In 2017, Tate Manahl was run over by the lawn mower his dad was operating. Critically injured, he was taken to Covenant Medical Center in Waterloo, then life flighted to University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital. After 43 days in the hospital and a total of 30 surgeries, Tate’s legs were able to be saved. Read more about Tate’s story here.
As Tate’s parents, Ryan and Fonda, went through this challenging time, they learned just how little awareness there is about lawn mower safety. They wanted to do something about this. When one of the firefighters on the scene of Tate’s accident, Jeff Danielson, and leader of the Safe Kids Cedar Valley Coalition, Mary Janssen, approached Ryan about starting a non-profit, he readily agreed. He had realized how much people need to be educated on lawn mower safety because accidents like Tate’s are extremely common. In fact, lawn mower accidents are the number one cause of childhood amputation. They put together a board of directors with a wide variety of knowledge and the foundation Tate’s Army was born. The team is full of passion for their mission to keep children safe, and they work tirelessly to prevent lawn mower accidents from happening to innocent children.
The biggest event that Tate’s Army hosts each year is their golf tournament. After the accident, Prairie Links Golf Course and Event Center in Waverly reached out to the Manahls offering their help and support. Since then, they have raised money and awareness by bringing people together to golf, while also having a silent auction and a dinner. Last year, the Life Flight helicopter from University of Iowa hospital was actually able to fly into the golf course and greet participants, and Tate.
Building the Brand
Ryan had a connection through a workout group at UNI to the owner of Mudd Advertising, Jim Mudd. Jim connected Ryan with one of this employees and he designed the logo. Ryan’s one request was that the color orange was included because that was Tate’s favorite color at the time. The first logo version that the Manahls saw was with the logo they have now, with the child and the star. They did one revision where the child had a prosthetic leg, but reverted it back to the design they use now.
Spreading the Word
The biggest struggle Tate’s Army faces regarding their marketing is knowing how to best use their funds. The cost of advertising can be high, so they have to be strategic about where their use the money they raise.
As a newer non-profit and kind of small, you try to really concentrate on what you’re doing with your funds, utilizing them as best you can.
Ryan Manahl
Target Audiences
Ryan told me that Tate’s Army differentiates itself from other nonprofits advocating for lawn mower safety by having a specific target audience. Tate’s Army’s goal is to reach people at the point where they buy a lawn mower, while other non-profits send care packages to children after their accidents in the hospital. This year, Ryan’s goal is to have flyers in doctor’s office waiting rooms where children visit at least once a year. They also want to get these flyers in OB/GYN offices to reach expectant parents.
Growing a Non-Profit
The number one tip Ryan had for non-profit growth was using social media to spread awareness about your mission. Get your friends and family to share your content, then have them encourage their friends and family to share, and then you have tons of people who are seeing your content. You don’t want to be pushy with sharing things, but your main goal is likely to gain awareness, so you need people to see your content.
Tate is a Dance Marathon kid, so there are college students involved with Tate’s Army often. If you want to get involved with Tate’s Army, they are always in need of volunteers. Contact them here.
Check out more posts about non-profits in the Cedar Valley here!
this is a great website i didn’t even know about this until i found this website keep doing what your doing!
I’m glad you learned something new! Thanks for reading!