MPA Strategies

07/11/2024

We thoroughly enjoyed organizing this Walkability and Active Transportation workshop for the South Carolina Department of Public Health and Wholespire. Over 40 people from across South Carolina representing various state agencies, councils of governments, metropolitan planning organizations, and non-profits came together to learn from national planning experts on how to make their communities more walkable and accessible for all.

25/09/2024

It's another important September birthday atMPA Strategies! Happiest of Birthdays to you, Cayci Banks! ❤️

Shes an extrodinary Mom of 4, wife to her high school sweetheart and one of the most creative people we know!

We appreciate you, Cayci! Happy Birthday 🎉

25/09/2024

MPA Strategies' SC Purchasing and Procurement Digest Grant of the Month! 💰

The National Fitness Campaign (NFC) has delivered important outdoor wellness infrastructure to help communities stay active across the country and has committed to another 5,000 outdoor Fitness Courts® by 2030.

This grant is for local governments of all population sizes in SC that are making health a priority for their residents to high schools and college campuses seeking to diversify their wellness and fitness offerings, NFC has grants available to help!

Find out more here: https://bit.ly/3zlVgQd

Interested in applying? Reach out to our Director of Operations and Development, Adrienne Patrick, at [email protected]!

23/09/2024

Are you ready to vote in the November 5 General Election? Make sure to save this post so that you have these important deadlines and resources on hand when you need them!

Voter Registration Deadlines:
In-person at County election office : Oct 4 by 5 pm
Online : Oct 6 by 11:59 pm
By mail: Registration must be postmarked Oct 7

Absentee Ballot Deadlines:
Request ballot: Oct 25 by 5 pm
Return ballot by mail: Received by Nov 5 by 7 pm
Return ballot in person : Nov 5 by 7 pm

Voting Deadlines:
Early voting : Oct 21 - Nov 2
In-person: Nov 5 between 7 am - 7 pm

Register to Vote: https://vote.gov/register/south-carolina

Request your Absentee Ballot: https://scvotes.gov/voters/absentee-voting/

Find out where you vote in person: https://vrems.scvotes.sc.gov/Voter/Login

🇺🇸

15/09/2024

Join us in wishing our dynamic Director of Development & Operations, Adrienne Owings Patrick, a Happy Birthday!

Adrienne is the head of our grant-writing and association management operations and serves as the Executive Director of the South Carolina Green Industry Association. Writing an average of $1M in grants for MPA clients each year and managing large-scale trade shows and events is what Adrienne does best! She is an asset to MPA clients as well as the MPA team!

This UGA Journalism graduate lives in Greenville with her two children and has three wonderful stepdaughters with her husband, Matt. She recently moved her oldest son into Clemson for his freshman year.

If there is anyone who can juggle it all flawlessly, it is definitely you, AP!

Happiest of Birthdays, Adrienne! 🎉🎂♥️

13/08/2024

One of our most fun client events! Find out more and register at scgreen.org!

22/07/2024

Your client had a park renamed after him because of his decades of dedication to conservation, beautification and giving back to the Midlands community! 🥹

Congratulations, Jake!

MBM Senior Partner, Jake Moore, was recognized by the Town of Irmo for his years of dedication to conservation, beautification, literacy and community service.

At the July 16 Irmo Town Council meeting, Jake was surrounded by family and friends as the Town officially announced that the Irmo Community Park was being renamed “Moore Park." Jake also received a Proclamation during the Council presentation citing his “numerous contributions to the betterment of the Irmo Community and the Midlands.” An official plaque will be placed on the amphitheater area of the park about Jake and his countless contributions to the Town of Irmo and the Irmo community.

Jake has been named Ambassador of the Year by the Greater Irmo Chamber of Commerce, Citizen of the Year by the Greater Cayce-West Columbia Chamber, the Golden Acorn Award from the South Carolina Forestry Association, and the Leadership Award from the Mid-Carolina Cooperative Lexington Soil Conservation District.

He is the Founder of the Irmo Arbor Day Committee and a member of the West Columbia Beautification Foundation.

A graduate of Presbyterian College and the USC Joseph F. Rice School of Law, he is a member of the South Carolina Bar, the SC Association for Justice, and the American Board of Trial Advocates. He served as Chairman of the Board of Visitors for the University of South Carolina and taught at USC’s Joseph F. Rice School of Law.

Congratulations, Jake!

17/07/2024

Happy World Emoji Day! 🌎😀

Do you have an emoji that personifies each member of your team? We definitely do!

🙄: Ashley, CEO
Takes on too much, always has a plan, spends a lot of time on her computer, and drives her two very active daughters around in what she calls her Unpaid Uber Gig
Ashley's Honorable Mentions: 🤦🏼‍♀️👩🏼‍💻

🥰: Adrienne, Director of Operations and Development
Overachiever and a Mom of three; organized and remembers all of the details, loved by all MPA clients, and gets the fun job of telling them "You got the funding!!"
Adrienne's Honorable Mentions: 😀🤣

😳: Cayci, Director of Communications
Supermom to 4 children, jack-of-all-trades that's always on the go, sports mom, non-profit queen, creative party-planner; and, her latest venture: she just finished building her family’s forever home!
Cayci's Honorable Mentions: 🤯🏃🏽‍♀️

01/07/2024

It’s Official!

MPA Strategies has been named as the 2024 Best Marketing Firm in South Carolina by the Guide to South Carolina!

When announced, MPA’s Owner and Chief Executive Officer, Ashley Hunter, says that “Having our team recognized across South Carolina as the best in our field is an incredible honor. We strive to provide exceptional marketing services to our clients; and we like to take it a step further by providing them access to grants, project funding, graphic designers, web developers, and a nationally certified crisis communications professional. The additional level of client care and ability to provide businesses with solutions is what makes our team so unique. We will never be the largest firm; but we are the most determined and most passionate about every project we take on.”

MPA offers a variety of services to businesses, associations and government entities, including: public relations, branding, web development, media relations, crisis communications, strategic planning, graphic design, grant writing and association management.

Best of South Carolina winners and nominees are chosen by a combination of readers’ votes and editors’ input, and are vetted through several ranking sites, Better Business Bureau reports, and voting pattern analysis reports. For each industry, there are three tier levels of winners: The Best of South Carolina, Regional Best and Honorable Mention. MPA Strategies was selected for the Best of South Carolina tier, the highest designation given for each statewide category.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY ABOUT WORKING WITH MPA:

Chris Spradley, Partner at Moore Bradley Myers stated “MPA Strategies handled our firm’s rebranding and built a new website. While the MPA team manages all our firm’s marketing and public relations needs, their efforts have also directly led to an increase in new client leads each month.” Spradley continued, “This past year, we tragically lost our friend and law partner, Stanley Myers. The MPA Strategies staff jumped into action by helping to create a foundation to honor Stanley’s legacy, managing all media inquiries, creating banners and graphics for the firm and the family, and promoting the Bike Bonanza and parade in Swansea in Stanley’s honor. We could not have imagined needing their crisis communications services, but as we dealt with this unimaginable loss, we could not have been more thankful for the team at MPA.”

“I appreciate MPA Strategies more than I can adequately articulate. They are the subject matter experts in knowing grant sources and matching them to our local needs. Their work ethic and attention to detail is unparalleled,” exclaimed Kevin Bronson, Westminster City Administrator.

Mark Ables, President of the South Carolina Green Industry Association said, “MPA Strategies revitalized our board. Their work behind the scenes gave us clear direction and the tools we needed to operate, plan, advocate, and budget more efficiently. The horticultural industry in SC wouldn’t be where we are today without them.”

…

01/07/2024

Ever wondered what “MPA” stands for? When we started out, we were McKay Public Affairs and worked with The McKay Firm. The firm was started by Jay’s Grandfather in 1908! We loved our time as McKay Public Affairs; and many just shortened it to MPA. So when we rebranded, we wanted to always remember how we began, the four lawyers and friends that took a chance on us (Jay was one of them and Senior Partner,) and wanted to keep some form of the McKay name.

Jay Mckay, we are so thankful for your guidance and friendship! Happy Birthday ♥️

Join us in wishing the a Happy Birthday today! 🎉🎂🎈🥳

Jay Mckay, we all appreciate your leadership, your guidance and of course your jokes!

Jay is passionate about mentoring young lawyers and supporting the team at the McKay Firm. When he isn’t advocating for clients, you can usually find him on his boat, on a beach or spending time with his sons, family and friends!

Happiest of Birthdays to you, Jay!

21/06/2024

MPA Strategies has a monthly grant digest with pages of grants that your company, local government and nonprofit could apply for to fund your project?

This month we are featuring the Global Impact Cash Grant from Cisco!

This grant offers up to $75,000 for nonprofit organizations that address a significant social problems and focus on the underserved.

Want to know more about this and other grants you could qualify for? Find out how to subscribe to our monthly grants and funding opportunities publication, the South Carolina Purchasing & Procurement Digest, by reaching out to Adrienne Patrick, MPAs VP of Operations and Development at [email protected]!

09/06/2024

Congratulations to Cayci Banks!

04/06/2024

Struggling with writing a grant application and don’t where to start? Check out this blog post our very own Adrienne Owings Patrick wrote for Wholespire, a statewide non-profit working to ensure everyone in South Carolina has access to healthy choices.

Read here for grant writing tips (or give Adrienne a call….she knows her stuff!): https://wholespire.org/tips-to-consider-when-writing-a-wholespire-grant-proposal/

22/05/2024

Did you know MPA puts out a monthly grants publication with over 100 current grant opportunities for municipalities and non-profits? These grants cover a wide array of community and non-profit projects such as the upcoming Dominion Energy Charitable Foundation grant that provides financial support for environmental, education, and community vitality projects.

Many people don’t know where to look for various pots of money at the federal, state, local, and corporative-giving levels. Our Digest takes care of that for you. We also have a certified grant writer on our team to help develop your grant applications.

Interested in learning more? Contact Adrienne, our Director of Development, at [email protected]!