Supporting Schools, One Backpack at a Time: How the Ohio Lottery Used Communication and Community Engagement to Advance Public Education in Cuyahoga County

When most people think of a state lottery, they think of numbers, jackpots, and instant games. But in Ohio, the Lottery has long played another, less visible role: funding the state’s public schools. The challenge? Making that role feel real, relevant, and personal to the communities it serves.

That’s where the “Stuff the Bus” campaign comes in. Every August, the Ohio Lottery mobilizes staff, media partners, nonprofits, and the public in a coordinated school supply drive that delivers thousands of backpacks and learning materials to students in Cuyahoga County. What began as a simple act of seasonal charity has evolved into a powerful strategic communication campaign—one that not only supports education access for under-resourced youth, but also repositions the Lottery as a civic leader and community ally.

By combining hands-on engagement with purposeful messaging, the campaign bridges the gap between funding and impact, reminding residents—and employees—that every lottery ticket is a contribution to Ohio’s future. This case study explores how the Ohio Lottery uses communication, branding, and community partnership to bring its mission to life and redefine public perception in the process.

The Initiative: Structure, Mission, and Governance

Each August, the Ohio Lottery leads a month-long school supply drive—“Stuff the Bus”—to collect backpacks, pencils, notebooks, and other essentials for students in need across the Cleveland area. Anchored in a broader mission to demonstrate how lottery revenues support education, the campaign is more than just a charitable gesture—it’s a strategic communications initiative that engages media, mobilizes local stakeholders, and underscores the Lottery’s identity as a public service organization.

The program is designed around three core objectives:

• Support Education Access: Provide tangible resources for under-resourced students, including newcomers and refugees, to help ensure a successful school year.
• Amplify Community Involvement: Offer multiple ways for individuals and organizations to participate, from supply donations to hosting “mini-build” events.
• Highlight Public Benefit: Reinforce the Ohio Lottery’s role as a funder of public education, turning transactional gaming into a message of civic investment.

While the Ohio Lottery organizes the initiative at the state level, local implementation is county-led, with active collaboration from:

• School districts (e.g., Cleveland Metropolitan, Parma City Schools)
• Media partners (especially FOX 8, which serves as a major collection hub)
• Nonprofits like Shoes and Clothes for Kids, which handle logistics and distribution
• Community venues, such as libraries and credit unions, that help promote and host events

A Communication-Centered Approach to Bridging Gaps

Narrative Framing and Message Development

The cornerstone of the “Stuff the Bus” campaign is its compelling narrative: your lottery ticket—and your community action—directly supports Ohio’s students. This message is built on the Ohio Lottery’s established role as a funder of public education, transforming that abstract fiscal contribution into a tangible call to action. Through this campaign, the Lottery shifts its image from being a state-run gaming agency to that of a community partner reinvesting in children’s futures. The campaign’s language emphasizes urgency and shared responsibility, encouraging people not just to give, but to feel part of a collective effort. Core messaging such as “Support local kids, one backpack at a time” and “Help us Stuff the Bus for Cleveland students” is reinforced across materials and platforms, always circling back to the broader theme of public good. This emotional framing turns a supply drive into a community movement, helping to normalize and celebrate back-to-school giving as a civic duty.

Multi-Channel Communication Execution

The campaign uses a coordinated multi-channel communication strategy to maximize reach and engagement. Television serves as a central amplifier, with FOX 8 Cleveland producing live and pre-recorded segments from the collection site at their studio headquarters. These segments often include interviews with Lottery representatives, volunteers, and school leaders, creating a media-friendly narrative that blends feel-good human interest with institutional credibility. Social media platforms are used to reinforce these messages with more frequent updates and user engagement—short videos of mini-build events, staff packing boxes, or students receiving backpacks are shared on Instagram, Facebook, and X (formerly Twitter), often with tailored captions for different audience segments. Meanwhile, traditional PR tools like press releases, photo ops, and end-of-campaign recaps are distributed to local outlets and partner newsletters, extending the story beyond a single event. Internally, the Lottery’s employee engagement team uses newsletters, intranet bulletins, and posters in staff areas to encourage participation, reinforcing that this campaign is a core part of the organization’s cultural identity.

Audience Segmentation and Targeting

Recognizing that the campaign resonates with multiple constituencies, the communication plan segments and tailors messaging for each. For general residents of Northeast Ohio, the primary call-to-action is centered on local impact—donate supplies, drop them off nearby, and know they go directly to kids in your city. For Lottery players, messaging integrates brand value—reminding them that proceeds from ticket sales help support the infrastructure for campaigns like this, as part of the Lottery’s ongoing commitment to education. For Lottery employees, communications highlight the pride and ownership of being directly involved. Internal campaign messages include volunteer sign-ups, thank-you emails from leadership, and stories spotlighting staff who participate. For institutional partners, such as banks or credit unions who host drop boxes, messaging underscores community leadership and corporate citizenship. This segmentation ensures that each participant feels seen, acknowledged, and integral to the campaign’s success.

Visual Identity and Brand Integration

Visual consistency plays a crucial role in reinforcing the campaign’s identity and strengthening message recall. The “Stuff the Bus” campaign uses a vibrant, school-themed aesthetic—bright colors, backpack imagery, and chalkboard-style fonts—to maintain a tone that is both playful and purpose-driven. Collection bins are wrapped in custom graphics, while volunteers and staff often wear branded t-shirts and badges during events. These assets are not only eye-catching but also signal legitimacy and coordination, encouraging participation by building trust. Online, the same graphics are adapted for use in social tiles, Instagram stories, and paid digital ads. Video content features recognizable backdrops like school parking lots, the FOX 8 studio, or Ohio Lottery offices, ensuring continuity across mediums. Every asset subtly reinforces the Lottery’s identity as both the organizer and funder of the campaign, tying the act of giving to the broader institutional brand promise.

Community Engagement Tactics

A defining feature of the “Stuff the Bus” campaign is its reliance on authentic community engagement, particularly through what the Ohio Lottery calls “mini-build” events. These are small-scale gatherings hosted by workplaces, civic groups, or nonprofits where participants assemble backpacks from the donated supplies. These events offer a more tactile and relational way to contribute, transforming donation into participation. Messaging around these events is focused on empowerment—“Host your own mini-build,” “Bring your team together for a great cause”—and provides step-by-step toolkits for organizing and promoting the events. In addition, the campaign benefits from the visibility and influence of school officials and local leaders who publicly endorse and participate in the campaign. These endorsements are often shared via video or quotes on social media, helping to bridge institutional trust and public enthusiasm. The strategy here is clear: build momentum through small wins, and let those wins cascade through social sharing and word-of-mouth.

Employee Engagement and Internal Communications

Beyond public-facing efforts, the campaign succeeds in part because of its strong internal culture of participation. Ohio Lottery leadership actively promotes the initiative across internal communication channels, reinforcing that community service is part of the organizational DNA. Staff newsletters share reminders about drop-off deadlines, spotlights on past participants, and totals from each regional office’s contributions. Employees are not only encouraged to donate supplies but also to serve as campaign ambassadors—volunteering at public events, staffing collection tables, and assisting with post-event sorting. In a recent campaign, for instance, Ohio Lottery employees contributed 11 full boxes of supplies via FOX 8’s donation drive, a milestone recognized internally with thank-you messages and event photos. This dual approach—donate and participate—helps build morale, deepen staff investment, and align internal culture with the Lottery’s external messaging.

Why It Worked

“Stuff the Bus” thrives because it combines purposeful messaging with authentic community presence:

• Localized Impact: Supplies are distributed directly to Cleveland-area schools, making donors feel a direct connection to their contribution.
• Emotional Resonance: Positioning the campaign around helping students in need—especially newcomers and vulnerable populations—adds urgency and humanity.
• Message Alignment: The campaign’s narrative reinforces the core public promise of the Ohio Lottery: Funding education across Ohio.

Impact and Replication

Outcomes

• Thousands of students served annually in Cuyahoga County school districts.
• Increased public visibility of the Lottery’s education funding role.
• Deeper community engagement, including employee volunteerism and new partnerships with nonprofit and media groups.

Model for Replication

The Ohio Lottery’s “Stuff the Bus” approach offers a replicable template for other state agencies:

• Leverage community hubs (e.g., media stations, libraries) for outreach and collection.
• Coordinate with school districts to ensure equitable and targeted distribution.
• Embed brand messaging within service campaigns to reinforce public benefit narratives.

Communication Lessons from the Ohio Lottery’s Public Campaign

1. Connect the Dots for the Public: People respond to tangible outcomes—linking lottery play to student backpacks creates a visible, relatable story.
2. Make it Easy to Participate: Clear instructions, convenient drop-off sites, and short-term commitments encourage broader participation.
3. Let Staff Lead by Example: Internal champions energize the campaign and model civic responsibility.
4. Use Trusted Messengers: FOX 8 brought credibility and reach to the campaign, helping it transcend Lottery audiences.

Conclusion: Reframing the Lottery’s Role Through Service

The “Stuff the Bus” campaign illustrates how a state agency can move beyond its transactional identity to become a trusted community partner. Through strategic communication, employee participation, and authentic partnerships, the Ohio Lottery demonstrates that public service is not just a byproduct of its operations—it’s central to its mission. In doing so, the campaign redefines the Lottery’s public image from a gaming enterprise to a civic institution grounded in educational support.

This initiative makes the Ohio Lottery’s vision—to enrich communities through education-focused reinvestment—tangible for both the public and its workforce. By transforming abstract concepts like “education funding” into visible, emotionally resonant acts of service, the campaign strengthens the Lottery’s core message: Every ticket contributes to Ohio’s future. It’s not just about dollars in a fund—it’s about backpacks in the hands of students, confidence on the first day of school, and a shared investment in the next generation.

The impact is deeply felt internally as well. The 11 full boxes of school supplies collected and packed by Lottery employees at FOX 8 are more than just a data point—they symbolize how staff embody the agency’s values. Participation in the campaign gives employees a direct role in fulfilling the Lottery’s mission, reinforcing pride, purpose, and connection to the broader community. It also reminds internal teams that their work goes beyond administrative tasks—it’s part of a system that supports learning, opportunity, and equity for Ohio’s children.

Ultimately, “Stuff the Bus” is more than a campaign—it’s a blueprint for how state agencies can integrate service, storytelling, and stakeholder engagement to deepen public trust and internal alignment. The Ohio Lottery’s approach shows that when communication and mission intersect, the result is not only stronger public awareness, but a more inspired and unified organization.

In the process, it reinforces a compelling narrative: Every ticket contributes to Ohio’s future.

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