28 City Trees
as media contacts and par tners who may also want to
suppor t the cause.
In addition to our monetary Duke sponsorship, we also
secured several in-kind donations, including a radio sta-
tion that doubled our on-air ads and a local bus company
that donated free interior bus signage with the purchase
of our exterior displays.
Kentucky Roots has helped educate proper ty owners in
Nor thern Kentucky on the value of trees and their care.
Kentucky Urban Forestry Coordinator Sarah Gracey has
been pleased with the outcomes. She says, "Having a
professional campaign made it relatively easy for the
NKUCFC to approach and secure sponsorship from Duke
Energy. If the NKUCFC continues to be successful with the
implementation of Kentucky Roots, I am hopeful that this
Duke Energy and the Northern Kentucky Urban & Community Forestry Council both achieved their messages with this interior bus sign.
Photo Courtesy CEL Marketing/PR/Design
Take care and
of trunks and
Did you know it's
and store things
because it hurts the
Keep mulch off
the tree trunk
Did you know that
against the trunk
cause disease, rot
Do your part
Car for tre
Shor tly after that meeting, Duke signed on to suppor t
the campaign with a significant donation/sponsorship.
We added their "Right Tree in the Right Place" and "Call
before You Dig" messages to campaign materials and it
was a perfect match! In fact, it has been so successful
that Duke Energy has renewed their sponsorship for 2016.
The utilities that I've worked with also have foundations
that fund community initiatives, presenting additional
oppor tunities. Some utilities also have environmental
policy managers who also sit on local boards and coun
-
cils. Meeting with those folks can provide you with the
possibility of pulling money from multiple buckets. One
caveat, however, is that the foundation application pro-
cess can be tedious and slower in response. I think it's
more beneficial to work with community relations staff,
because they bring additional things to the table, such
