• by Larissa Faw , August 5, 2020

Grow Marketing is lending its talents to transform what started off as a well-intended fundraiser to becoming what the agency calls a “spaghetti project; thrown against the wall with good intent,” quips Gabrey Means, cofounder-CCO of Grow Marketing. “We were OK with it evolving, as we kept having great exploratory conversations with nonprofits and different partners.”

The San Francisco-based agency has donated more than $125,000 of time to create this collective.

The “Grow Together” initiative is based on three key insights that have emerged since COVID-19.

Parents are challenged with ways to entertain their kids, nonprofits are struggling with donor funds constricting and traditional fundraising vehicles disrupted, and the agency’s client work has slowed, enabling them to spend time on more enterprising projects.

“Our team had the time and passion to put their expertise toward doing some good and supporting both Mother Earth and young kiddos and their families,” says Means.

The easy-to-navigate platform supports six well-known environmental groups — The Nature Conservancy, Big City Mountaineers, Outdoor Afro, Point Blue Conservation Science, The Surfrider Foundation and The Trust for Public Land —  by making it simple to donate to their mission. For instance, visitors can pay $15 to plant five trees on behalf of the Nature Conservancy or remove one pound of plastic from the ocean via The Surfrider Foundation.

The agency then aligned this goal with helping families with young kids starving for healthy, inspiring activities, says Means. The agency worked with partner KinderCare to develop free downloadable STEM-based Junior Field Guides that are all thematically reflective of each nonprofit partner. For instance, the Point Blue Conservation Science teaches kids to build a nest. These guides are intentionally created to be equitable and accessible to any family in any city or state with little to no materials needed, says Means.

“Grow Together was born from our team’s understanding that when the world is rocked, one of the few things everyone can do to find calm and get grounded is to step outside and take a walk in the sun,” says Means.

The agency is raising awareness through all of Grow’s channels and those of its nonprofit partners “from email campaigns to social-media posts and influencer outreach. We are pulling every lever available to organically spread the word about this collective effort,” explains Means.

Grow Marketing will also join forces with KinderCare to connect with its network of 150,000+ young U.S. families. To make everything as simple as possible for all partners, Means adds her agency has invested in providing each partner customized promotional assets to leverage across each of their available channels. “Our goal has been to make this a simple and turnkey lift for everyone.

“Never have we been more appreciative in the healing powers of Mother Earth than during this time. Our team wanted to put our collective energy and talents behind these amazing nonprofits that are keeping Mother Earth safe, clean and accessible.”

Here is a link to the website:
https://www.growxtogether.com