Case Study: Crisis in Kenya

“We felt that the authenticity of this message from Chris, on site in Kenya, was more important than the sound quality. And donors did tell us that they appreciated hearing this news update as the crisis evolved,” Smith says.

Meanwhile, the MAP team wrote and deployed a series of e-mails to its donors and e-constituents. The first e-mail was deployed on Jan. 3, soon after the violence erupted, as noted previously. The second was sent on Jan. 7 with a firsthand account from Palusky in the Kibera slums. The note included details about the devastation and MAP’s crisis efforts and needs. The third e-mail, sent on Jan. 10, included a harrowing eyewitness account of the ongoing violence in Kenya, despite the fact that it no longer was the lead story in the media.