85 WISHES
Sometimes projects are true labors of love. When founder of Ink&Pixel, Noemi, and her employee and sister, Ruth, lost their father Paul Zelanski in the summer of 2015, they knew they would do something to celebrate his life. To best honor his legacy as an artist and educator, they decided to establish a scholarship fund at the University of Connecticut where he was a professor emeritus, and they were both alumnae. To raise the money, we created a fundraising campaign selling his original artwork. Timed to launch on what would have been his 85th birthday, Noemi curated a selection of 85 collages, and we designed an e-commerce gallery website.
We created coordinated social media accounts on Facebook and Instagram, as well as email marketing. As the campaign gained momentum, the Silver Circle Gallery in Putnam donated their space for 2 continous months of brick-and-mortar exhibitions to augment the fundraising. A PR push connected us with the publisher of Ink Magazine, who sent a writer to interview the sisters, and allowed Noemi to design a 6-page layout for the December Issue to coordinate with end-of-year giving.
Between the sales of the collages and a matching gift from a generous corporate donor, the goal of raising $25,000 — which enables the scholarship to continue in perpetuity — was met and surpassed before the deadline.
Lots of tears were shed in celebration of a life well lived.
