To help us reach the next level in our quest to bring post-secondary education opportunities to young adults with intellectual disabilities, perhaps the time is right to present our case directly to the parents.

The funding is there, but we need to let them know it's there.

The marketing communications process is relatively simple:
1. We need to reach the right people.
2. Create a non-threatening vehicle to give them a basic knowledge and make them want to learn more.
3. Set up a series of events where they can be with others in their situation and gain a better understanding of their options.
4. And maybe in the process we can even impact and bring improvements in secondary education's ability to prepare the kids for college.

Depending on how good our database is, we may be able to skip advertising for more targeted communications such as direct mail. Perhaps posters and flyers in secondary schools. PR activity in local newspapers and on local TV.

The goal is to create awareness for our mission and encourage ... (next slide)

... And encourage our audience to seek more information ... in the form of a 2-to-3 minute video that introduces what we do and demonstrates its value and benefits.

Video can be hosted on YouTube or Vimeo online services ... and it concludes with an invitation to visit a website where they can learn more and register for a learning event in their area.

Added value: the video can be used in a number of more personal settings as an introduction to CTC?

The event is 3-4 hours, and it's a soup-to-nuts review of what, why and how, designed to lead the parents to next or final steps toward application.

A higher level of awareness among parents will likely spread and can have an impact secondary education resources, and we can hope that may lead to better and more effective programs at the preparatory level for our students.

The plan is to begin in late Q4 and early 2014, effectively barnstorming the state with the five participating universities. If we're to begin later this year, now is the time to begin creating materials, from the video to the communications tools.

The goal is to increase the pool of qualified candidates, to bring what we've proven we can do to a larger number of families.