Westside Future Fund (WFF) — Follow-Up Sequence

Target: Westside Future Fund — westsidefuturefund.org — place-based community development nonprofit rebuilding Atlanta's historic Westside (Vine City, English Avenue, the Atlanta University Center, Ashview Heights, Just Us)

Contact: Shalon Brown, Director of Marketing and Communications (primary); John Ahmann, President & CEO (alternate) — info@westsidefuturefund.org / media@westsidefuturefund.org · (404) 793-2670 · IG @westsidefuturefund

Channel(s): Email (primary); Instagram DM for the shorter touches

Source first-touch: registry/leads/drafts/westside-future-fund-outreach.md

Generated: 2026-09-20 (night-shift)

Assumes: no reply to the first touch (free 60–90 second piece offer)

Register: marketing/comms director at a place-based community development nonprofit; storytelling that serves donor cultivation, impact communication, and grant support, not a commercial sell

Cadence

|-------|--------|---------|------------------|

| 2 | D+12 | Email | Free one-page "Home on the Westside" story-series concept (Appendix A) |

| 3 | D+20 | Email (or DM) | Honest proof points: the L5P series (putting together) and mission-driven media work, Detroit Action included |

| 4 | D+28 | Email | Year-end + monthly Summit timing hook: turn a move-in or a Summit morning into a "your giving did this" asset |

| 5 | D+36 | Email (or DM) | Door-open close, no ask |

Touch 1 — The two new homeowners on English Avenue (D+5)

Subject: the two new homeowners on English Avenue are the story

Shalon —

Your own Stories of Impact feed just ran it: "More New Neighbors on English Avenue: Home on the Westside Welcomes Two New Homeowners." That's the whole mission in one headline, and right now it lives as a post.

The line you lead with, "without displacing the people who've long called it home," is something a website can state but not show. Two sets of keys handed over on English Avenue, that's the line made real. A 60-second cut of that moment does more for donor retention and a grant application than a paragraph ever will.

If there's one story in your feed you'd point a camera at first, that's where I'd start.

~110 words. Leads with WFF's own published Stories of Impact item and their stated mission line. Does not re-offer the free shoot as the lead; "you pick it" carries forward from the first touch. Frames everything as donor retention and grant support, which is a comms director's problem, not a video pitch.

Touch 2 — Free asset: the one-page concept (D+12)

Subject: a one-pager you could hand to a Home on the Westside program lead

Shalon —

I put together a one-page concept for a "Home on the Westside" story series. It's written so you could hand it to whoever runs the housing programs, or drop it into a donor or funder conversation.

It's below, the whole thing, no strings. If the "one story a month" rhythm reads like something that'd serve your donors and your grant applications, that's the part I'd want to build with you.

— Brandyn
Ghost Coast Video · ghostcoast.video

The one-pager is Appendix A below. Self-contained, ready to paste into an email or drop into a PDF/Google Doc. The "Home on the Westside" and "program lead" references are WFF-specific, not a copy of the FCS/Midtown/EABA one-pager framing.

Touch 3 — The proof points, honest (D+20)

Subject: what I'm learning filming mission-driven work

Shalon —

I'm putting a short interview series together over in Little Five Points right now, and I'll be straight about where it stands: early. No finished episodes yet.

What I know from the mission-driven media work I've done, Detroit Action included, is that impact communication doesn't wait on a production budget. The stories are already on the Westside. It's a matter of pointing a camera at them and letting the work speak for itself.

When the first L5P cuts land I'll send you one, so you can judge it instead of taking my word.

— Brandyn
Ghost Coast Video · ghostcoast.video

~100 words. Claims only what's true: the L5P series is "putting together," no episodes, no metrics. Detroit Action is held at "mission-driven media work I've done" — a fact, not a results claim. The "doesn't wait on a production budget" line is aimed at a place-based nonprofit's impact-communication need, distinct from FCS's "development shop" and EABA's "volunteer orgs" angles.

Touch 4 — Year-end + Summit timing hook (D+28)

Subject: year-end giving lands harder with a face than a figure

Shalon —

One timing note, then I'll get out of your way. The Summit runs every month, and year-end giving is right behind it. The hard part of that stretch is making a year of redevelopment land as something a donor can feel.

The fix is a single neighbor, a single morning. A 60-second piece on the family who just got keys on English Avenue, or one Summit morning, turns "here's what we did this year" into "your giving did this." That's the asset that earns the second gift and fills out a grant report.

If the calendar's already locked, no problem. The stories keep either way.

— Brandyn
Ghost Coast Video · ghostcoast.video

~110 words. Uses WFF's own monthly Summit cadence and the year-end giving/annual-report season as the seasonal hook. Does not assert specific Summit dates or that a 2026 report is in production; "runs every month" and "right behind it" keep it safe. The "turn the work into a 'your giving did this'" angle is the donor-cultivation register, distinct from FCS's "count of 38" framing.

Touch 5 — Door-open close (D+36)

Subject: leaving the door open

Shalon —

I've sent a few notes over the last month and won't keep them coming if the timing's off. A comms shop's got enough on it.

The offer stands as it was. If Westside Future Fund ever wants its block on camera, I'm around. And when the Little Five Points series is actually finished, I'll send you a link anyway. It's the honest version of what I've been describing.

— Brandyn
Ghost Coast Video · ghostcoast.video

~75 words. No ask, no recap, no guilt. Closes on the honest forward promise (the L5P link), which doubles as a reason to keep the thread.

Flags — read before sending

1. Channel. Email to media@westsidefuturefund.org (routed to Shalon Brown's team) is primary; info@westsidefuturefund.org is the safe general route. The shorter touches (3 and 5) can go as Instagram DM to @westsidefuturefund. Pick one channel per touch; don't double-send.

2. No direct email is published for Shalon Brown. The site routes through info@ (general) and media@ (under "Media Inquiries"). media@ is the better guess for a marketing/comms decision; info@ is the safe general route. Address her by name; if Brandyn prefers top-level, John Ahmann (President & CEO) is the alternate and the greeting swaps.

3. Verify Shalon Brown is still Director of Marketing and Communications before Touch 1. The Our Team page names her, but roles rotate. If she's moved on, John Ahmann is the top-level alternate.

4. Touch 1 quotes WFF's own Stories of Impact headline. The "two new homeowners on English Avenue" item is from their current feed. Do not name the family or add detail beyond what's published; if Brandyn knows the family's names, he can add them, otherwise keep it general.

5. Touch 3 must stay at "early / putting together / no finished episodes" for L5P, and "mission-driven media work I've done" for Detroit Action. Do not upgrade either to finished episodes or results until that's actually true. This is the touch most at risk of overclaiming.

6. Touch 4 references the monthly Summit and year-end letters generally. Do not assert specific Summit dates or that a 2026 annual report is in production; frame it as "runs every month" and "right behind it." The Ride for the Westside (a Sept 26 benefit) may have passed by send time — keep any reference to "the next Ride" or drop it.

7. Do not imply WFF is a current client anywhere. It's a cold prospect. The only orgs named in this sequence are WFF itself, Little Five Points (the series), and Detroit Action (as a factual prior relationship, held at "mission-driven media work I've done").

8. Stop the moment they reply. This is a conversation, not a drip. Any response restarts as a real thread and the remaining touches get dropped.

Appendix A — "Home on the Westside" one-page concept

The deliverable for Touch 2. Self-contained; paste into an email or drop into a PDF/Google Doc.

Home on the Westside — a story-series concept for Westside Future Fund

What it is. A short video feature, one Westside story at a time. A person in their place — a new homeowner on English Avenue, a longtime Vine City resident who stayed, a Summit morning full of people who've been here for generations — then a 60-second cut they can use anywhere.

Why it fits the work. WFF's mission is rebuilding five neighborhoods without displacing the people who've always lived in them. A website states that. A story shows it. "Home on the Westside" makes the person-and-place story the unit of communication instead of the program description. It's also the kind of evidence a grant report and a donor letter want. Funders read about impact all day. A face behind the word "impact" beats a paragraph.

Story starters, straight from WFF's own work.

A Home on the Westside move-in, from the family getting the keys
The "two new homeowners on English Avenue" moment, told by the people it happened to
A longtime Vine City resident who stayed, and the property-tax assistance that helped
A Transform Westside Summit morning, told by the people in the room
The Ride for the Westside, as a donor moment on camera

What a donor gets.

A reason to give again: the person behind the mission
A shareable piece that does the asking for the org

What WFF gets.

Donor cultivation and retention: the second gift is the hard one, and it's earned with a face
Grant-ready footage: impact shown instead of described
A library ready for the next annual report and the year-end letters

How it runs. One story a month, shot in place, no production footprint on the staff. WFF picks the story. The story comes out of whatever the person actually cares about. No staff time, no production budget to get started.

Where to start. The first one is on Ghost Coast Video. After that, the rhythm gets figured out together.

Notes for Brandyn

Appendix A is ready to deploy as a one-page PDF or Google Doc for Touch 2. The "story starters" section is the part that makes it WFF-specific rather than a generic nonprofit one-pager.
Strongest touch if only one gets sent: Touch 1 (the two-new-homeowners moment), because it's drawn from WFF's own current Stories of Impact feed and names the exact headline their comms team already wrote. Touch 4 (year-end + Summit) is the close second because it's tied to the donor/annual-report calendar, which is the thing Shalon actually owns.
Detroit Action stays soft. It's referenced in Touch 3 only as "mission-driven media work I've done." Do not upgrade to a case study or a results claim. If Brandyn wants to name it more concretely, he should confirm the current state of that retainer first.
The Ride for the Westside is a real Sept 26 benefit but may be stale by send time. I kept it out of the touches except as a story-starter in Appendix A ("as a donor moment on camera"). If the next Ride is already announced, swap in the real date.
Downstream asks stay held until a real conversation, per the first-touch draft: paid recurring series, Summit coverage, annual-report production, grant-report video. None of these appear as asks in this sequence.
No fabricated clients, metrics, program counts, housing units, or dates anywhere. Only WFF's own published facts are named: the five neighborhoods, the "without displacing" mission line, Home on the Westside (including property-tax assistance), the monthly Transform Westside Summit, the Ride for the Westside, and the "two new homeowners" Stories of Impact post.