Bethany

There are over 140 million orphans in the world. That's 17 New York Cities. A huge need for these kids to find permanent, loving homes exist. However, many families never consider adoption. And, those who do soon encounter a long and difficult process.

Whiteboard partnered with Bethany, the largest adoption agency in the country, to better understand what motivates a person to consider adoption and, ultimately, adopt. We led a qualitative, ethnographic research project talking to families who had considered adoption but decided to abandon the process or never start it, as well as families who completed the adoption process. We found that most people viewed the adoption process as long, complex, and expensive, and that most viewed adoption as something you did to 'get a child.' Through our interviews, we discovered an interesting thread among families who had adopted: for them, adoption was a 'calling.' Based on this insight, we flipped the narrative from 'can I get a child' to 'adoption is a calling to help a child find a home.' We created a strategy for a national campaign that promoted this narrative and designed and managed the campaign for two years, extending it beyond Bethany's services by assembling strategic partnerships with top non-profits.