By Bryan Brown
Helping and feeding the homeless. Providing therapy to children with special needs. Offering a structured, safe environment for kids. These are just a few of the missions of West Virginia-based charitable, nonprofit organizations benefitting from the Frank Brown Community Partnership Program.
While each organization has a different set of goals and audiences, the one thing they have in common is that the majority of their resources—financial and in-kind—are directed toward helping those they serve.
Jamie Summers-Brown recognized years ago that these organizations spend the majority of their time helping their populations while putting their needs to fundraise and market on the back burner.
As a native West Virginian and owner of the Charleston-based web development firm Bricks Without Straw, Jamie decided to do something about that. He established the Frank Brown Community Partnership, named for his grandfather, with the goal of helping the nonprofit community better market their services, capture their resources and tell their stories.
“There are so many people in need, and the nonprofit community is doing great things to address those needs in West Virginia,” says Summers-Brown. “I was looking for a way to help and determined I could assist by providing free web site design and development, as well as social media assistance, to some of these organizations across the state.”
Entering the fourth year of the program, Summers-Brown has assisted three West Virginia nonprofit organizations: Manna Meal, Children’s Therapy Clinic and the Bob Burdette Center. Testimonials from group representatives say it all.
“Jamie really understands the donor and presenting a polished, unified look,” says Kay Albright, outreach director for Manna Meal, a soup kitchen that has been feeding the hungry of Charleston for more than 40 years. “He understands how important every dollar is to the nonprofit and how we can better present to the donor. I would think all he does is nonprofit work, he was so great at consistent messaging.”
Ashley Pack, board president for the Children’s Therapy Clinic, is confident Summers-Brown really gets the nonprofit world. “I really can’t say enough about his ability to both understand the nonprofit world and then actually understand the Children’s Therapy Clinic,” she says. “He understood our mission, he felt passionate about our mission, and you could see that in his work product.”
Loren Friend Farmer, executive director of the Bob Burdette Center, also worked closely with Summers-Brown. “Even though this was a project he was doing at no cost, Jamie put in as much effort as he would have for a paying client,” she says. “He was very respectful and very attentive to what we wanted, and he provided us with the best quality of service. He connected all our electronic properties—web site, Facebook, Twitter and Flickr—so we could use them easily, which cuts down on the work I have to do. Additionally, the new site includes a link to PayPal, enabling donors to easily give.”
To date, the Frank Brown Partnership Program has given back nearly $250,000 in free services. While the organizations that have been selected to participate have been headquartered in Charleston, Summers-Brown wants to expand the geographic reach of the program. To that end, he’s encouraging groups from across the state to submit an application. “It is a privilege to help those who help others,” says Summers-Brown. “I’d encourage any West Virginia nonprofit to apply.”
The program will accept applications for 2017 from December 1-31. One applicant will be selected for assistance by the end of January 2017. All applicants must be qualified as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization as certified by the state of West Virginia. Applications can be found on the firm’s web site at www.BricksWithoutStraw.com.
About the Author
Bryan Brown, owner and president of Brown Communications LLC, has more than 20 years of public affairs experience in West Virginia, the Mid-Atlantic and the nation’s capital. The firm specializes in public, media and government affairs and third-party advocacy. Brown is active in the West Virginia chapter of the Public Relations Society of America and the West Virginia Business & Industry Council and was named West Virginia Public Relations Practitioner of the Year. He holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from West Virginia University.
