Georgia Foundation for Public Education

THE CHALLENGE

As the fundraising arm of K-12 public education in the state of Georgia, GFPE is committed to boosting educational outcomes in the state. One of the methods the organization does so is via tax credits. These credits offer a valuable and uncomplicated way for Georgia residents to improve educational opportunities for students. (In this instance it is worth considering that every resident of Georgia may be considered a stakeholder in public education – obviously this includes anyone with children in public schools, but even residents who are not in this situation stand to gain from a better educated state populace).

Knowledge of the availability of the tax credits – and who oversees them and how residents may access them – has not been highly visible in the past. It is also necessary to distinguish the GFPE credit from other educational tax credit opportunities managed by other entities – for instance the GFPE credit needed to be distinguished from the qualified education expense tax credit (known as GOAL).  So, GFPE approached Forum Communications about embarking on a branding and informational campaign that would increase brand awareness and understanding among key audiences. 

GFPE had an added challenge, since the public education tax credit was not originally its responsibility. In fact, it took control of this particular tax credit in 2021. So, stakeholders needed to be made aware that it now came under the umbrella of GFPE, avoiding any confusion with past arbiters of the credit.

HOW WE HELPED

First, Forum Communications understood that to create understanding and ownership of the educational tax credit, we had to help GFPE establish a unique and easily recognizable name and brand for the credit. Their new name, the PEACH Education Tax Credit, replaced what was previously termed “the qualified education donation tax credit.” To further this name and branding distinction and carve out its niche in the marketplace, Forum Communications also created a logo for the PEACH tax credit. This logo both aligned with GFPE’s branding while also allowing the tax credit to have its own identity. 

Once branding and logo were established, Forum assisted GFPE in fortifying this new identity through social media, as well as by creating educational materials for legislators. We also audited the GFPE website and made content and navigation updates to make it easier for users to understand the PEACH tax credit and how to locate the information that is most helpful to them. Forum also incorporated this new logo and branding into GFPE’s annual reports and created a Power Point presentation template, so that GFPE leadership could undertake presentations about the tax credit.

ALL IN THE DETAILS

The work that Forum Communications forged with GFPE made a very tangible difference for the PEACH tax credit – which in turn made a tangible difference for public education in the state of Georgia, resulting in increased visibility and increased donations. After the establishment of PEACH in 2022, GFPE social media follows went up 100%. Reach also increased 355% over that same time frame. Meanwhile, Forum’s work played a key role in the tax credit cap increasing from $5 million to $15 million. From the time when GFPE took over the tax credit program in 2022 through 2024, tax credits increased 575%. And, ultimately, sunset on the PEACH tax credit was extended to 2029.