction items also donated by local businesses as well as Alpha
Phi members. Attendees will use an app on their smartphones called ​GiveSmart​ to bid
on these items. There will be music and good vibes during the event and then also a
very emotional and inspirational speech given by a local woman who has been affected
first hand by heart health and she will explain to attendees how important it is for people
to be aware about the amazing Alpha Phi Foundation and all that they do for women
just like her. The target audience would be members of Alpha Phi, their families, their
friends, Cal Poly students, other panhellenic organizations on campus, and San Luis
Obispo locals.
Detailed Analysis:​ First, Red Dress Gala will need to be given a budget by the VP of
Finance of the Alpha Phi Epsilon Chi chapter, Hannah Mortensen. Then, the directors of
the event, also members of the chapter, will need to search for a venue space that
would be large enough to accommodate over 350 guests, and that would potentially be
donated or given a good deal because of the type of event it is and what it is supporting.
Next, the event needs to be publicized so that the public knows that it’s happening so
that they could purchase tickets to attend the event. The directors would need to make

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sure that enough tickets are being sold to completely pay for the venue space, so that
the rest of the money raised could be directly donated to the Alpha Phi Foundation. Red
Dress Gala will not only be an event to raise money and create awareness about the
foundation, but it will also be a fun night out filled with music, food, beverages, and
mingling.
Approach:​ A press release about the event should be sent out to the greek life
newsletter, Mustang News, SLO Tribune, and local radio stations to let people know
about Alpha Phi’s annual Red Dress Gala. Social media campaigns would also be
implemented through Facebook, by having an event where friends can see who is going
or who is interested in the event. Also, graphics explaining the event will be shared on
Instagram by all 200 members of the sorority so that as many people as possible can be
notified about Red Dress Gala and will want to buy tickets and attend.
Strategies:​ Reach out to as many businesses as possible in the San Luis Obispo
community so that the event can be carried by donations and no money will have to be
spent by the Alpha Phi chapter so that they can raise as much money as they can for
the Alpha Phi Foundation. Another strategy would be to reach out to the Alpha Phi
chapter at UC Santa Barbara to get them to attend as well as market our Red Dress
Gala event.
Tactics:​ All of the members of the Alpha Phi Epsilon Chi chapter could market the event
to the other organizations they are involved with on the Cal Poly campus, as well as tell
their peers in all of their classes about Red Dress Gala, and suggest that they tell their
friends and come have a fun night. By doing this, the news about Red Dress Gala would

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spread very quickly and reach many different groups on campus that may have not
been aware of the event otherwise.
Section 3:
Draft Outline:​ Please see the chart below for the list of tasks that will be performed by
the members of the Alpha Phi Epsilon Chi chapter, along with the timeline for each of
these tasks.

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Section 4:
Summative & Formative Evaluation:​ Since Red Dress Gala is going to begin around
4:00 in the afternoon, and will go on until around 8:00 at night, there will only be a
summative evaluation days following the event. There will be a final count of how much
money was raised, and this amount would be sent in a thank you email to everyone that
attended the event, and especially to all of the businesses that donated and sponsored
the event. Also attached to the email would be an online survey through a platform like
SurveyMonkey or Qualtrics. The survey would ask the attendees how much they
enjoyed the event, what their favorite and least favorite parts of the event were, what
they learned about the Alpha Phi Foundation, if they would attend the event again next
year, and how they learned about the event to see if the media campaigns,
advertisements, and educational portion of the event was successful for the public that
was being targeted.