Grant: $3,000, Outreach: In-Kind, Bronze Telly Award: PRICELESS

When AIDS Service Organizations apply for the Tony Cox Community Fund, they are usually thinking about how they will best utilize the unrestricted media funds. Outreach is planned, storyboards are set, and PSAs are filmed. At best, the resulting marketing campaign not only educates those in the community about HIV prevention and the services of the ASO, but also provides volunteers and donations for an agency event. Programmatic and agency accolades are part of the process of a job well done, but outside agency, or even outside industry, recognitions come few and far between. For this very reason, I want to share with you the very exciting award recently given to Northland Cares and Cable ONE in Prescott, Arizona.

Northland Cares, a 2007 Cycle 2 grantee of Cable Positive’s Tony Cox Community Fund, and their cable partner Cable ONE, were recognized with a Bronze Telly Award for outstanding achievement for their short video entitled “Bud’s Story.” (FYI, the Telly Awards honor outstanding local, regional and cable TV commercials and programs, film production, and web commercials, videos, and films. This year’s competition had over 13,500 entries from all 50 states.)

The video tells the story of a community member, who, since accessing treatment at Northland Cares has undergone a physical and mental transformation to become the center of his family and an activist for those infected and affected by HIV/AIDS in the Arizona region. The video was the highlight of a community event in Flagstaff, AZ, and at the organization’s annual World AIDS Day breakfast. In addition to “Bud’s Story,” Northland Cares also made a series of Public Service Announcements that aired on Cable ONE, as well as marketing materials that were made available in distribution channels previously not reachable by the organization such as libraries and area colleges.

After the release of “Bud’s Story” and a Public Service Announcement, both produced by Cable ONE, Northland Cares’ client roster increased by 10% and due directly to the video, the organization augmented their donor pool by an additional 15%. In prior discussions about the benefits of being a TCCF grantee, I have spoken consistently about “value” and what the true total value a PSA can bring to an agency. With its’ increased community awareness, extensive HIV prevention education, increase in client and donor base, and a Bronze Telly award, Northland Care’s and Cable ONE’s multi-pronged approached to HIV education, outreach, and media distribution is truly a shining example of how a small $3,000 grant can snowball into a mighty avalanche.