Honoring The Integrity of Your Solution to Tackle Complex Problems

Taking a full stack approach to a platform for social justice through mindfulness 

 

Kim Thai | GaneshSpace

Kim is an Emmy-award winning producer, author of an in-progress book, meditation and mindfulness guide, and now leader of a platform that is approaching social justice with mindfulness education, resources, and practices. 

GaneshSpace is a community organization dedicated to creating an equitable world where personal action leads to collective liberation through mindfulness education. By recognizing that every person experiences marginalization and privilege differently, GaneshSpace offers a diverse range of classes, support spaces, and resources to help navigate issues around race, gender, sexuality and the body.

 

THE PROBLEM

If the need for equitable spaces that amplify marginalized voices wasn’t evident before, the past two years certainly shook our country awake to it. And so, when Kim Thai came to us with GaneshSpace, a platform to transform personal action into social change, we were excited to partner with Kim to tackle the necessary work she is doing, and make the platform more sustainable both fiscally and operationally.

When we met, Kim had already poured so many resources, efforts, and time to get her platform off the ground, and was looking for a clearer pathway to: 

• Launch their online community with content that connects, create a private giving and sponsorship platform to leverage corporate partnerships, and grow their platform to sects unbound by geography. 
• Grow their presence. They had hit a ceiling through word-of-mouth alone, and needed an optimized marketing strategy to reach a larger scope of people and become a leading name in the social justice space.
• Reconfigure their message. GaneshSpace came to us with low open rates on their newsletter and low engagement on social media, looking to organically enroll more people who believe in their work.

Complex problems require thoughtful solutions, and intention at every interaction to treat each layer — from person to process to product — as part of a whole.

 

THE RESULT

Kim and GaneshSpace are the perfect example that the best wins and progress are not always captured in the numbers we see on Instagram. By putting intention behind every interaction, we’ve been able to help Kim iterate GaneshSpace to be more sustainable from a fiscal perspective, and call in a greater volume of the right people through mindfulness, intersectionality, and not shying away from hard topics. 

So far, Kim and GaneshSpace have:

• Found the necessary space and vision to shift planning from 2-4 weeks in advance to quarters and even one year in advance
• Surpassed their Giving Tuesday goal, securing multiple big-name corporate sponsors to 2x match money raised!
• Launched their signature program in B2C format, and designed a version to deliver it B2B
• Grown their community, using the ICAs we identified and leveraged this information to make their messaging more resonant across all channels
• Designed a private giving and sponsorship platform, and a community-based fundraising protocol
• Transitioned from an “ambiguous sense of who [they] are” to clear messaging and visioning that accurately represents who they are, their services, and the impact they’re making
• Been refreshed toward their goal of tacking on our country’s bigger problem using mindfulness through our tactical and hands-on support

 

HOW WE DID IT

With the goal of evolving GaneshSpace into a fiscally sustainable platform hosting the right conversations, not watering down the problem they were here to solve, we worked with Kim, her team, and their board in a consulting capacity to build out their:

1. ICA Profile: We identified two separate profiles for those who identify as marginalized or othered, and those who seek to be allies and accomplices.
2. Brand Messaging: We didn’t oversimplify or water down their message to hide from the real problem they are solving. We thoughtfully crafted their tone and message to hold a safe space, while still calling for accountability, with special attention to using inclusive language (which is almost never done in marketing and sales copy).
3. Website Launch: We structured and wrote copy for their entire website, including several sales pages for key programs.
4. Fundraising efforts: We designed and rolled out messaging and resources to support their community in participating in fundraising efforts, leveraging a resourced and bought in network more efficiently. 
5. Signature foundational program: We built, marketed, and successfully ran their signature program, creating something from nothing (start to finish) and laying a foundation that served their end of year fundraising goals, and growth in the following year.
6. Press and coverage: We mapped out their PR strategy to generate coverage around their unique approach to social justice, highlighting often overlooked perspectives on social change and the human experience.
7. Campaign Launches: We crafted a Giving Tuesday campaign that far surpassed their first and second goals, as well as a campaign equipping the community to raise funds. 
8. Sponsorships and Funding: We crafted a pitch deck to secure sponsorships for their tentpole events, outlined pitches to tap into the funding available in corporate organizations, and honed in on hosting compelling conversations with organizational leaders to secure corporate contracts. 

 

We were presented with a unique challenge in growing the GaneshSpace platform: to refine communication to increase conversation and conversion across their channels, without compromising their intersectional approach, commitment to inclusivity, priority of creating safe spaces, and mindfulness in everything they do.

 

IN THEIR WORDS 

“I cannot recommend [Pia Beck] enough for her services and commitment to us. I took a really big leap of faith and chance on Pia not knowing her [nor] anyone who had worked with her. It has always been such an affirming place to work with Pia for her to continue to validate and express the importance of our work, not only in her guidance and consulting with us but really putting pen to paper; really putting plans and hitting the pavement and getting our work off the ground because she’s believed in us and has wanted to make things possible as much as she can for us.”