Armour Dance Theatre
When Florida’s arts funding was slashed, Armour Dance Theatre faced a critical challenge. MarketSmiths’ nonprofit fundraising copy recouped over $65K in funding cuts from 229 donors in just 24 hours, bringing ADT’s mission back to life and building long-term donor support.
Client
“Tomorrow, a new door will open.”
For over 75 years, Armour Dance Theatre (ADT) has been transforming lives through dance. As a world-renowned conservatory and community institution, ADT trains more than 1,000 dancers across five Miami-Dade locations, with over 600 students receiving tuition-free scholarships.
At ADT, dance is a doorway to so much more—instilling critical life skills like confidence, teamwork, and resilience. ADT’s mission is to make dance accessible to all children regardless of income, race, ethnicity, gender identity, ability, or body type. Along with financial support, they offer academic coaching, mental health resources, food assistance, and transportation, ensuring every child has the tools they need to succeed.
The ask
In early 2024, Florida slashed arts funding, leaving ADT with a $70,000 deficit that threatened to disrupt their vital programming. Under the leadership of Sarah Donate, ADT’s first professional fundraiser, the nonprofit turned to MarketSmiths for a high-stakes Give Miami Day campaign—a 24-hour online fundraising event that brings together the Miami community to raise critical funds. The goal: to ensure ADT could continue supporting hundreds of students each year despite the $70,000 in lost arts funding.
“Working with MarketSmiths has been exactly what I had hoped for. This partnership took something off my plate. I don’t have to think about the projects I assign or worry: ‘Are they going to deliver? Will the copy meet the mark?’ It’s been such a relief.”
— Sarah Donate, Development Director at Armour Dance Theatre
Challenges
“Armour Dance Theatre has never handed over its voice and creative reins to someone else. Now, the leadership team is asking me: ‘What else can MarketSmiths do?’”
To tackle this challenge, ADT and MarketSmiths would need to settle into a new relationship—one that combined trusted processes, strategic insight, and a trailblazing approach to storytelling, handled with integrity and care.
Looking for a lifeline
ADT had always danced to its own rhythm, managing nonprofit campaigns in-house. But as Sarah worked to build a formal development team from the ground up, she found herself stretched thin. “I was drowning in copy,” Sarah recalls. It was time to find a partner who could truly step into ADT’s shoes.
ADT needed more than just a nonprofit fundraising copy service provider, though. They needed a partner who could seamlessly execute campaigns while embodying their values and becoming an extension of their voice—someone who truly understood their mission.
“We immediately fell in love with their mission,” recalls MarketSmiths content strategist Briana Pagano. “It’s been an honor to support this campaign and the meaningful work ADT does.”
Streamlining workflows
Since ADT had managed all their campaigns in-house for years, external collaboration was unfamiliar territory—and Sarah was initially unsure how the process would unfold. After an in-depth kickoff call and delivery of the initial prototype email, MarketSmiths helped ADT settle into a comfortable, efficient feedback and approval process.
Before long, MarketSmiths had nailed ADT’s brand voice, sharing drafts that consistently met the mark. Finally, Sarah could step back and focus on the bigger picture with confidence and peace of mind.
Balancing voice with values
ADT has many powerful alumni success stories—like those of former ballet students who went on to become Ivy League graduates and groundbreaking researchers. Yet, a tradition of privacy and reliance on clinical grant-writing language limited their ability to move donors emotionally. The organization hesitated to embrace storytelling, fearing it might compromise privacy or erode community trust. MarketSmiths helped ADT navigate these sensitivities, unlocking storytelling opportunities that honored their community while making their mission more relatable and compelling to donors.
“At our board meeting, the board commented on how strong your email campaign copy was. They’ve never commented on copy before!”
— Sarah Donate, Development Director
Shared Success
“These emails had our team skipping around the room!”
Drawing from experience, including work with LinkedIn for Nonprofits, MarketSmiths quickly understood ADT’s needs and audience.
Setting the stage for success
Much like a dance performance, change unfolds “One Step at a Time.” After proposing this campaign theme, MarketSmiths set to work choreographing seven impactful emails that highlight ADT’s mission to remove barriers, instill life skills, and foster diversity.
Mold broken, trust gained
“MarketSmiths’ emails had our team skipping around the room!” Sarah said, clearly thrilled with the results. “I love all the ideas you put forward and am very impressed with the fresh perspective you and your team took.”
In 75 years, ADT had never outsourced their brand voice — so our partnership marked an exciting new milestone. Through the exemplary work and deep care taken by the MarketSmiths team, trust was quickly gained, allowing ADT to reduce the number of staff approvals on copy moving forward for a more streamlined workflow.
Quick results, big impact
Alleviating approval bottlenecks allowed ADT to release compelling content much quicker—and begin making an impact faster.
In just 24 hours on Give Miami Day, ADT raised $65,690 from 229 donors—recouping critical lost funds during a national election year, when fundraising is historically more challenging.
The campaign’s success impressed ADT’s board members who, for the first time ever, commented on the quality of the nonprofit fundraising copy at their meeting.
An answered wish
Reflecting on the experience, Sarah said, “Working with MarketSmiths has been exactly what I had hoped for. This partnership took something off my plate. I don’t have to think about the projects I assign or worry: ‘Are they going to deliver? Will the copy meet the mark?’ It’s been such a relief.”
Standing ovation
Thanks to the success of the Give Miami Day campaign, MarketSmiths continues to support ADT with donor communications and content strategy. After the initial campaign, ADT entrusted us to write a direct mail letter, raising an additional $2,000 over the next month.
MarketSmiths is excited to keep the partnership going—helping ADT produce their annual Donor Impact Report, which will showcase their community support and help inspire even more donations when it’s released in spring 2025.
“MarketSmiths has truly helped us elevate our message and share the incredible work we’re doing with the community,” Sarah said. “We’ve been able to focus more on our mission-driven work and less on the logistics of fundraising. This partnership has been invaluable.”
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