YMCA Day of Giving Digital Campain

[ about ]

As YMCAs from coast to coast continued to struggle with the ongoing financial impacts of the pandemic, a nationwide Day of Giving was planned for March 2, 2021. YMCA of the USA provided local marketing teams with graphic design assets, photography, and messaging. However, this date conflicted with Greater Somerset County YMCA’s well-orchestrated annual giving campaign—the active, public-facing portion was just six weeks long, from late February to early April each year. Greater Somerset County YMCA chose, instead, to host its own day of giving on April 12, 2021, in coordination with the end of its philanthropic campaigning period.

APPROACH & OUTCOME

A comprehensive integrated marketing communications plan was crafted and executed. Custom messaging, graphics, and additional elements were required to successfully bring this omnichannel plan to life. For efficiency and visual cohesion, existing infographics and photography used in Greater Somerset County YMCA’s 2020 Impact Report (heavily used in the active portion of the Annual Campaign) were repurposed and incorporated into the Day of Giving campaign’s tactics and messaging, including a gift-matching donor for an added sense of urgency.

Tactics deployed included: a persistent alert bar at the top of every page of the Greater Somerset County YMCA website; a website popup alert box with graphics, messaging, and a call to action button; organic social media posts on Facebook, Instagram, X/Twitter, and LinkedIn scheduled throughout the day; video content posted as Reels on Facebook and Instagram; emails deployed to current and past YMCA members; paid Facebook ads with a “Donate Now” button; as well as a virtual volunteer toolkit containing pre-written social media post copy, graphics, photos, and video content for volunteers to use as the basis for their own personal posts in support of the Day of Giving.

Messaging and cadence leaned into the sense of urgency in marcom tactics—authentically created thanks to an anonymous gift-matching donor. Consistent use of color, graphics, and messaging supported awareness, interest, and action. Boosted Facebook posts with complimentary giving messaging were scheduled to surround the Day of Giving. Timely organic social media updates throughout the day helped support the sense of excitement and drive engagement. As the Day of Giving concluded, the $10,000 Day of Giving goal was met, annual campaign fundraising was not disrupted, and the Y was able to raise the most funds possible to help the most people possible as the pandemic was taking its hold on everyday life.

This project is an example of the player-coach role I pivoted into while at Greater Somerset County YMCA as the organization recovered from impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, including significantly reduced staffing levels in areas like marketing, finance, and HR.

MY ROLE

Project Lead, Social Media Marketing & Web Design

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS & TOOLS

• Strategy: Audience Segmentation | Brand Differentiation | Brand Messaging | Brand Stewardship | Brand Storytelling | Campaign Management | Communications Planning | Conceptual Thinking | Cross-Functional Collaboration | Customer Experience (CX) Strategy | Customer-Centric Mindset | External Communications | Integrated Marketing Communications | Multi-channel Marketing | Nonprofit Marketing | Partnership Branding | Project Management | Stakeholder Management | Strategic Marketing & Planning | Word-of-Mouth Influence
• Creative & Production: Budget Management | Content Creation | Creative Development | Digital Marketing | Email Marketing | Event Promotion | Social Media Marketing | Web Design
• Tools: Adobe Photoshop | Daxko Engage Email/Marketing Automation | Google Docs | Google Sheets | Hootsuite Social Media Management | MarTech Stack Proficiency | Meta Ads Manager (Facebook & Instagram) | Microsoft Word | SMS Campaigns