Lindsay met with Susan McLarty, Coordinator for the Greenville Homeless Alliance, when she first launched TealHaus back in February of 2021. Susan explained to Lindsay that the coalition was facing some big issues in Greenville: not simply homelessness, but also the lack of affordable housing, strain on support services due to the pandemic, and the challenging political climate surrounding the issue. Quickly Lindsay realized that Susan needed help and decided to take on the Greenville Homeless Alliance as her first pro bono client.

One of the main issues surrounding the Greenville Homeless Alliance was their struggle to explain exactly what they do. Because they weren’t on the front lines supplying homes or food, they risked being perceived as yet another “boardroom nonprofit” with big ideas and little application. Therefore, we worked to rewrite their website with more active language and real-life stories, helping their cause become more concrete and relatable in people’s minds.

Then we redesigned their site on the existing Squarespace template, taking into account usability, SEO, and the call to volunteer and donate. Our goal was to organize the vast amount of research and data in a user-friendly, digestible way. In addition, our design team created more warmth and personality with photography and branding to highlight the humanity of each person this community issue impacts. But the work wasn’t done. Greenville Homeless Alliance mentioned to us that they wanted to host their first ever iGNITE Luncheon to educate community leaders about their work.

Considering the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic at the time, they wanted to provide the option for in-person or virtual attendance, adding in the option to order meals ahead of time or live stream the event. Yet, they admitted that they had no experience planning this type of event. Therefore the TealHaus team took on the event, from initial budget planning to media opportunities, collateral, and onsite logistics through the event.

The inaugural iGNITE Luncheon was a resounding success with a sell-out crowd and 100 participants participating virtually. Thanks to the marketing efforts and hard work of the Greenville Homeless Alliance team, the event helped secure 72 new donors, doubled the number of recurring donors GHA already has, and raised over $30,000 to assist with ongoing community efforts to end homelessness in Greenville.

Two years later, our partnership with the GHA has continued to grow. The luncheon has become an annual event. GHA has also added a VIP iGNITE the Night Art Exhibit sponsored, in part, by TealHaus. TealHaus is providing countless hours and expertise in event management to plan and coordinate this event pro bono in partnership with the GHA as our community strives to end homelessness. We will continue to support this wonderful organization through sponsorships and our continual participation in their events.