CASITA COPAN

Casita Shop

mission:

After COVID-19 hit the globe, all non-profit organizations had a hard time with fundraising. As Vice President of the Board, I took on the challenge of creating a sister website to CasitaCopan.org where donors could go to buy artwork painted by the children (something Casita had never done before as majority of the fundraising comes from events). The Board has a certain monetary goal each year they have to raise so this website was set to be the very first attempt at virtual fundraising.

process:

I was the lead in the creation of The Casita Shop website. Once we decided as a board which items were going to be sold (children’s artwork, t-shirts, notepads, greeting cards, raffle tickets and tickets for virtual Bingo & Yoga) I created a page for each. The website was made in WordPress and connected to WooCommerce so we would be able sell the products successfully.

results:

The shop was the first of its kind for Casita and was a great idea to virtually sell merch and to feature the children’s art work. We effectively raised money and now have a website to go back to when Casita decides to virtually fundraise again. This was my first solo website design in WordPress and now I’m confident to try more and gain more skills in the future.

Casita Coffee

mission:

Casita Copan partnered with a local Honduran coffee distributor and was asked to create a branding of a Casita Copan house blend to be sold at their local coffee house, each sale benefiting the non-profit.

process:

Since Casita Copan was partnering with a coffee house, I decided to keep the logo simple and use a coffee bean silhouette carefully placed within the word “Casita.” Keeping the font strong and with a Mayan vibe, the logo was born. For the coffee bag, I wanted to incorporate more Mayan culture alongside the children of Casita Copan. The main image is an illustration of a photo I took of two Casita Copan children. The pyramid design is reminiscent to the ruins that can still be seen today when visiting the small town. Also included in the packaging is a small blurb about Casita Copan and how the purchase of the coffee helps the organization. The mug design I decided to keep modern and clean and included the logo along with a pyramid (also symbolizing the Mayan culture) attached to the coffee shop logo via a heartbeat. This was to demonstrate the importance of coffee to the community since it is grown and picked locally.

results:

The coffee shop sells a lot more of the Casita blend coffee than before and they continue to distribute a percentage of monthly sales to Casita Copan.

The Next Five Campaign

mission:

Every year Casita Copan has a fall fundraising campaign theme and for 2017. The theme needed to focus on Casita Copan’s fifth anniversary.

process:

The idea for the campaign stemmed from Casita’s 5th anniversary. Five years had passed since Casita’s inception and now the focus was on the next five years, hence the campaign name “The Next Five.” I wanted the imagery to be the focus of the campaign. Children were photographed in scenarios on what they wished to become in the future, where they are now and how far they’ve come. Photos were used in social media posts and e-blasts. I created a square brochure to be mailed out to donors that included information about the campaign, short success stories from the kids and how the donors can continue helping in the future. I also put together the appeal letter and envelope design to be sent out with the brochure. All designs focused on the children and the simplicity of the branded theme.

results:

Donors received the appeal in the mail and saw the campaign online via social media and e-blasts. Casita Copan had a successful fall campaign and comments received back from donors that had been with Casita since the very beginning loved being able to see how much the children had grown.

Miscellaneous Branding & Promo Items

As the Director of Communications, I led the charge on all things creative. Casita Copan is a fairly new organization so I had more leeway in developing the brand look and feel. I made the gamut of promotional items and marketing materials: stickers, signs, notepads, bags, shirts and more. In these items, I focused on bright colors, fun patterns and an overall childlike demeanor in order to illustrate the lightheartedness of the brand. Pictured here are examples of some of my designs.