| First, a Testimonial:
"Our
sponsorship has been using the PSAs as our sole advertising since
June 1997 . . . and we have had a wonderful response to the commercials.
"The responses started almost immediately to the
run of the first commercials and have not quit!"
Orem Child Care Nutrition Program
Orem, Utah |
.
| Another Testimonial:
"It
has been over 6 months since our local television station began airing
the Public Service Announcements from the Soho Center. This
recruitment project has been a success from the start.
"You are providing a terrific service!"
Child Care Support Services
Portland, Oregon |
Here's
the story -
The
Soho Center is offering you the use of our three, highly produced 0:30
second television and radio commercials to publicize the CACFP and recruit
low-income and/or rural providers to your program.
Now that Tier
Implementation is a fact, many Sponsors across the country have experienced
dropping enrollments and increasing difficulties in recruiting new providers
to the CACFP. And Sponsors are faced with limited administrative
budgets for program operation and outreach activities.
If you want to
build up your program by recruiting new providers as fast and efficiently
as possible, here's an important way to do just that - without using your
regular administrative budget.
The USDA can provide
you with the needed funds to recruit more providers to your program - with
costs completely covered by a USDA Rural/Low Income Expansion Grant.
The Soho Center
can help you write the Grant request. We can provide you with our
high-quality TV and radio campaign - including public relations advice
and recruitment and intake assistance.
Your local TV and
radio stations can run these commercials for free as PSAs.
You can also
use a portion of the grant to buy radio and TV time and/or to cover your
staff costs for following up names and signing up new providers in your
area!
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-
-
-
These
Commercials Really Work . . .
They
look great and, more important, these highly-produced 0:30-second spots
can generate hundreds of calls from providers. You can then follow
up with providers and encourage them to join your CACFP.
In
addition to our successful, large-scale trials in Virginia, the commercials
are currently or have been recently used by USDA Food Program Sponsors
in Utah, Maine, Virginia, Oregon/Washington, New Mexico, Nebraska, and
Mississipi.
| Yet One More Testimonial:
"In
the beginning we were overwhelmed by the vast number of calls we received,
having to scramble to keep up with all the callers wanting to know more
about the Child Care Food Program. Almost immediately we added several
new providers to our program and had several more going through the process
of becoming registered.
"We continue to receive anywhere from five to
ten calls a week. Child care providers and parents with children
in care keep calling to find out more about the Food Program giving us
the opportunity not only to recruit new providers to the program but to
provide parents with education on the merits of the program.
"The quality of the PSAs coupled with the catchy
800-number [1-800-A1-KIDS-1] are the reasons we have had such good success.
Our agency has always associated itself with quality service and materials.
To make a PSA that would meet our high standards would have been cost-prohibitive.
The PSAs provided by the Soho Center offered a perfect solution.
"Thank you for being so supportive and providing
us with the technical assistance to get this project off the ground successfully.
You are providing a terrific service!
Child Care Support Services
Portland, Oregon |
Your
program could - and should - be next !
The commercials
feature Linda Ronstadt singing Dolly Parton's "I
Will Always Love You" and include lots
of engaging footage of kids and providers; the up-beat narrative explains
the USDA Food Program in a very contemporary, positive, non-threatening
manner - exactly what's needed.
The
commercials are first-rate. They were written and produced by a multi-award-winning
creative team. And
they WORK!
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-
-
What
Others are Saying about this Campaign . . .
David S. Liederman, Former Executive Director
Child Welfare League of America (CWLA)
"I think your campaign is wonderful."
Ruth Anne Foote, Manager
Early Childhood Forum
National Association of Child Care Resource
and
Referral Agencies (NACCRA)
"I have seen your commercials.
They are beautiful."
Deborah Eaton, President
National Association For Family Child Care
(NAFCC)
"The commercials give a meaningful
message about the family child care profession. We congratulate you for
your efforts to reach unregulated providers and bring them into the system
which will provide professional recognition, regulation/licensing, peer
support, training, and education. We look forward to a successful REACH
Initiative in every state!"
The
Soho Center Knows the CACFP . . .
Prior to getting
an $804,000 grant from the W. K. Kellogg Foundation for our REACH Initiative,
the Soho Center was the fastest-growing USDA Food Program Sponsor in Virginia
- utilizing an innovative combination of television spots and other outreach
strategies to surface and recruit child care providers.
When we began our
REACH Initiative, we stopped being a USDA Sponsor to avoid any appearance
of conflict of interest and focussed our efforts on developing strategies
and materials to help Sponsors nationwide.
The commercials,
related print materials, and outreach techniques embody what we've
learned about using media to identify and surface child care providers,
educate them about the Food Program, and persuade them to join the CACFP.
Note -
While the USDA is prohibited from recommending
or endorsing specific products, if you want
feedback or
references on the Soho Center, you may contact
Mr. Tom Leverich, USDA Regional Office, New
Jersey
at 609-259-5139 - or e-mail Mr. Leverich at
-
Thomas.Leverich@fns.usda.gov
Read the Actual Regs!
For Sponsors who want to see the actual USDA
regulations
(including information on these Rural/Low-Income
Expansion
Grants), you can just CLICK
HERE for the complete text
of the current regulations as published in
the Federal Register
on February 27, 1998.
NEW SECTION - Frequently
Asked Questions
Based on our talking with nearly 100 sponsors
nationwide over the past few months, we have put together a collection
of
Frequently Asked Questions
(FAQs)and
answers. CLICK HERE
to go to the FAQs
and see if we've covered your questions. If not, call Jeanna Beker,
Director, at 540-923-5012.
Here's How It
Works . . .
Taking advantage
of this offer is easy. Here's how -
-
We can send you a dub of the three commercials for your review.
All three commercials urge providers and parents
to call an easy-to-remember toll-free number (1-800-A1-KIDS-1) to
find out about a wonderful program - the CACFP.
-
After you have seen the commercials, give us a
call to discuss how you can use them at no cost to your program.
When you call, we'll talk about the availability of USDA Expansion Grants
and how these funds can cover the cost of using these three commercials
on TV and radio, our public relations and intake assistance, provider incentives,
and your staff's salaries to follow up on the names the campaign surfaces.
-
If you decide to go ahead, we'll sign a simple
agreement and work cooperatively with you to complete your Expansion Grant
Application. We'll suggest ways to help you get the spots placed
in your market as no-cost PSAs (Public Service Announcements). We'll
send your TV and/or radio stations broadcast-quality for-air dubs as needed.
We'll even provide you with samples of follow-up letters and intake information
forms.
-
Once the commercials start running in your area,
we'll collect names, phone numbers, and other basic informationfrom
the providers and parents who respond. We will then fax this valuable
information to you on a regular basis for your staff to follow up.
All
this can be paid for by an annual Expansion Grant - in effect making your
use of the commercials (and even the staff time to follow up) free to your
agency!
In Closing
. . .
Tier
Implementation has had profound effects on retention and recruitment.
The
Soho Center seeks collaborations with sponsors across the nation who are
interested in using media to publicize the CACFP to new and/or unregulated
providers and to low-income and rural providers. And we can do it
in a way that doesn't use up your existing administrative budget. Given
that the commercials cost over $100,000 to produce and are effective, this
is an opportunity worth pursuing.
For
more information on using these television and radio commercials and our
intake services to help recruit providers and publicize your CACFP, please
call Jeanna Beker, Director, the Soho Center at 540-923-5012 or
e-mail us at soho@child2000.org
Some photos of the
Center for Non-Profit Resources
creating our commercials
H O M E
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______________________________________________________________
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One More Idea
- In case these three commercials aren't exactly what you need, the Soho
Center is ready to work with you and your organization to create custom
versions - or even completely new spots - at costs lower than you might
pay to create spots of equal quality.
-
If working with the Soho Center to create
a custom radio or TV spot is of interest, you might want to click
here to see more about the Soho Center's high-end media capabilities.
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*
For those who may not be familiar with the CACFP, it is a part of
the National School Lunch
Act that provides nutrition education and
cash reimbursements to family
child care providers for
children's healthy meals
and snacks.
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