It Takes A Village

www.vgpsewickley.com

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Table of Contents

Letter to Businesses……………………………………………………………………..……………………… 3 Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………………..……………. 4 Who We Are ………………………………………………........…………………………………………......... 5

Our Story……………………………………………….....…………………………………………………… 5 The People of Village Green……………………………………………………………………………….… 5 Memberships & Affiliations…………………………………………………………....……………………… 6

What We Do ............................................................................................................................................ 7 Marketing Campaign: Explore Sewickley…………………………………………………….....….…….… 8 Business Development……………………………………………………………………………….…...….. 8 Marketing Strategy………………………………………………………………………………………..…... 9 Advertising and Promotion………………………………………………………………………………….… 10 Data Management …………………………………………………………………………………………..… 11 Event Management & Promotion……………………………………………………………………....……. 12 Happy Hours………………………………………………………………………………………………….... 12 Council Meetings……………………………………………………………………………………….……... 13 Ribbon Cutting Ceremonies……………………………………………………………………………..…… 13 Village Events…………………………………………………………………………………………....……. 14

How We Do It …………………………………………………………………………………………......... ....... 15 Sewickley Borough Council……………………………………………………………………..…………… 16 Local Businesses……………………………………………………………………………………………… 16 How to Get Involved.…………………….…………………………………………………………………… 17 Committees…………………………………………………………………………………………….……… 19 Event Sponsors……………………………………………………………………………………..………… 19 Calendar of Events……………………………………………………………………………………………. 20 Marketing Calendar…………………………………………………………………………………………… 21 Residents…………….............……………………………………………………………………..………… 22

Why Village Green ………....…………………………………………………….…........................………… 22


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September 2013 Dear Sewickley Merchants, Restaurants, and Professional Services: Each year since 2010, Village Green Partners has gone before Sewickley Borough Council to ask for their financial assistance in supporting our efforts to promote Sewickley. This September is no different, and we are presenting a new package to request the renewal of our contract with the Borough of Sewickley. This year, however, we have changed our overall approach. In an effort to better educate the business community and create a more transparent organization, we are presenting the same document to you, the local Sewickley business owners, as we are to the Council. The financial support that VGP requests from the Borough each year is not guaranteed and does not cover all of our expenses each year. This is where we need your help. We ask that all businesses become a Village Green “Partner” for just $250.00 per year. As a Partner you will not only receive many valuable benefits for your business, but more importantly, you will be helping to support the marketing effort that benefits the whole business district. There are other ways to get involved, which include sponsoring and/or participating in events. 2013 has proven to be a year of great challenge and great triumph. To date, we are very proud of the momentous positive ripple effect that we’ve seen in the Sewickley Business District. As our capabilities continue to flourish, we feel that Village Green has established its rightful place in Sewickley as a viable and necessary organization. Our evolution over the past 3 years has given us an understanding about what it takes to operate a sustainable nonprofit that benefits the community. We have created events, established partnerships, and successfully opened the channels of communication in the business district. Outlined within, you will see that Village Green Partners has every intention to continue devoting ourselves to serving the entire Sewickley community. We hope that you will join us in our effort to lead Sewickley into a vibrant cultural and commercial destination in the Pittsburgh area. After all, it takes a Village. Sincerely, _____________________________ Jennifer Markus, President ______________________________ Alexandra DeLoia, Marketing Director


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INTRODUCTION Village Green Partners is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that is dedicated to helping the Village of Sewickley thrive. With the help of the Sewickley business community, Sewickley Borough Council, and the Village Green board of directors, we are determined to continue building momentum toward shaping, molding, and reinventing Sewickley into the most successful community in the area.

Mission: Village Green Partners’ mission is to cultivate the business district of Sewickley into a vibrant and economically successful regional destination.

Vision: Village Green Partners will be a highly visible and credible organization, recognized for its ability to provide inspired leadership, to act as a liaison, to encourage the growth of small businesses, and to foster a sense of community while promoting social and cultural development. In addition, Village Green Partners will be actively engaged in marketing and promotion, and supporting continued collaboration.


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WHO WE ARE

Village Green believes that Sewickley has the potential to be a vital social, commercial, and cultural destination within the greater Pittsburgh area. As a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, we are devoted to the promotion of Sewickley through marketing and business development. Our office, located at 435 Beaver Street, 3

rd floor, has become a meeting space for the business

community and a place where we put great ideas into action. We welcome visitors and brainstorming sessions, and we believe that transparency is critical to function effectively. We would love to chat with you.

OUR STORY

With ideas that started on a cocktail napkin in 2010, two Sewickley residents felt that they could breathe new life into the Village of Sewickley. They partnered with some amazing resources and invested their own money to develop the concept of Village Green Partners.

THE PEOPLE OF VILLAGE GREEN Jennifer Markus is the co-founder of the company and President of the VGP Board of Directors whose work as a realtor at Howard Hanna in Sewickley helps the business development efforts of Village Green. Previously the Director of Operations of Kforce Professional Staffing, Jen honed her team building, communications and event planning skills.

Brendan Kenny is Vice President & Treasurer of the VGP Board of Directors. Brendan is a Partner with Altair Management Partners, Inc. in Wexford, PA, which provides alternative investment based wealth management services. Brent Gephart is Secretary of the VGP Board of Directors. Brent is a full time real estate agent for Howard Hanna in Sewickley, a Managing Partner in Sunrise Rock Development Company, and President and Managing Partner at Tropical Breeze Resort and Spa. Michael Kennedy is Director of the VGP Board of Directors. Michael is a buyer for Dick’s Sporting Goods, merchandising Football, Basketball and Soccer. He is also Co-Founder and Director of Treasury for EnvisionEight, LLC, an investment group with a large focus on philanthropic efforts. Alex DeLoia, Marketing Director, is the first and only paid employee of Village Green Partners. Prior to VGP, Alex worked as a marketing coordinator for a graphic design firm in Pittsburgh. She is experienced in client relations and project management from her work at Zoltun Design and Nordstrom, Inc.


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MEMBERSHIPS & AFFILIATIONS National Main Street Organization – A national organization dedicated to the preservation of community history and the revitalization of economic districts in small towns. The resources that the Main Street Organization offers are amazingly helpful for small towns like Sewickley. The annual NMSO conference is one event that Village Green anticipates with excitement each year.

Pittsburgh Airport Area Chamber of Commerce – Village Green belongs to the PAACC, which has over 1,000 members and services businesses along the airport corridor.

Sewickley Nonprofit Consortium – SNPC (pronounced “Snap-C”) is a unique organization of nonprofits in the Sewickley Valley. Through monthly meetings hosted at different members’ locations, SNPC has given nonprofit organizations a forum to discuss relevant topics such as grant writing and fundraising.

Sewickley Valley Chamber of Commerce – The SVCC is an organization that strives to educate, motivate, and connect local merchants, professional services, and nonprofits. SVCC works hand in hand with Village Green Partners to promote the area as a destination for shopping, dining, and living. The Chamber also promotes Village Green’s services to the business district by promoting the “Partner” program. Visit www.vgpsewickley.com to learn more.

Visit Pittsburgh – Visit Pittsburgh is the premiere tourism group in Pittsburgh, connecting visitors from all over the country to the neighborhoods around the region. Partnering with Visit Pittsburgh allows VGP access to great advertising, networking, and event opportunities. Their marketing reaches all over the states of Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, and Washington, D.C.

http://www.vgpsewickley.com/chamber


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WHAT WE DO Village Green plans a lot of events. And although it is one of our favorite things to do, our scope of responsibility is much broader than the planning and execution of grand-scale activities.

We do our best to ensure that people are aware of things going on in the Village. It is important that we accurately translate and distribute that information to the business district and the public. The “Explore Sewickley” campaign has been instrumental in helping us reach a large audience both within and outside of Sewickley, and we initiate conversations to be sure that the business community’s voice is heard loud and clear. The monthly meetings that Village Green currently attends and/or hosts:

Sewickley Borough Council Committee of the Whole

VGP Happy Hours

Sewickley Nonprofit Consortium

Event committees

Planning Commission

Zoning Commission The driving force behind our nonprofit organization is the objective to create awareness of Sewickley, and

to promote local businesses and activities.


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MARKETING CAMPAIGN: EXPLORE SEWICKLEY The Explore Sewickley marketing campaign has, since its inception, had notable success in helping people find out what exactly is going on in the Village. ExploreSewickley.com and all of its associated channels, such as the Explore Sewickley Facebook page, Twitter feed, and Explore Sewickley e-newsletter, are the go-to spots for comprehensive information about the town. From a constantly updated events calendar to the directory of shops, restaurants, and services, the website and social media networks showcase the business district of Sewickley. You will also find Explore Sewickley on Pinterest, You Tube and Instagram. We are always looking at ways to increase our reach and stay on top of the latest trends in technology. Currently, we are redoing ExploreSewickley.com with a fresh new look. It will also be mobile-friendly. In the near future, we are planning to create a dynamic smartphone app, which will allow people to see everything going on in one glance. It will coordinate with a map of the Village and the proposed parking structure.

We at Village Green Partners are often mistakenly referred to as “the Explore Sewickley girls,” but we don’t mind. We think it helps people make the connection.

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT By promoting a diverse and vibrant business district by increasing foot traffic and decreasing vacancies, Village Green has made a solid commitment to business development. Since we have access to local commercial real estate information through Jennifer’s work as a Howard Hanna Real Estate Agent, Village Green has become an amazing resource for new businesses navigating through the process of opening. From helping to find the right space to the grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony, Village Green has helped many new businesses become informed and get involved in the Sewickley community.

If you are looking for a space or have an idea for a business you want to open, contact us at (412) 741–7530 or [email protected].

mailto:[email protected]


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MARKETING STRATEGY

Whether through print or online advertising, events, or a simple Google search, Village Green’s mission is to make sure people are aware of this great community. We have carefully constructed and refined our marketing strategy by analyzing our target demographic and how they like to do things. For example, we have found that 86% of ExploreSewickley.com’s traffic comes from an iPhone or Android device.

To leverage this statistic, VGP is optimizing the Explore Sewickley website to allow for better, more responsive mobile viewing on smartphones. Not only do we release print and online advertisements that create awareness, but we also spend a great deal of time building relationships and engaging our audience in a personal manner on our social networks, like Facebook and Twitter. We set up the Explore Sewickley table at the majority of community events, and we love to have conversations with people passing by. Each advertising medium is different in the way it creates awareness, but we believe that a well-rounded portfolio, which includes all of them, is a fantastic way to reach as many segments of the community as possible.

Studies show that smartphones are a

“browse or research” platform, and only 25%

of activity is actual voice calls.


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ADVERTISING & PROMOTION Village Green’s top priority is getting Sewickley noticed. We are always looking for the most visible vehicles to get the attention of our target audience. We have systematically chosen the publications, the online sources, and the events that will best help us showcase what Sewickley has to offer.

Print

Print is a great visual way to create awareness of the atmosphere of the community and its events. Not only do we run advertisements, we also partner with key publications to maximize our marketing reach and work with the staff to create a larger editorial section.


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Online

In the age of miniature computers in your pocket at all times, web presence is beyond critical. We love being able to draw measurable results from online platforms using online banner and tile ads on websites and Facebook advertising.

In Person Some of the best conversations we have with people are simply in passing. We believe it is important to maintain personal relationships with the community, and we like to be visible at community events. Personally, we think that word-of-mouth is the best kind of advertising, and it’s free.

DATA MANAGEMENT Village Green has been interacting with all sorts of people since 2010. We have quite a collection of contacts in a variety of areas. From local businesses to potential businesses, from vendors and sponsors for events to advertising partners, we have a lot of addresses and emails to keep track of. Although a work in progress, we are creating a database of these contacts and interactions to help guide us in the future. Once complete, we will be able to provide reports at the touch of a button. We are looking forward to the next step in being able to better manage the enormous amount of valuable information that comes our way.


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EVENT MANAGEMENT & PROMOTION As we learn more about what our community needs us to be, Village Green has become a go-to resource for organizations and businesses.

We have decided to leverage the skills, systems, & processes that we have in place, and offer our event management & promotion services to other Sewickley organizations.

In exchange for a percentage of the net proceeds, Village Green is prepared to manage online ticket sales and use the existing Explore Sewickley communications platform to promote events. If you are interested in learning more about this service, please contact us at (412) 741–7530 or [email protected].

HAPPY HOURS

On the first Thursday of the month from 5:30pm – 7:00pm, VGP turns our office on the 3rd

floor at 435 Beaver Street into an open forum for members of the business community including business owners, building owners, and local government. The original objective in creating this Happy Hour was to provide a casual place to interact, share ideas, and educate about what VGP is doing. We have been pleased at the success in opening the lines of communication with a larger audience. Village Green provides notes from the Happy Hour get-togethers so that you can review the topics discussed. To see notes from previous Happy Hours, visit www.vgpsewickley.com. Currently, Happy Hours are open to all members of the business community, regardless of whether they are Partners of Village Green or not. Please stop by the next one!


http://www.vgpsewickley.com/


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COUNCIL MEETINGS

Each month, Village Green Partners presents an update about our efforts and the community to the Sewickley Borough Council at the Committee of the Whole meeting on the 2

nd Tuesday of every month in

Borough Council Chambers. We act as a liaison between the business community and Council, discuss VGP’s current and future plans as well as report on past events, and give updates on new business developments. In addition to Committee of the Whole meetings, VGP also attends Planning Commission, Zoning Board, and Council meetings as needed.

RIBBON CUTTING CEREMONIES What better way to welcome a new business into the Village than with some free PR, a pair of giant gold scissors and a party? Village Green Partners reaches out to businesses opening in Sewickley to coordinate a ribbon cutting ceremony with Mayor Brian Jeffe and the Borough of Sewickley. We send out notifications to local media and other businesses to truly welcome them. The ribbon cutting ceremony includes a proclamation read by the Mayor, the cutting of the grand opening ribbon and a photo opportunity. We post these photos on our social media. Since VGP began, we have celebrated over 30 new businesses opening their doors. To schedule a ribbon cutting ceremony, please contact us at (412) 741–7530 or [email protected].



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VILLAGE EVENTS The Village of Sewickley has many great events each year that bring lots of people to town. Many of these are planned and executed by Village Green. Hosting events both large and small is part of the multi-faceted approach to support the local businesses and bring vibrancy to the streets. Event marketing provides Village Green with additional opportunities that bring awareness to the Village of Sewickley. Each of our events has its own website, Facebook page, and promotional schedules. We rely on committees to help us keep the events moving forward and staying dynamic each year. We encourage people to shop at local businesses, eat at local restaurants, and attend local events.

Several of these annual events (such as Sewickley Soup Crawl, Sewickley Oktoberfest, Sewickley Chocolate Walk, and events within the Small Business Summer campaign) were created by Village Green Partners.

VILLAGE GREEN PRODUCED EVENTS

Yuletide in Sewickley

Sewickley Unleashed

Sewickley Oktoberfest

Sewickley Soup Crawl

Sewickley Chocolate Walk

PARTNERSHIP EVENTS

The Chef Series @ the Farmer’s Market

Memorial Day Weekend Activities

Sewickley Gallery Walks

Sewickley Night Markets


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HOW WE DO IT You know that scene in “A Beautiful Mind,” where Russell Crowe locks himself in a cabin and they find him with a million papers attached to the wall? On a day that we are not expecting to host people, the VGP office looks a bit like that. With all of the committees that we head, the organizations that we collaborate with, and the events that we are planning year-round, the amount of coordination and work that we do on a daily basis is enough to keep an entire agency on their toes. Without the strength, collective effort, and financial support of the Borough of Sewickley, the business district, the residents, and the companies that sponsor our events, we would have a difficult time making such a dramatic impact.


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SEWICKLEY BOROUGH COUNCIL

The members of Sewickley Borough Council realize that the vibrancy of the business district is crucial to the health of the overall area, and we are honored to help strengthen their vision of making the Village prosperous and sustainable. Our strong partnership with the Borough helps ensure a coordinated and unified approach to enhancing the business district’s sense of place. To date, the Borough has been the biggest single financial supporter of the efforts of Village Green and the Explore Sewickley marketing campaign. Our strategy for 2014 is a bit different – we are focusing on increasing our efforts to diversify our funding. Please see www.vgpsewickley.com for copies of the contracts with the Borough.

LOCAL BUSINESSES A healthy business district is crucial to a vibrant atmosphere in a community. With our funding from the Borough of Sewickley, Village Green is able to maintain the Explore Sewickley website, which provides information about all businesses and events in the Village. There are many other ways for businesses and professionals to get involved: We have created the “Partner” Program (think “membership”), which provides additional benefits to our Partners. For $250 per year, businesses have the opportunity to leverage the marketing channels that Village Green already has in place. They are already designed to help the community prosper. As a result of its reorganization, the Chamber of Commerce no longer collects a $150 fee to belong as a member; each business automatically belongs to the Chamber. The Village Green “Partner” program replaces this fee. In return, businesses that are VGP “Partners” receive a robust list of benefits that previously have not been available. Village Green communicates with businesses on a weekly basis, and we send out emails detailing upcoming opportunities and plans.

Break It Down:

$250 ÷ 365 = $.68 per day.

That’s $4.75 per week – the same amount as one grande caramel Frappuccino from

Starbucks!

http://www.vgpsewickley.com/


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HOW TO GET INVOLVED AS A BUSINESS

The VGP “Partner” Program Village Green is a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting the business district in Sewickley through marketing, promotion, events, fundraising, business development and encouraging collaboration. While we offer the ability to participate in Explore Sewickley (our marketing campaign) for free, we encourage all businesses to become a “Partner” to help support our ongoing efforts to promote the Village.

Free to all businesses Our contract with the Borough of Sewickley allows for Village Green to provide the following services for free to all members of the Sewickley business community:

A business listing in the Directory on www.exploresewickley.com (includes business name, address,

phone #).

The ability to have your events posted on the Events Calendar on www.exploresewickley.com.

The ability to post your own content to our Explore Sewickley Facebook page to reach our growing

audience of 1,176+.

Become a Partner for $250/year This is the entry-level program that offers a variety of robust benefits to your business:

Your own enhanced business page in the Directory on www.exploresewickley.com. This includes a

description of your business, links to your social media, and pictures of your business or

merchandise.

Inclusion of events and specials in the weekly Explore Sewickley Newsletter (audience of 1,800+).

Posts periodically by Village Green about your business on the Explore Sewickley social media

channels.

Be featured in our blog, Think Sewickley First, located on www.exploresewickley.com.

Access to our Village Green Constant Contact database to send a message to the entire Sewickley

business community.

Posting of one press release per quarter.

Opportunity to sit on the Village Green Advisory Committee.

Sponsorships Many opportunities are available to sponsor the events that Village Green coordinates. Sewickley Unleashed, Sewickley Soup Crawl, Sewickley Oktoberfest and Yuletide in Sewickley. Please contact us for sponsorship packages: (412) 741–7530 or [email protected].

http://www.exploresewickley.com/






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“PARTNER” CONTRACT WITH VILLAGE GREEN PARTNERS

$250 Partner Contract fee due at contract signing. Village Green accepts checks or credit card payments. Start date is day payment is received by VGP. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto, for valuable consideration and intending to be legally bound hereby, have executed this Agreement on the _______ day of ________________________, 201___. VILLAGE GREEN PARTNERS _____________________________________ Signature ______________________________________ Name ______________________________________ Title

“PARTNER” ______________________________________ Signature ______________________________________ Name ______________________________________ Title

Business Name

Address

Main Contact Name

Contact Email Contact Phone #

Start Date


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COMMITTEES The phrase “It takes a village,” rings true for a nonprofit like Village Green Partners. VGP cannot do everything we do without the help of many people. We have a variety of committees that help plan events and guide our efforts. VGP currently has the following active event committees:

Yuletide in Sewickley



Sewickley Gallery Walk

Sewickley Night Market The event committees are open to all members of the community. We welcome new members at any time. Contact us at (412) 741–7530 or [email protected]. After a false start in 2012, we will be reengaging the Village Green Advisory Committee in 2014. This committee is the only one we have that is limited to the business community members who support us financially. Future projects for the Advisory Committee to discuss will be the Explore Sewickley App, a map/brochure strategy, street banners, and Explore Sewickley advertising. The Advisory Committee will help us separate the mediocre ideas so that we can focus on executing the great ones. By acting as a guiding voice for the business community, the Advisory Committee will help to steer us in the best direction for our organization and for Sewickley.

EVENT

SPONSORS

Events allow us to

create awareness of our town and create high

levels of activity on the streets. In turn, this creates an energetic, thriving business

district and a happy community.

Sponsors are vital to the success of the many events in Sewickley. Sponsor dollars are invaluable, allowing us to run

advertising, have fireworks and music, and create the festive environments that bring many people into the streets to shop, eat,

and have fun. For questions about sponsorships, contact us at (412) 741–7530 or

[email protected].

“The return on investment won’t always translate directly into dollars. But while measuring increased sales is important, benefits such as brand awareness, showcasing opportunities, customer loyalty, lead generation and goodwill, all need to be considered too.”

- Marketingdonut.com



http://www.marketingdonut.co.uk/marketing/marketing-strategy/branding

http://www.marketingdonut.co.uk/marketing/customer-care/building-customer-loyalty/keeping-customers-the-importance-of-loyalty

http://www.marketingdonut.co.uk/marketing/customer-care/building-customer-loyalty/keeping-customers-the-importance-of-loyalty

http://www.marketingdonut.co.uk/marketing/sales/sales-lead-generation


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SEWICKLEY BUSINESS DISTRICT:

2014 CALENDAR OF EVENTS Events in green denote Village Green organized events, blue denotes events that we partner with other groups to organize/promote.

JANUARY


FEBRUARY

Sweetwater Jazz Series (every Friday)

MARCH


APRIL

Spring Gallery Walk Farmer’s Market (every Saturday) Brave American 5K

MAY

May Mart Sewickley Unleashed (5K, Parade, Vendors) Memorial Day Weekend Activities Farmer’s Market (every Saturday) CHA House Tour (every other year) Garden Tour (every other year)

JUNE

Summer Music Series Sewickley Night Market Chef Series @ Farmer’s Market with TABLE Magazine Farmer’s Market (every Saturday) QVRA 5K

JULY

Summer Music Series Sewickley Night Market Chef Series @ Farmer’s Market with TABLE Magazine Farmer’s Market (every Saturday)

AUGUST

Summer Music Series Sewickley Night Market Chef Series @ Farmer’s Market with TABLE Magazine Farmer’s Market (every Saturday) Jaguar Car Show SUMC Kids’ Festival FHNC Italian Garden Dinner

SEPTEMBER

Harvest Festival Fall Gallery Walk Sewickley Night Market Chef Series @ Farmer’s Market with TABLE Magazine Farmer’s Market (every Saturday) Heritage Valley Heart & Sole 5K SHHC Riding & Driving Party FHNC Fall Music Festival

OCTOBER

Sewickley Oktoberfest Savoring Sewickley Halloween Parade Chef Series @ Farmer’s Market with TABLE Magazine Farmer’s Market (every Saturday)

NOVEMBER

Wine Walk Small Business Saturday Farmer’s Market (every Saturday)

DECEMBER

Light Up Night Santa Parade Wednesday Yuletide Activities Saturday Yuletide Activities


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2014 MARKETING CALENDAR

= Print advertising

= Brochures / Posters

= Social Media / Explore Sewickley e-newsletter advertising

JANUARY


MAY

Sweetwater Jazz Series (Every

Friday)

MARCH


APRIL

Sewickley Spring Gallery Walk

Farmer’s Market (every Saturday)

Brave American 5K

MAY

May Mart

Sewickley Unleashed (5K, Parade,

Vendors)

Memorial Day Weekend Activities


CHA House Tour (every other year)

Garden Tour (every other year)

JUNE

Summer Music Series

Sewickley Night Market

Chef Series @ Farmer’s Market

with TABLE Magazine

Farmer’s Market (every

Saturday)

QVRA 5K

JULY

Summer Music Series



with TABLE Magazine


AUGUST

Summer Music Series


Chef Series @ Farmer’s Market with

TABLE Magazine


Jaguar Car Show

SUMC Kids’ Festival

FHNC Italian Garden Dinner

SEPTEMBER

Harvest Festival

Fall Gallery Walk



with TABLE Magazine

Farmer’s Market (every

Saturday)

Heritage Valley Heart & Sole 5K

SHHC Riding & Driving Party FHNC Fall Music Festival

OCTOBER


Savoring Sewickley

Halloween Parade


with TABLE Magazine


NOVEMBER

Wine Walk

Small Business Saturday


DECEMBER

Light Up Night

Santa Parade

Wednesday Yuletide Activities

Saturday Yuletide Activities


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RESIDENTS

There are many ways for residents to support Village Green Partners and the efforts to make Sewickley a more vibrant community. In addition to the ways listed below, we will be creating an annual appeal campaign in the future. 1. Support Local Businesses The single most important thing to do is support our Sewickley businesses. These are the stores, restaurants, and organizations that make our town special, and they’ve made a commitment to serve you. When you shop locally, you help to sustain the community. 2. Spread The Word When you come to events, talk about them! Social media is an amazing way to share your life with your friends and family, and it’s also one of the best ways to get the buzz started about Sewickley. So tell your friends about your experiences in Sewickley at the stores, restaurants and events. 3. Promote Civic Engagement When we do a survey or a poll, we want to hear your thoughts and opinions. Become involved by attending Council meetings and getting engaged in conversations about issues that matter to you.

4. Support An Event Financially We love to hear your encouraging words, but the best way to help is through financial support. Our events do not happen without the generosity of our sponsors. Sponsorship dollars allow us to raise funds for the community, the good work of other nonprofits, like the WPHS, the Sewickley Valley YMCA Oasis Teen Center, and the Sewickley Community Center Food Pantry and for Village Green. 5. Hang Out and Bring Your Friends Attending events such as Light Up Night, Sewickley Unleashed, and Sewickley Oktoberfest is a fun way to get involved, meet people, and support Sewickley. The more the merrier!

WHY VILLAGE GREEN No other organization is positioned to fill all of the roles that Village Green Partners does: an all-in-one public relations, event-planning, marketing, business development, and fundraising agency. We could not do what we do without the help of the businesses who make up the Village. Each store or business helps build up the Explore Sewickley brand by letting their customers know what they’re up to and creating awareness in their own marketing. This is great, because it brings each place’s distinct specialty and strength to the table. Village Green takes all of these different facets and curates them into a digestible, findable, searchable thing – the Explore Sewickley website and all of its associated channels. Our office, located at 435 Beaver Street on the 3

rd floor, is a physical space where you can find us

virtually every day, brainstorming ideas to improve the business district of Sewickley. We would love for you to help us lead Sewickley into a vibrant future.

Documents

It Takes A Village