Donor Engagement - Advancement Communication - Cooke School $80M Capital Campaign

Senario: Develop the communications strategy for an $80M capital campaign for the construction of a state-of-the-art flagship location for Cooke Schools and Institute to continue its legacy of providing excellent academic programming for students with disabilities.

Strategy: Led the development of a compelling vision statement, highlighting the impact of Cooke’s educational model and the urgent need for expanded resources, facilities, and programming.

Curated campaign materials for major donor engagement, leveraged board leadership and long-standing community relationships to secure early leadership gifts and build campaign momentum.

Engaged the broader community, including families, alumni, and supporters, through targeted communications, events, and storytelling that showcased student success and program outcomes.

Partnered with VP of Advancement to develop a phased fundraising approach with quiet-phase leadership gifts, followed by a public campaign that helped build credibility and visibility, while expanding the donor base.

Strategic communications impacted the narrative, while mission-focused messaging reinforced the campaign’s purpose and strengthened donor confidence.

Outcome: The campaign culminated in the construction of Cooke’s flagship school in East Harlem, New York, which opened in the Fall of 2020. The new facility created a purposeful learning environment designed to support Cooke’s specialized educational model, expanding access to high-quality instruction, transition programming, and career readiness for young people with developmental disabilities. View site: Building Futures Capital Campaign

Scenario

• Fragmented digital admissions funnel

• Inconsistent messaging

Strategy

• Built an integrated digital funnel

• Clarified value proposition

• Implemented content plan

• Strengthened storytelling and narratives

Outcome

• Increased number of viable inquiry submissions

• Improved conversions

• Stronger brand consistency across touchpointsoes here

Scenario

• Fragmented digital admissions funnel

• Inconsistent messaging

Strategy

• Built an integrated digital funnel

• Clarified value proposition

• Implemented content plan

• Strengthened storytelling and narratives

Outcome

• Increased number of viable inquiry submissions

• Improved conversions

• Stronger brand consistency across touchpoints

Scenario: A politically charged student expression on campus (stemming from the October 7, 2023, terror attack in Israel), including symbolic gestures and graffiti, widely interpreted by members of the school’s predominantly Jewish community as threatening, triggered immediate outrage, deep division, and media exposure.

Challenge: Stabilize a polarized community by addressing the issue with consistent, unified messaging, assessing reputational risk, and navigating legal ramifications of the actions that occurred and became publicized.

Strategy: I led a structured crisis communications plan, partnering with senior leadership, legal counsel and an external PR agency to conduct a risk assessment, and established a consistent messaging framework centered on safety, dignity, and institutional policy, not politics.

Sequenced communications that ensured faculty, families, board members, and key stakeholders received timely, aligned messaging. Developed holding statements and implemented active media monitoring to prevent narrative escalation. Partnered with school leadership to facilitate community listening sessions, developed messaging that reinforced behavioral expectations, and shared information for counseling resources to support impacted students and families.

Outcome: Though an extremely challenging situation, the community response stabilized within days, launched an extensive ORM (Online Reputation Management) initiative to monitor and protect the brand, reestablish trust, and improve credibility. Donor confidence was steadily restored. Strengthened policies and crisis protocols, creating clearer guardrails around political expression and community care.