Overview

The St. Mary’s Center for Women and Children sought to stabilize funding from state contracts and identify additional funding sources to support its programs.  At the time, St. Mary’s was struggling with state budget cuts at a time when its own budget was facing increased scrutiny and significant pressure. They needed to raise awareness of their organization, mission, and programs among state legislators to secure state funding.

Our Work

We worked with St. Mary’s to build legislative and municipal relationships and raise its profile among key policymakers. We secured the social service agency’s involvement in legislative and administrative task forces and coordinated a Lobby Day with its local delegation at the State House. To further St. Mary’s relationships with elected officials, we have coordinated an annual event at St. Mary’s and their sister organization, Crossroads, for city councilors and legislators to hear stories of women being served and to be recognized for their support. Additionally, we helped to solidify strong relationships with the Governor and Mayor Walsh, honoring both of their spouses with awards at annual galas.

Beyond our state advocacy work, the team also prepared the center’s executive director for media interviews by providing messaging and media and presentation training, which resulted in a significant expansion of the services for which our team was initially retained.

Results

As a result of the firm’s work, state funding through contracts has increased significantly, and funding has stabilized. The organization has also benefited from increased reimbursement rates and an incentive earmark that has now been in place for six years. Due to its financial stabilization and subsequent funding, St. Mary’s has been able to expand its services, increasing the number of children it serves by one-third and taking over another shelter in East Boston.