The Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design board of trustees has selected six new members to represent the institution on the board. They include: Matt Levatich, president and chief operating officer of Harley-Davidson Motor Company; Linda Marcus, former journalist and author on media ethics and owner of Linda Marcus Designs; Justin L. Mortara, chief executive officer of Mortara Instrument, Inc.; Scott Schwebel, vice president of creative development of Hanson Dodge Creative; Randy Strauss, president chief executive officer of Strauss Brands Incorporated; and Thomas Wilson III, retired president of Private Banking, Firstar Milwaukee.
Tri-Adathon, a joint venture between Milwaukee-based Catral Doyle creative, the Welke Group and Elm Grove-based Clear Verve Marketing, selected 21 nonprofit organizations to receive 24 hours of free pro bono marketing support. The services provided include marketing communications, strategic planning, web site design, radio scripting, graphic design, and media relations planning. “Working together on these projects really opens up the things we can do for people,” said Christina Steder, owner of Clear Verve Marketing. “It allows me to take a project that maybe my firm could only do half of, and bring in these other people to finish it because that is their specialty.”
According to Steder, the event was well received, and is something the firms plan to do on an annual basis. Click here to view a video about the Tri-Adathon event and its efforts click here. The Wheelin’ Wizards were selected to be a part of the Tri-Adathon effort.
Nonprofit Name: Wheelin’ Wizards Competitive Youth Wheelchair Basketball Club
Website: wheelinwizards.org
Leadership: Todd Whitrock – Acting Board President; Robin Decker – Treasurer; Chris Roy – secretary; Michael Nepper – Varsity Vice President
Mission of the organization: “To give kids who use wheelchairs the opportunity to participate in competitive Wheelchair basketball.”
Annual volunteer/fundraising event: Altera Coffee fundraiser; bowl-athon; raffle.
What makes your organization unique? “We are completely parent run and don’t receive any regular outside funding. Our entire operation is funded by our fundraising efforts and charitable donations.”
Why did you want to get involved in the Tri-Adathon effort? “In order to better facilitate our community outreach, we felt that we needed a more polished presentation brochure.”
What help did you receive from Tri-Adathon? “They produced a professional looking brochure that will make our public outreach more accessible.”
What are you immediate organizational goals as a result of the Tri-Adathon effort? “We are constantly in fundraising mode because we have to maintain and replace equipment, and we also assist our families with travel. The brochure will help us to reach our annual $50,000 budget goal.”
Is your organization in search of board members? “We currently recruit board members from within, but have discussed the viability of board personnel who don’t have children involved in our program. Parents as board members can have difficulty separating emotionally from their children’s wants and needs.”
How can business people/the community help your organization? “Fundraising is difficult in good financial times, but has become more difficult now. We are also having a tough time attracting new families willing to make the time and travel commitments required because of the limited number of available teams to compete against. We are also always looking for volunteers for coaching, travel or fundraising.”
