Campaign Manager's Corner: Toni Cook, United States Postal Service

Toni Cook, CFCNCA 2009 Campaign Manager, United States Postal Service

From One Campaign Manager to Another  -- Toni Cook's Top Tips:

1. Plan ahead by mapping out a project plan.
2. Be flexible when working with others.
3. Reach out consistently.
4. Be positive.

"We've got the power," said Toni Cook as she fired up her fellow USPS employees at their 2009 CFC kickoff this past October	LFCC Chair, Linda Washington, Postmaster General, John Potter and Toni Cook chat with a representative from a CFC-sponsored agency at the USPS charity fair

The biggest difference for the USPS campaign was the combination of weekly events with the CFCNCA-branded marketing materials. At the beginning of the year, Ms. Cook created a calendar of events and coordinated themes for each date. Themed events such as the Halloween Bake Sale and Silent Auction were a big hit. The Silent Auction yielded nearly $3,000 in donations from attendees. Ms. Cook posted the calendar and other marketing materials in highly visible areas and requested her team leaders to personally reach out to their co-workers to make "the ask."

Cook leveraged the CFCNCA marketing tools and resources to their fullest and placed the CFCNCA branded materials at her coordinated weekly events. With the help of her graphic designer, she used customized posters with images of her team's faces and for specific events. For example, the Halloween bake sale poster featured cupcakes and spiders to go with the spooky theme.

Additionally, Cook mapped out a communications and project plan that she disseminated to a group of team leaders. She highly recommends indentifying key resources who can assist you throughout the campaign. "Don't go it alone," states Cook.