Local Groups Reap Benefits From Donated Billboard Space

Local charity leaders often dream of seeing their organization’s name emblazoned in high-traffic areas, but the cost — which can be tens of thousands

of dollars per month — keeps such advertising out of reach for most groups. Now, some Minnesota charities are getting just that type of exposure, courtesy of a corporate grant maker.

In May, Medtronic, a medical-device manufacturer, dedicated a new two-sided billboard on its suburban Minneapolis campus to promote two charities per month. Instead of seeing ads for commercial products and services, more than 123,000 commuters who pass the billboard each day can learn about the services offered by local charities.

The Medtronic Foundation, which provides grants to 170 nonprofit organizations in the Twin Cities area, created the billboard to help local grant recipients spread their messages more effectively, says Rich Fischer, the company’s public-relations manager.

So far 14 nonprofit organizations have benefited from the billboard. Each charity helps decide the message and design of their advertisement. Medtronic supplies creative assistance from an in-house professional art director, pays installation costs, and charges no monthly rental fees.

Mr. Fischer estimates that placing advertising on a billboard in a neighborhood with similar traffic would cost from $15,000 to $25,000 a month in rental fees.

Deciding which organizations will appear when is a balancing act, he says. Some of it is timing. For instance, the local United Way got a spot in October to coincide with the start of its annual fund-raising drive, while the Twin Cities Marathon, which promotes youth fitness, was featured in September touting its annual race, which took place a month later.

Bridging, a Bloomington, Minn., charity that was featured in August, was so pleased with the message crafted by Medtronic that officials are using it in other marketing pieces. The group, which provides donated household goods and furniture to needy families, got a billboard featuring a giant Post-it note listing its most-desired donations, such as towels and bedding.

Ron Osterbauer, executive director of the charity, says that he can’t quantify the billboard’s impact, but he has noticed an increase in the number of people coming to the charity’s offices to donate furniture and other household goods. The sign also helped the group recruit new volunteers, which will enable Bridging to double the number of families it serves at its newest location, from 24 to 50 per week.

And the support from Medtronic has given Bridging its most successful volunteer event in its history, with more than 300 Medtronic employees signing up to help assemble furniture donated to the project by Target, the retail giant.

A beneficiary of the inaugural billboard in May, Minnesota Food Share promoted its work as a religious organization that raises money for the state’s food pantries. The group’s billboard served as a thank-you note to residents who supported its March campaign, which generated nearly $5-million and almost four million pounds of donated food. It featured a picture of a young child and said, “Thanks for the meal, Minnesota. All 17 million of them!”

“It was just one more reminder: ‘Thank you for what you did, and just don’t forget’” to give again next year, says Sue Kainz, who coordinated the Minnesota Food Share campaign. “There is no way we could afford to purchase that [billboard space], but it keeps the issue of hunger out there.”