Polaris Marketing Research Supports International Literacy Day

Polaris Marketing Research Supports International Literacy Day



Atlanta Marketing Research Company helps nonprofit improve fund-raising efforts.



Atlanta, GA (PRWEB) September 20, 2009



Marketing research company, Polaris Marketing Research, Inc., (polarismr. com) announced today their involvement in helping Literacy Action, Inc. celebrate International Literacy Day on September 8, 2009.



Polaris Marketing Research staff David Jean-Baptiste and Helen Pham designed an HTML-template that was sent to the email lists of the organization and its trustees, raising much-needed donations. In addition, the organization made its own donation to support Literacy Action's efforts.



Literacy Action's Executive Director Emily Ellison said, "Nonprofit organizations such as Literacy Action have been dramatically impacted by the downturn in the nation's economy. Fortunately, we have loyal supporters like Polaris Marketing Research, who help to fill infrastructure gaps that are often part of the day-to-day realities of nonprofit life. For example, this year on International Literacy Day (September 8), Debra Semans and her colleagues at Polaris helped to create an email blast about Literacy Day that could be used by our trustees in reaching out to their contacts. As a result of that blast, we netted approximately $2,000 in online contributions in a matter of a few hours. We had neither the technical expertise nor the time to do this as a staff, and the email blast would not have been possible without the help of Polaris. In addition, the folks at Polaris understand how significantly functional illiteracy impacts individuals, families, companies, and entire communities, and their support of our mission and the resources they provide to us are enormous. For this ongoing support, I am profoundly grateful."



Literacy Action provides free instruction in math, reading, and writing skills enabling students to progress in their journey toward self-sufficiency. Literacy Action is supported by such companies as Georgia Pacific, Turner Broadcasting and Cox Enterprises. Annually, 80 percent of Literacy Action's students increase two grade levels, increasing their productivity and independence. Some important facts about adult literacy:

 A rise of 1 percent in literacy scores leads to a 2.5 percent rise in GDP per person (The Economist, August 28, 2004).  America could save more than $17 billion in Medicaid and other expenditures for health care for the uninsured by graduating all students from high school. (Alliance for Excellent Education, 2006).  There are approximately 40 million functionally illiterate adults in the United State.



"Many people don't understand the severity of the adult illiteracy problem in our society and its economic impact. We were delighted to join with such a strong organization in this important work. The Polaris team did a great job for Literacy Action and I am very proud of them", said company founder and President, Jan Carlson. Polaris Senior Vice President Debra Semans serves on Literacy Action's Board of Trustees and is Co-Chair of the Marketing and Advocacy Committee.



If you would like more information about Literacy Action, Inc., visit literacyaction. org



About the Marketing Research Company (http://www. polarismr. com? campaign=Sep09) , Polaris Marketing Research:

Founded by Jan Carlson in 1989, Polaris Marketing Research is a full-service firm that provides state-of-the-art online interactive marketing research reporting, interviewing and data collection, quantitative and qualitative research expertise and personalized project management.



Atlanta-based Polaris Marketing Research is affiliated with the Council of American Survey Research Organizations, the American Marketing Association and the American Society for Quality.



For more information about Polaris and its services, contact Dianne Hill at 404-816-0353 or visit polarismr. com.



###