Strategic plan
PHILADELPHIA OBITUARY PROJECT
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Philadelphia Obituary Project was started in 2016 by founder Cletus Lyman after he recognized that homicide victims were rarely mentioned in the media and the deaths were largely unnoticed by the greater public. Each life had a meaning and value, and the Obit Project seeks to honor those who lost their lives to homicide by writing positive profiles of victims. The Obit Project is the only organization in the U.S. creating and publishing these life profiles.
Since launching, the Obit Project has published more than 300 memorial profiles of victims on its website and social media channels. In 2023, more than 90,000 unique visitors came to the site, and the highest-viewed profile has more than 17,000 views. The visibility of these memorials helps give peace to the victims’ loved ones, creates a broader awareness of the ever-increasing number of homicides, and brings attention to unsolved cases.
The Obit Project’s Board of Directors currently has three members, one executive director, a research coordinator and several freelance writers. Currently, the Obit Project produces and posts one profile a week on average, plus a handful of other stories to its blog. This is insufficient to address the huge number of victims that deserve to be recognized.
As a relatively new organization with a limited number of supporters, fundraising is both necessary and difficult. It will be critical to establish relationships with other organizations to both broaden the Obit Project’s reach and enhance its reputation. The following Strategic Plan addresses the efforts to grow capacity through more resources and financial support.
MISSION STATEMENT
The Philadelphia Obituary Project is the only organization in the U.S. dedicated to memorializing the victims of homicide. Focused on Philadelphia, we treat victims as individuals rather than statistics by writing positive stories that honor their lives, bring more attention to unsolved cases, comfort families, and diminish community violence. Our efforts fill a gap in the local media market, where these stories are routinely ignored.
SWOT
Strengths: – Growing readership – Serving community – Part of local victim advocacy community – Positive public response to work in the community – Supportive response from local and national media coverage | Weaknesses: – Lack of funding – Difficult to find relevant grants – Readership lacks financial means to support – Board lacks diversity, breadth and economic resources to indefinitely sustain support – Limited means of measuring impact – Name struggles to communicate mission |
Opportunities: – Partner with other organizations – Leverage established relationships with existing publications and journalism programs – Refine message to be more relevant to grants | Threats: – COVID-19 environment. Potential donors focused on virus-related issues – Lack of interest in homicide victims – Media focus on police violence on Black community |