Project Profile: CARE USA Midwest Regional Office

Midwest Regional Office

CARE USA (website) is part of CARE (website), a private international relief and development organization.

The Challenge

CARE USA’s Midwest regional office in Chicago wanted to build up its base of local volunteers to improve understanding of CARE’s mission and programs in Chicago; increase financial support; and assist the staff in planning, implementing, and evaluating local activities.

ESC’s Response

ESC consultants believed that CARE needed a more objective view of its image in order to achieve its goals. The ESC team designed and conducted a series of focus groups with key Midwest volunteers and donors.

Through these groups, the ESC team aimed to develop a process that would elicit new perspective on CARE’s marketing and fundraising techniques and propose new directions for programming and volunteer participation.

The Outcome

The focus group report revealed knowledge gaps between older and younger donors and misinformation about CARE programs. The report also showed that volunteers needed more information on what was expected of them and that donors wanted more personalized and targeted appeals as well as greater media exposure for CARE.

Toward this end, ESC recommended local participation in international efforts. As a result, the CARE Youth Corps was formed. Ten teens from Chicago area high schools traveled to Peru, where they had the opportunity to play a hands-on role in CARE activities. Upon their return, the students spoke at various events about their experience, helping to build awareness about CARE among their peers and others in the community.

What our client had to say

“The ESC volunteers did a great job of gathering information and opinions that would have been almost impossible for us to find on our own.”