The Shadow Project Case Study

The Client

The Shadow Project is a nonprofit organization that helps K-8 students with learning challenges by offering school-based programs proven to build skills for academic and life success. Students in the K-8 program include those with dyslexia, ADHD, autism and trauma.

The Challenge

The Shadow Project required communications and marketing support, as well as a strategy for multiple projects, along with branding and design services. As the organization continued to deepen its impact in schools and communities, it sought support to sharpen its storytelling and elevate its website messaging and design. The team also asked us to help with branding and design for its multiyear strategic plan to share a clear vision with stakeholders and supporters.

While The Shadow Project had a strong mission and proven results, its website did not effectively reflect who they were or how they made a difference. The site was challenging to navigate and used language that didn’t align with the organization’s voice or branding. Additionally, the organization sought to enhance its capacity to tell compelling stories and utilize video to more effectively connect with supporters and partners.

Objective

The Shadow Project’s goals were to strengthen its website branding and consistency, and to improve functionality to highlight impact and provide clear pathways for engagement. The organization also needed insight into storytelling, communications and compelling design to attract more donations and volunteers.

The Solution

Our Strategy Plan for The Shadow Project To the Point Collaborative partnered with The Shadow Project to provide marketing, communications, and storytelling support, as well as design and branding services for key organizational projects.

To the Point’s efforts included:

Website Updates — Rebuilding the website from the ground up to ensure it tells a clear story about how The Shadow Project supports students and educators. To the Point refined content and created accessible navigation so visitors could easily find programs, success stories and ways to get involved.
Storytelling and Fundraising Training — Coaching The Shadow Project team on how to describe what they do and talk about themselves in a compelling, authentic way. This training enabled staff to communicate the organization’s mission and impact with greater confidence.
Video Training — Partnering with Tree Swing Video to train The Shadow Project’s communications staff on video storytelling, including how to film, edit and use video effectively in marketing. The tutorials and coaching sessions helped the team create high-quality, mission-driven videos in-house.

The Results

With To the Point’s support, The Shadow Project enhanced its ability to share powerful stories of student resilience and achievement. The refreshed website copy and updates improved user experience, making it easier for partners and supporters to engage with the organization.

Through storytelling training, staff gained the tools and confidence to express their work in ways that resonate with stakeholders. The addition of video storytelling further expanded their ability to reach audiences with emotional, visual narratives that bring their programs to life.

The strategic plan updates provided The Shadow Project with a professional, polished tool to communicate its vision and priorities, strengthening donor and community confidence. Consistent, aligned communications positioned the nonprofit as innovative and trustworthy, expanding its visibility and impact.

“Dan from To the Point helped us transform our website copy from jargony educationspeak to clear, compelling and concise value propositions that spoke to multiple audiences. He took the time to listen deeply to the values and goals that we were so passionate about, and translate that passion into language that anyone could understand and engage with.”

— Sharon Juenemann, M.Ed., Executive Director

Follow-up Engagement

Because of the success of our initial engagement with The Shadow Project, they retained us to manage the branding and design for its multiyear strategic plan. The objective was to create an attractive and well-written plan to share a clear vision with stakeholders and supporters.

We helped shape stories that illustrate the real-world impact of The Shadow Project’s work and resonate with donors, educators and families. Our design for the report was visually engaging and accessible, reflecting The Shadow Project’s values and direction, ensuring consistency with brand identity.

Praise From Strategic Partners

“The Strategic Plan looks wonderful… The framing at the beginning is particularly powerful and informative. Congrats to you and the team.”
“We received our copy of the new Strategic Plan doc. Really great job — excellent content, narrative and graphics! The content provides a great mix of past performance data and a forward plan that actually includes numerical goals. Very nicely done.”
“Reading the stories of success is so uplifting, and your strategic plan document is lovely! We help hubs build strategic plans a lot, and it’s a hard task. So congrats on the meaningful goals (and the clear, clean document capturing those plans!)”

“A most heartfelt thanks to each of you for your thoughtful, insightful and tireless work on our strategic plan. You are wonderful to work with. You pushed us to clarify our communications and raise the level of our thinking and finished product. We are extremely appreciative.

“We feel very proud of this piece and can’t wait to share it with our community. Thank you, thank you for supporting The Shadow Project in this way, and for a job very well done.”

-Wendy Wray | Outreach & Partnerships Manager, The Shadow Project

“Kathleen and the team at To the Point Collaborative helped us transform our strategic plan from solid to spectacular! They are exceptional storytellers and have a true gift for bringing ideas to life with substance and style.”