Contacting organizations for partnership

Today I drafted a letter to send to organizations who I could potentially partner with. I plan to email and call these organizations tomorrow. I have a self-imposed deadline of this Friday 2/3 to secure a partnership... which now seems too soon. How did February sneak up like that?

LETTER: (perhaps a bit long?)

Dear _____________,

I am a student at University of Colorado (Denver), in the BFA Digital Design program of the College of Arts and Media. I specialize in video production and design (animation and interactive).

I am working on a thesis project that is aligned with the goals of your organization. I would love to talk with you about the project and opportunity for collaboration! I strongly believe this project can be a great asset to the right organization, and could have a positive impact on the community.

My vision is to partner with an existing organization (such as yours) whose focus is helping teenage Colorado girls prevent unintended pregnancy, thereby increasing their health and self-sufficiency.

I will produce a series (~10) video shorts (2-4 minutes each) featuring diverse teenage girls speaking directly to their peers about sexuality, responsibility, personal freedom, peer pressure, and wellbeing. The voices will be from young women, for young women. Current topics in sex, pregnancy, and empowerment will be addressed.

A key communication strategy is that teenagers can watch the videos on their smartphones. Video is the visual media of choice for today's teenagers - they prefer to watch rather than read. Smartphones are also an effective way to reach an audience who may be low-income and not have internet access at home.

This subject matter can be sensitive (or embarrassing!) for teenagers, who often look to their friends as resources instead of parents and educators. Video on smartphones is a great way for a young audience to access information privately. Teenagers share information via social networks and personal texts. This is an excellent way to disseminate information discreetly related to a very personal topic.

In terms of execution - video content will be housed on a YouTube channel and also embedded on a one-page microsite associated with the partner organization. YouTube provides a ubiquitous existing platform for reaching a large audience, and a microsite allows the audience to personally connect to a valuable community resource.

If you would like to work with me, this is what I would need from you:

-help me identify the key issues for our audience

-help develop the basic messages for the videos

-connect me to teenage girls who are advocates for sexual health, comfortable talking about it, and willing to be on camera

-permit me to work with your marketing staff to develop a one-page microsite that permits a conversation "loop" so viewers have a resource for questions and concerns

-respond to communication that results from the project (i.e. teenage girls who need a resource)

Please let me know if you are interested in working with me on this project. I would be grateful for your time and insight.

Best wishes,

Alison

Alison Colby

415-699-0202

colbyalison@gmail.com