In the world of client partnerships, 14 years is a long time. So what has kept Evansville Rescue Mission partnering with BDI since 2009? We chatted with President and CEO Tracy Gorman to find out…
Continuing our series featuring some of our newest and longest-standing client partners, Tracy Gorman, President and CEO of Evansville Rescue Mission, discusses his 14-year-long partnership with BDI.
Shortly after Tracy took over the role of President and CEO of Evansville Rescue Mission, he realized they needed a new development strategy. Everything to that point had been done in-house, and fundraising results were as expected. But Tracy wanted to reach even more people in their community, and that meant they needed more resources.
With that in mind, Tracy set out to develop a relationship with a professional fundraising company. He quickly realized that partner was BDI.
“There was a fit between Evansville Rescue Mission and BDI that we knew was going to be special. Over the years, that has proven to be very true.”
With BDI’s guidance, the Mission developed a cohesive brand it didn’t have before. From the website, to publications, direct mail and email appeals, communication materials began presenting the Mission to the community in a more intentional way – and strong financial results followed.
Over the years of partnering with BDI, Evansville Rescue Mission’s budget increased fivefold. It has since been able to expand its ministries and its footprint in the community. Its programming is now greatly enhanced, and it has been able to hire more staff.
“Literally every life that we impact, BDI has a part in it.
They help make it possible. I’m grateful.”
“With BDI we went to places that we had never been before, and it enabled us to do so much more than we even knew was possible for us to do. It enhanced our brand. We’ve developed a relationship that has taken our Mission to completely different heights of success.”
However, the 14-year-long partnership between Evansville Rescue Mission and BDI hasn’t endured because of results alone. It goes far deeper. There’s friendship… camaraderie… and mutual respect – largely thanks to an enduring relationship between the Mission and the BDI team – especially their Senior Account Director, David Stolberg.
“It’s more than just a business relationship,” Tracy explains. “Our BDI account team works alongside us like members of our team. They know us well. Having that longevity makes a lot of the difference. They are people we can count on.”
Even after 14 years together, the relationship between BDI and Evansville Rescue Mission continues to strengthen and grow in new directions. One exciting development is that BDI now also gets to work with Tracy’s son, Kyle Gorman, who is the Mission’s Executive Director of Advancement. You can watch our video interview with him here! We’re grateful for Kyle and Tracy’s trust and friendship… and we hope and pray for many more years of partnership. As Tracy shares, he too believes the best is yet to come.
“The past several years of working with BDI have been amongst some of the greatest for our Mission. And as time goes on, our relationship and the quality of the work has only gotten better.”
“We could not be prouder to be associated with BDI, because it created such an opportunity for us to grow as an organization.”
If you’re wondering if BDI might be a good partner for your organization, we’d love to connect with you. Please reach out to Lolly Colombo, our Chief Client Officer, to learn more today!
