American Red Cross
**Challenge**: The project aimed to tackle the notable gap between the number of blood donors and those in need, especially within the Latino community. Although Latinos represent a large segment of Arizona's population, under 1% of Red Cross blood donors are Latino. Additionally, 57% of Latinos possess type O blood, which is in high demand for trauma cases. Nativa spearheaded initiatives to create partnerships between the American Red Cross and Hispanic organizations and sports teams to facilitate blood donation drives. They also conducted focus groups to gather feedback from the Hispanic community, ensuring their strategies were tailored to meet their needs and preferences.
**Approach**: Nativa adopted a proactive strategy, utilizing personal connections and strategic email outreach to forge partnerships between the ARC and sports teams. They conducted over 20 meetings focused on relationship-building and exploring collaborative opportunities, resulting in the ARC planning more than 10 blood drives in collaboration with 45 teams. The partnership with Phoenix Rising FC, which offered two free tickets to blood donors during a month-long campaign, produced notable outcomes by providing an appealing incentive for participation.
**Results**: Nativa's proactive approach successfully engaged prominent Hispanic organizations and sports teams, such as the Houston Dynamo, Phoenix Rising, and Prospanica, effectively advancing the ARC's mission. Through its partnership with Phoenix Rising FC, Nativa's blood drive campaign achieved 75% of its goal, received media attention, and distributed over 420 tickets to donors, including community leaders like Adrian Fontes. Nativa's focus groups, which included 61 organizations, provided essential insights into the attitudes of Hispanic Americans toward blood donation, informing the ARC's outreach strategies. These results affirm Nativa's approach and emphasize the potential for meaningful collaborations to assist the ARC's mission.