The Children's Inn at NIH
case for support and accompanying collateral: writing, creative direction
The Children's Inn at the National Institutes of Health is a source of unwavering support for children and families who come from all over the world to the NIH in search of hope, healing, and answers. It's a home on the NIH campus where they can stay free of charge, but it's also a community and support network for families grappling with the unthinkable, a place with insightful therapies, intuitive design, and programs and activities that help people heal and cope, whether through facing a challenge head-on or offering a much-needed distraction.
My colleague Charlotte Cottier and I truly had to bottle lightning on this one: capturing in writing the complete scope of what The Inn does and makes possible was a formidable challenge. We produced core messaging capturing The Inn's impact as a series of nesting concentric circles—children, families, the community, the NIH, the world—describing the impact that philanthropy can make at every level. We used this messaging as a foundation to develop a narrative presentation and print piece for leadership and fundraisers to use to tell the story of the organization. Staff and volunteers responded enthusiastically to the case, and it has proven effective on the fundraising front, too.