Minnesotans' Military Appreciation Fund

Multi-channel Marketing Campaign

Magnet 360 Member Agencies:
Kenyon, Haberman, Strong Suit Media and Magnet 360

Situation

Founded by Gene Sit in 2005, the Minnesotans' Military Appreciation Fund (MMAF) was established as nonprofit and nonpartisan, statewide fundraising initiative to show our troops how much we appreciate and respect their efforts by providing cash grants to all service members deployed in combat zones such as Iraq and Afghanistan, and to the families of service members who are killed in combat. Joining Gene at the inception of this program were Magnet 360 co-founders who joined the Steering Committee and Board of Overseers.

Engagement Opportunity

Establish MMAF and create awareness to attract sponsors, supporters, members of the military and their families for this very unique program.

Outcome

Working with Magnet 360 members Kenyon, Haberman, and Strong Suit Media we developed fully integrated programs from PR, print, web, email marketing & social media which were key to generating awareness, taking in donations, promoting events and providing an easy gateway for members of the military to learn about & apply for grants. Since the inception of the program, we have had fundraising events that have included guest speakers Senator John McCain, three time Pulitzer Prize winning author Tom Friedman, best selling author and former NBC news anchor Tom Brokaw and best selling author Vince Flynn. MMAF has raised over $12 million, making it the nation’s largest-ever statewide fundraiser of its kind. MMAF has provided over $7 million in grants to more than 11,000 recipients. If you'd like to learn more about MMAF or help us in our mission of saying "Thank you" to every Minnesotan that serves in our military, please visit www.thankmntroops.org.