Breakthrough T1D Illinois Gala 2024
Background: As part of Zeno Chicago’s long-standing pro bono partnership with Breakthrough T1D Illinois — formerly JDRF Illinois (Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation), the foremost chapter of the leading global type 1 diabetes advocacy organization — Nina oversaw strategic communications and event support for the chapter’s flagship annual fundraiser: the Breakthrough T1D Illinois Gala. Held each December at McCormick Place, the event convenes donors, corporate partners and community leaders to raise critical funds for type 1 diabetes research.
The 2024 gala coincided with a pivotal milestone: the organization’s national rebrand from JDRF to Breakthrough T1D — a strategic evolution designed to modernize the brand and better reflect the lifelong nature of the disease.
Execution: Nina directed the gala’s communications strategy, overseeing blue carpet media logistics and driving pre-event media outreach to elevate chapter leadership and reinforce the organization’s national rebrand.
She intentionally embedded the transition from JDRF to Breakthrough T1D into local storytelling, ensuring coverage contextualized the name change and positioned the Illinois chapter as a key driver of the organization’s national rebrand.
In parallel, Nina mobilized Zeno agency and client partners to secure 56 donated silent auction packages valued at nearly $10,000 — the largest contribution in Zeno’s history supporting the event.
Impact: The 2024 gala raised more than $18.5 million in a single evening — becoming the highest-grossing fundraising event in Breakthrough T1D’s national history and marking the Illinois chapter’s eighth consecutive record-breaking year.
Nina’s media strategy amplified the organization’s brand evolution at a pivotal moment — increasing community awareness of the rebrand, clarifying its modernized mission and deepening engagement across the broader T1D community.
Broadcast coverage on WLS-TV (ABC Chicago, IL) and WGN-TV (CW Chicago) spotlighted the brand transition, chapter leadership and local impact across Chicagoland. By aligning communications strategy with a historic fundraising milestone, Nina ensured the organization’s rebrand was clearly understood and embraced at a defining moment of visibility.
