In ten years of marketing non-profit issues and causes, including funding, advocacy and program participation, we have never encountered a client like The Lambi Fund of Haiti. Their Haitian staff and American board have redefined for us the concepts of courage and determination. Seeing their work in action has reaffirmed why we have chosen to use our strategic skills and creative talents exclusively in the non-profit sector.

Lambi Fund Case Statement

Heroes, in our eyes, The Lambi Fund persists through political turmoil, violent uprisings, chaos, danger and fear, venturing out under all circumstances to work in partnership with Haiti's peasant population. With Lambi's organizing knowledge, human and monetary support, the peasants are moving forward to control of their destinies, planting the seeds of hope and democracy.

Last May, members of the Passion Marketing staff traveled to Haiti and saw that indeed a land of tension can be fertile soil for tiny, but tenacious sproutings of democracy and economic independence, when nurtured by a group of dedicated professionals like those who work for The Lambi Fund.

The Lambi Fund has a powerful story to tell. However, with the backdrop of the Haiti situation painted by the world press as hopeless, marketing The Lambi Fund to funders presents significant challenges. Even worse, last year, the New York Times reported in an article that governments around the world who have been providing aid to Haiti question the value of their support.

This raises significant questions for Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) support versus the support of governments providing aid. The Lambi Fund, while admitting to challenges and at times despair, believes their work has been a success, making a difference to thousands in Haiti, changing their lives and their perspectives on the future. One must ask are NGOs more successful at times because of the dedication to their mission as opposed to governments who are motivated by political reasons as much as they are by human concern?

Given these realities, Passion Marketing determined multiple strategies for The Lambi Fund.

1. While the press continues to tell the political and the violent stories of Haiti, The Lambi Fund is being positioned representing the human face of Haiti, the human face of despair and hope, the human face of an emerging struggle for democracy among ordinary people. When Passion Marketing art director and photographer, Hannah Chen, returned from Haiti, she informed us that she kept a daily diary. After much coaxing, she brought the diary into the office. As we read it, we told her, "The story is in your diary." Excerpts from her diary became the format for the brochure, which is included in this Inform.

2. The Lambi Fund will stress Haiti's history as the first slave rebellion that led to independence in the Western hemisphere, and the pride Haitians feel in that history.

3. The Lambi Fund will remind Americans that Haiti is just an hour away by plane from our shores, and that individual Americans and foundations cannot close their eyes to the poorest nation in the Western hemisphere, sitting right upon our doorstep.

4. As Haiti continues to be in the news, Lambi Fund will follow the coverage, releasing the human stories to the press and to organizations, faith based institutions, academic institutions and others. Additionally, Lambi will identify influencers and their networks, urging them to hold house parties while Haiti is topical, educating Americans to the realities of the country.

Please click on The Lambi Fund Case Statement which has begun to position the Lambi Fund according to the above strategies.

 Lambi Fund Case Statement (PDF)

Thank you for reading this Inform from Passion Marketing.

GARY WEXLER, FOUNDER AND PRESIDENT
Passion Marketing - Capturing the Intangible. Marketing for non profits.