McPherson Strategies developed a strategic framework to help the Women’s Philanthropy Institute refresh its story in conjunction with a comprehensive distribution and communications plan for the Institute’s 2018-2020 Gates Foundation-commissioned research reports series about women’s powerful role in 21st-century philanthropy. From CBS News to NPR to The New York Times to CNBC to Fast Company, we secure consistent high-quality media placements for WPI while also building a robust influencer and amplifier distribution strategy that introduces the insights to new audiences.

In 2018, our work resulted in a 123% increase in website traffic to WPI’s research page. WPI’s reach on Facebook increased by 86%, and its Twitter following grew by 20% thanks to our ongoing efforts to provide valuable content and incorporate the research and key messages into trending conversations. In 2019, we devised and built a comprehensive campaign with Facebook, the YWCA and media platform Refinery29 that brought WPI’s signature Women Give research report to an even wider audience. Throughout the year, we increased traffic to the WPI website by 61% compared to the previous year and generated 36% more media placements. We kicked off 2020 by helping WPI pivot to a series of online activations in lieu of an in-person symposium (due to COVID cancellations) — resulting in a launch event with 800 registrants and 535 attendees. The anchor Women Give 2020 report saw an increase in downloads by 26% compared to 2019’s successful launch.