Give a Square, Grow our Community
Organic social media campaign to raise $35K
Research, Strategy, Concepts, Pitch, Creative Direction, Naming, Branding, Motion Graphics, Digital Design Assets, Print Collateral
Ae Pr Ps Id
Wide Angle Youth Media is a nonprofit in Baltimore, Maryland whose mission is cultivating and amplifying the voices of Baltimore youth through media arts. With hopes to serve more youth, the nonprofit embarked on an ambitious capital campaign to kickstart the expansion of its media lab.
Immersing myself in the purpose was as necessary as understanding the practicalities of the expansion which ultimately inspired my strategy and design. The how became just as important as the why. I was captured by the idea that 721 sq. ft. could make such a big impact and also, by the energy, learning, and life-changing moments that were already happening in every square foot of the current space. I wanted to bring the project and the purpose together using the power of storytelling.
My biggest challenges were budget and reach. The organization wanted to keep the fundraising efforts at low to no cost and among its current stakeholders. I decided an organic social media campaign would inspire current followers and allies to give and additionally create an opportunity to easily share content and grow the social media following.
In studying the program's social media audience, I discovered the majority of its reach is families, colleagues, and community supporters. With a goal to get people to give, my strategy was to considered reasons that would keep them from giving.
From my list of reasons, I chose to structure my strategy around the possibility that people may not give because the monetary ask or the need itself may seem too big for them to have an impact. Leading potential givers to feel like their contribution couldn't make a difference.
Grandmothers, neighbors, students—I wanted everyone to feel like they could do something big with something small. I wanted people to feel like they could make an impact even if they gave just one square foot. Truly, this would be a community effort.
Every square foot of WAYM was already activated with education, engaging discussion, mentorship, cohorts, and workforce development. My strategy became a quest to inspire people to give a square with a storytelling approach.
I captured photography and video of the program in action. Using the empty square mark I designed as an overlay worked to draw focus and bring cohesiveness across all the digital assets as they were posted on multiple platforms episodically.
Together with the team at WAYM, we implemented a fun and engaging giving structure on their Network for Good platform. With the click of a link, anyone could give. The levels of giving offered contributors the options to give per square foot. A contribution as small as $35 would give a square foot, supporting the idea that even just one square foot makes an impact.
Including the youth of the program in the campaign was important in making this a community effort. Their excitement and participation nurtured a spirit of community and ultimately pride as they began to see the goals being met. Each cohort agreed on a square foot goal to raise and was supplied with customizable, branded campaign cards printed in-house to distribute to family, teachers, and friends.
Throughout the branding and design process, I was purposeful to create flexible assets. It was important that the square mark itself could function as a campaign logo, break apart and animate, hold the organization's logo for profile image use, and overlay any media content we post.
“Thanks to the generous support of over 160 donors, we exceeded our giving goal.
The expansion saw a record-breaking enrollment of youth, hosted and strengthen ties between our video, photography, photojournalism, and design cohorts, increased opportunities for cross-discipline collaborations, and introduce new media disciplines. The Give A Square campaign truly grew a community of aspiring media makers.”
-WAYM Marketing and Communications Team
