But WHIN had nothing to put in front of a major donor that communicated the scale of what it had built. Its existing materials read like internal documents. The story was extraordinary. The way it was being told was not.
The brief, stripped down, was this: create an annual portfolio capable of supporting a million-dollar gift conversation.
Discovery & Strategy
After meeting with Charles Ortiz, Founder and Executive Director, Paul Goldberg, Director of Development, and the WHIN team, PlanetFab recognized that this could not be approached as a conventional annual portfolio.
It needed to function as a fundraising instrument.
We designed every decision backward from that objective: structure, copy, typography, photography, headlines, and pacing. Every element was developed for one reader—a prospective donor who cared deeply, had options, and needed to understand both the scale of WHIN’s accomplishments and the stakes of its next chapter.
The Concept
LOVE ALWAYS WHINS
The concept captured the spirit of the school and gave the annual portfolio its emotional center.
The cover features a child’s hand and the scroll of a cello forming a heart, translating LOVE ALWAYS WHINs into a single image.
The Annual Portfolio
PlanetFab wrote the copy, directed the creative, and designed the complete 24-page annual portfolio.
The portfolio organizes WHIN’s story, accomplishments, and financial information into a clear case for major-donor support.
Structure, typography, photography, headlines, and financial pages work together to make WHIN’s story clear, credible, and emotionally compelling for prospective donors.
The Companion Trifold
PlanetFab also created a companion trifold designed to carry WHIN’s story into donor conversations where the complete annual portfolio could not be present.
The smaller format gave the WHIN team a concise, portable introduction to the school while extending the creative direction of the annual portfolio.
The Outcome
WHIN’s leadership and board said the annual portfolio was the first piece they had that truly reflected the soul of their school.
Paul Goldberg, WHIN’s Director of Development, described the finished books as “absolutely spectacular” and shared that a vice president of marketing at Carnegie Hall had been full of compliments.
The annual portfolio and companion trifold now give WHIN materials it can confidently place in front of prospective major donors.
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