The Jewish Theological Seminary needed to engage supporters in their vision for the future.
This isn’t your typical ask.
With over 130 years of groundbreaking innovation and history, The Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) has earned its chops as a cornerstone of Jewish leadership, life, and imagination. In 2017, JTS broke ground on the future, embarking on an ambitious nine-figure campaign. The capital campaign sets the stage for their next century of growth as an organization, funding a new campus, library, and more. Our job was to help donors see themselves in that future.
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The Crossroads Campaign
The Jewish Theological Seminary has been growing and evolving for years. They were ready for donors to join them at this key juncture (symbolized in the name, “The Crossroads Campaign”) and invite them to share the enormity—and urgency—of their vision. Big Duck leveraged JTS’s brand and an inspiring case for support written with Graham Pelton’s guidance to create a modular capital campaign suite.
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We developed a flexible folder system, including a series of bound books and inserts, enabling fundraisers to customize their ask.
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Big Duck explored dozens of concepts to drive the campaign. JTS chose the one that places them—and their supporters—at the center of their vision.
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We created mock ups for each concept exploration, enabling the JTS team to choose the strongest direction to communicate their message with confidence.
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Constructing dummy materials, designing sample spreads, and creating campaign logos for each concept helped JTS envision how each direction could take shape.
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Big Duck developed a unique name and logo to pair with the final concept that builds off JTS’s master brand.
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To ensure JTS photographers captured vibrant images to showcase their alumni, school, and library, we created shot lists to guide their efforts.
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We used the resulting photos to create dynamic layouts in each of the bound books. Here, JTS’s unparalleled library comes to life.
Customize the conversation.
The modular system we developed to house JTS’s case statement—a series of bound books ranging from Jewish Leadership to Imagination—allowed fundraisers the flexibility to customize cases for giving strategically, based on each potential donor’s top motivations.
Big Duck’s strategic and creative direction was thoughtful and unique, building seamlessly on the work we’d done with fundraising counsel and in-house. The resulting materials bring the campaign, and our brand, compellingly to life and help our team jump start meaningful conversations with our donors. They truly express who we are and where we are heading.
As a result
The future takes shape at The Jewish Theological Seminary. By framing today’s Judaism at a crossroads and JTS at the center of the Jewish future, Big Duck created a case for giving to match their high-end ask, build on their new brand, and jumpstart their next era of expansion. The modular folder, book, and insert system allows the case statement to take shape in the hands of major donors, prospective students, and potential partners, who are responding with gifts as planned.
