South

Harbor Renaissance

STRATEGIC
COMMUNICATIONS

PLAN 2016
Hannah Spurrier
Georgetown University | Public Relations & Corporate Communications
May 2016

Table of Contents.

Executive Summary ..2
Background .3
Situation Analysis 10
Core Problem..10
Goal ..10
Objectives .10
Key Publics 11
Brand Positioning 14
Framing ..14
Messages ..14
Strategies and Tactics ..18
Calendar..24
Budget..25
Measurement and Evaluation 26
Creative Materials ..28
Appendix .. 33

SWOT Analysis

Additional Resources and Recommendations

References

South Harbor Renaissance

Executive Summary.
Causes are inherently social, inspiring people to rally their communities and
share their personal stories and the mission of the organization.
Randy Hawthorne, Nonprofit Hub

ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. #PrayforParis profile pictures. Always #LikeaGirl campaign. What do
these all have in common? They are great causes with great social momentum.

Right now, South Harbor Renaissance (SHR) lacks the brand awareness needed to receive more
donations, volunteers and recognition. Most of the community believes the city is responsible
for maintaining the park, which overshadows SHRs fundraising, online traction and event
participation. Without the means to engage the community online and nurture the donor
relationship offline, new donations will not come in and park improvements will not happen.

But there are vast opportunities to excite and entice all generations of the neighborhood to
increase awareness and donations. How does a small, but well-deserving nonprofit win the
hearts and wallets of Federal Hill?

Create a cause that is social, shareable and satisfying.

The park is naturally a social place. Families play with their kids, retired locals take quiet strolls,
twenty-somethings run up the stairs for their workouts. It is easy to create experiences,
relationships and content around the park instead of just asking the community to donate to it.

Federal Hill is the communitys welcome mat. The neighborhood greeting. The proverbial
handshake between locals and tourists. Residents want to feel connected to their
neighborhoods icon. Once they are immersed in the history and the significance to the
neighborhood, they will be willing to give their time and money to help SHRs cause.

I plan to increase the number of social media channels and followers with valuable content as
part of this plan. Offline efforts include happy hours and volunteer events to increase in person
participation and conversation. It is all about getting the word out about how important this
organization is to the ecosystem to Federal Hill.

In order to reach our goal, we will begin our efforts in May 2016 and track our goals until May
2017. From there, optimization will happen for the next year. Efforts in advertising, events, and
public outreach will be an estimated $4,000, which will include all hired help, materials and
digital upkeep.

South Harbor Renaissance

Background.
External Environment
The current Federal Hill environment recycles 25 to 34-year-olds throughout the city, but
building a sense of community can help turn the city into a home for the long term (1). The
21230 zip code population reaches almost 33,000 residents, evenly distributed between male
and females with the median age of 31. Residents are well-educated; over 4,500 residents have
a college degree and over 4,300 have an advanced degree. The median income for 25 to 44-
year-olds is almost $70,000. There are a total of 3,400 households with children in the area. In
comparison, over half of the total residents are single and without children (2).

While young Millennials are enjoying the nightlife and bar crawls in the area, older locals are
frustrated about the noise and traffic resulting from these events. It is a collision of the younger
temporary generation who thrive on entertainment and the older, permanent residents who
wish to respect the place they call home. Recent feedback on the South Baltimore Neighbors
Page noted:
Many homeowners in Federal Hill and neighboring communities have expressed
concerns about traffic and crowds that result from bar crawls and other events that
have earned a reputation from getting out of control. Not only is this a quality of life
issue for residents that have invested time and money improving historic properties in
Federal Hill, the size and unruly nature of the crowds is fast becoming a public safety
issue. During many of these events too many people dont feel that their neighborhood
is being respected and many do not feel safe (3).

In addition to the park, Rash Field provides recreational space at the base of Federal Hill. The
Baltimore Waterfront Partnership, a competitor of SHR, is responsible for maintenance and has
a $4 million renovation plan in progress. It carries a louder social presence at this time. The
redesign is going to turn the underutilized area into an attractive destination in the Inner
Harbor, which will keep the volleyball courts and tourist center in place (4). With the competing
renovations and clash of generations, attracting residents attention will require tactical and
engaging means.

Nonprofit Industry
About 28% of Maryland residents volunteered an average of 31 hours in 2014. Over half of
these residents donated $25 or more to charity. Volunteer rates in Baltimore have increased 2%
between 2013 and 2014. The top places residents tend to volunteer include religious
organizations (29.2%), educational services (27.2%), social services (15.4%), and sports/art
activities (13.5%). Volunteers participate in the following top activities: food distribution
(23.4%), mentoring youth (21%), fundraising (19.9%), and tutoring (19.8%) (5).

Today, the nonprofit marketing landscape is sleek, technological and issue-focused. Nonprofit
experiences have become more social, with more peer support by both high-tech and high-
touch means (6). The 2014 Digital Giving Index shows online giving up 9%, with over half of

South Harbor Renaissance

donations coming through nonprofit giving pages on websites. Peer-to-peer giving, which is
donations driven by social connections, giving events, and peer fundraising campaigns, is up
70%. The average donation size via social channels is $100 and represents 23% of all online
giving (Appendix 2).

Public and society giving showed the highest donation spike at 16.7% total for the year, and
online donations saw an even higher lift with almost 28%. Nearly 14% of all online donations
came from mobile devices. Overall, consumer behavior mirrors donor behavior and the
nonprofit industry will continue to see this trend play out with online and mobile giving (7).

Client
South Harbor Renaissance (SHR) is a 501c.3 non-profit organization powered by neighborhood
volunteers. This group has worked closely together with various local organizations in order to
preserve, promote and support the restoration, improvement and beautification of Federal Hill
Park. Some collaboration efforts include:

Baltimore City Department of Recreation and Parks,
Commission on Historical and Architectural Preservation,
Downtown Baltimore Family Alliance,
Baltimore Tree Trust,
Federal Hill Neighborhood Association, and;
Waterfront Partnership of Baltimore.
Since 2011, SHR has made over $700,000 of improvements to Federal Hill Park including a new
flagstaff, monument restoration, historic-themed playground, 27 new trees and turf
restoration. The organization has raised substantial funds from the State of Marylands Program
Open Space, as well as private grants and donations. SHRs online efforts started with a
Facebook and Twitter page with around 100 likes and followers on each. They launched an
Instagram account in the spring to expand their social media reach.

Issue
For four years, SHRs neighborhood volunteers
have worked hard to improve Federal Hill Park.
Now they need the most help with
communication, community outreach and cause
marketing to help raise proper awareness of
their efforts. Very few park guests local and
tourist are aware that South Harbor
Renaissance is solely responsible for each
improvement they enjoy on a daily basis.

Despite frequent visitors and high remarks

about the park, very few realize SHR is responsible
for maintaining it. As shown in Figure 1, out of 100

Figure 1: Word c loud representation of 100 responses to the

question: Who do you think maintains Federal Hill Park?

South Harbor Renaissance

responses, over 50% mentioned the city as the main organization in charge. This is a
discouraging statistic because SHRs volunteer time is going unnoticed and donations are going
to the wrong organizations. Although a total of $700,000 in park improvements has been made
since establishment, only $90,000 have come from individuals less than 7% of total incoming
donations. Additionally, $5,000 have come from private corporations, and $57,000 from
foundations. SHR is looking to raise at least $50,000 in one year with the help of even more
individual resident donations.

Promotions
ONLINE
Currently, South Harbor Renaissance has a small social media following and limited digital
marketing. SHR started with about 90 likes on Facebook and 185 followers on Twitter. The
organization posts content and photos organically once a week, but they do not have a set
content schedule. At the time of this writing, enhanced social media efforts are being made for
more frequent posting and Facebook page promotion, so the number of followers is increasing.
Their current search engine result rankings are very poor; they are present typically on the
second result page for searches like Federal Hill Park and Federal Hill Baltimore.

OFFLINE
Recent promotional efforts include an ongoing paver campaign that started two and a half
years ago. So far, only 170 pavers have been purchased and installed, with 25 waiting on
installation. There are still 700 pavers available for purchase despite current efforts to market
and sell. Articles and ads in local newsletters like The Hillsider have helped promote these
efforts and reach the Federal Hill Gen X and Boomer demographics. Direct messages like buy a
paver as a tribute or as a gift have proved successful.

In addition, SHR sent 5 to 10 press releases via email and social media. They do have a media
distribution list available, but are still unsure how to measure success of their public relations
efforts. The group also sent out about 5,000 holiday postcards to residents and businesses in
Federal Hill to improve brand recognition within the community. This did not ignite an
immediate lift in donations, but they do hope it helped with awareness. In addition, the
group has a banner with the SHR logo for events to tackle the issue of people mistakenly
thinking the city does all of the work in the park. For instance, any resident who came to the
paver unveiling would clearly see that it was a South Harbor Renaissance event.

Market Share
There are about 350 other community improvement nonprofits in Baltimore. In Federal Hill
specifically, nonprofits include: Federal Hill Main Street, The Society for Preservation for Federal
Hill and Fells Point, Federal Hill South Neighborhood Association, and Friends of Federal Hill (8).
There are about 4,000 nonprofits that file annually in Baltimore City and about 2,000
community-focused nonprofit organizations in Maryland (9).

South Harbor Renaissance

SHR must also share space with for-profit organizations, including Baltimore City Recreations &
Parks and The Baltimore Waterfront Partnership, which have citywide awareness and attract
the larger Baltimore crowd for their efforts to improve the community.

Competition

The chart below goes into more detail about each competitors digital landscape.

BALTIMORE CITY
Baltimore Recreation and Parks is the main competitor for SHRs awareness efforts. The
majority of the community believes this organization is responsible for maintaining Federal Hill
Park and their recognition within the community takes away from SHRs presence. They are
responsible for Druid Hill Park activities, Patterson Park Boat Lake, and other city recreational
areas, so their scope of work can lead Federal Hill residents to believe they are responsible for
the park.

The Waterfront Partnership has worked together with SHR, but they have more organization
awareness within the community. Their social media and landing page are sleek and well-
maintained, in comparison to SHRs small online presence and outdated website (Appendix 7).
Their current $4 million renovation plans for Rash Field and the Inner Harbor also overshadow
some of South Harbor Renaissances efforts, which scale in comparison. There is opportunity to
leverage these renovations and share the media spotlight since the park overlooks Rash Fields.
Joint social and fundraising events could be successful.

FEDERAL HILL NONPROFITS

Federal Hill South Neighbors Association is another 501c.3 organization run by neighborhood
volunteers and operates for civic purposes. They organize regular trash pick ups, encourage
beautification and combat crime through watch efforts and social interaction. This group owns
a hefty amount organic search traffic, which means they enter the awareness conversation
around Federal Hill before South Harbor Renaissance does. They have a large following and
strong community support. Although their website is not as sleek as the for-profit competitors,
they are well-recognized and can be used as an example of where South Harbor Renaissance
should be offline.

Friends of Patterson Park is a popular park in another Baltimore neighborhood. The search
Patterson Park ranks as a significantly higher search result than Federal Hill Park, which
indicates there is more awareness traffic, interest and education happening through search
(Appendix 6). Although it is not a direct threat, SHR can use their online promotion and
marketing to influence their own. They have a simple and welcoming landing page that houses
their events and opportunities to give back to their cause.

South Harbor Renaissance

DIGITAL COMPETITVE ANALYSIS

Information was collected at an early time of this plan development.

Social
Rating
Website
visits in 6
months
Top Search
Keywords

85 likes

4,870 likes

8,912 likes

(closed group) 2,030

members

5,195

189 followers

3,549 followers

1,694 followers

558 followers

150

5 followers

615 followers

1326 followers

N/A

N/A

N/A

3.7/5 stars

4.7/5 stars

N/A

4.7/5 stars

Data not available

4,000 visitors

8,000 visitors

Data not available

Data not available

-federal hill park

-south harbor
-cannons on
federal hill

Total Sites
Linking in

Baltimore
Baltimore MD
Baltimore City
Water Bill

1454

-Mr. trash
wheel
-trash wheel
Baltimore

60

-federal hill
Baltimore
-federal hill
-Baltimore
neighborhoods

-patterson park
-patterson park
pagoda
-patterson park
baltimore

121
Sources: Alexa.com and SimilarWeb.com

Resources
There are very few residents who are aware of South Harbor Renaissance, so feedback is
limited. However, those residents who visit the park revealed their favorite part: out of 100
responses to a community survey, the most popular answer was the view (Appendix 3). This
information can be used to tailor photos, content and contests surrounding the park, including
what to improve next.
Federal Hill Park is also ranked #12 of 204 things to do in Baltimore on Trip Advisor. The
location has over 300 reviews, 170 of which are excellent ratings. Common adjectives to
describe the park include photographic, breathtaking, panoramic, and accessible. One
recent review reads:

South Harbor Renaissance

If you're at the Inner Harbor going to Federal Hill Park for the view is worth the walk. It
will take about 10 minutes to get to the park and up the hill, but the photos you can
take will be worth the effort! Any time Im near the park I go up and take photos. I even
proposed to my wife there! (10).
In contrast, a recent survey conducted by The Waterfront Partnership revealed 62% of
Baltimore residents believe the city is too focused on the Inner Harbor, but 79% agree the
harbor is a core asset for the city. 62% also said they would visit more often if there were more
free activities for children, while 57% want more shade in the summer. These findings reveal
opportunities for Federal Hill Park to enter the conversation and provide families authentic and
unique activities during their trips that other commercialized places like the harbor cannot
offer (11).

Market Research
DIGITAL SUPPORT OF SOCIAL/ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES
Research shows that 71% of US internet users would
vote online to designate funds to a cause they care
about. 70% would learn about changes they make in
their everyday lives to make an impact on social issues.
65% would make an online donation, while 35% already
have supported online donation programs. Only 29% of
internet users have already liked or followed a
social/environmental nonprofit on social media
(Appendix 4) (12). Once users are connected to a
specific cause online or offline they are more willing
Figure 2: The least active volunteer group in Baltimore
are 20 to 24 y ear olds a nd the most active are 35 to 44
to donate.
year o lds.

MILLENNIALS AND NONPROFITS
Millennials want the volunteering and fundraising experience to be mobile, seamless and
simple (6). They care about issues, not organizations. According to Derrick Feldmann, a
researcher for The Millennial Impact, What motivates millennials is a desire to affect their
cause through your organization with their friends (13). This demographic will not respond if
you try to sell your organization to further your cause. Stories, photos and human interest
pieces featuring those who have benefited from your cause will be most effective at engaging
this audience. It is important to encourage and nurture donor relationships by being
transparent show where donations go and how they will help (14).

About 22% of millennials volunteer, which equals about 36 median hours a year per person.
56% of the population donates and contributes about $341 annually (15). Their donation
journey starts with social interactions with friends, then an email, then Facebook messaging
and lastly a text from a nonprofit. Direct mail has the least impact on this group (16).



South Harbor Renaissance

GEN XERS AND NONPROFITS

Almost 30% of Generation X volunteers contribute around 45 median hours. Over half of this
generation makes annual donations, with an average gift size of $796 (17).

Their donation journey is mainly through websites and they are most often influenced to
donate after hearing an inspirational story from a nonprofit. This generation is entrepreneurial
and cynical. They desire a chance to learn, explore and make a contribution (16).

BOOMERS+ AND NONPROFITS
Only 27% Boomers and older generations volunteer, but those who do contribute 52 median
hours of service (18). About 43% of all donations contributed to nonprofits total are from this
group. They are also online: 42% say they made an online donation to a nonprofit in the past
year (19).

This generation tends to be more positive about authority, hierarchal structure and tradition.
They are the wealthiest and most free-spending with their money as retirees. Their donation
journey relies on direct messaging, phone calls and in-person conversations (16).

SOCIAL MEDIA DEMOGRAPHIC BREAKDOWN
Below is the chart breakout of the top three social media platforms based on generational use
(20). Through deeper research, 36% of total Facebook users say they are Facebook friends with
their neighbors, which can lend itself to spreading SHR events and news updates faster around
the neighborhood. Twitter is mainly used by the college-educated, under 50 demographic.
Women and urban residents are more likely to use Instagram. The boomer generation will see
the largest increase in social media users from 2015 to 2016 (21).


Social Media Use by Generation


100%

90%

80%

70%

60%

50%


40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

Facebook

Twitter

Millennials

Gen X

Instagram

Boomers

South Harbor Renaissance

Situation Analysis.
South Harbor Renaissance struggles with local organization awareness and incoming donations
from Federal Hill residents. The largest community demographic is online, ready to build a
relationship with a local issue and become a part of an organization, but SHR is not present on
social platforms in order to convey their messages. The organization also lacks strategic
community outreach to appropriately market itself to the neighborhood and its diverse
members. Instead, larger and more organized community groups are present and impede SHRs
space.

If SHR does not market themselves online to the community now, they may get overthrown by
other local organizations who are also seeking residents support. Lack of appropriate
marketing plans may result in low annual donations, which will threaten the ongoing
improvements for Federal Hill Park.

Core Problem.

If Federal Hill and Baltimore residents do not become aware of South Harbor Renaissances efforts with
the park, they will not donate their money or their time to help ongoing improvements.

Goal.

Educate and inform Federal Hill residents about South Harbor Renaissances involvement in
maintaining Federal Hill Park.

Objectives.

Increase organization name recognition by 50% by March 2017

Gain at least 800 new social media followers total by December 2016
Generate at least 100 new online donations completions by February 2017
Host at least 3 in-person events with full-house attendance by February 2017
Improve SEO organic rankings for Federal Hill by at least 3 spots by February 2017

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10

Key Publics.
Digital Good-Doer
Objectives Accomplished: All
35-year-old Older Millennials, Young Generation X

RELEVANCE

I
may give small but I
This demographic is passionate, optimistic and strong-willed. They
think big when it comes to
have families in the community so they seek opportunities to go out
giving.
and enjoy recreational activities with friends. The media, peers and in-
person events inform and influence them about their top charities.
They are most likely to fundraise for their favorite causes and ask for donations from their
friends (16). This group is related to the issue because they desire to have a positive, noticeable
and lasting effect on Baltimore. Ultimately, they want to be a part of something that makes the
community better collectively and are the easiest demographic to rally (1).

SELF-INTERESTS AND MOTIVATORS
The Digital Good-Doer likes to share information and stories about causes they support and
encourages friends to give on social media. They also crave a relationship with an organization
rather than being asked to just donate. It is important to note they would rather fundraise than
directly give (22). They value volunteering and financial giving and want to make the world a
better place to live (16).

MEDIA USE
This group prefers mobile interactions and are active on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and
blogs when discussing nonprofits (Appendix 5). However, they are generally unresponsive to
voice calls. They also like to watch online videos before making a donation (22).



Donor Journey


Awareness
Engagement
Support
Advocacy
Media Outlets
FB, TW,
Fundraising
Thank You notes
Instagram
Obvious direct
Friends
Voting for a
change
Blogs
cause
Events
Happy Hours
Informative
Content
videos
consumption
Volunteer
events

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11

Old School Samaritan

Objectives Accomplished: 2,4
55-year-old Boomers+

RELEVANCE
This demographic is self-reliant, well-educated, adaptable and
I take pride in keeping my
techno-literate. They learn about their top charities through the
community safe and clean. I
media, word-of-mouth, mail, in-person events and work. They are
dont want anyone to
first engaged with nonprofits by making a direct donation, visiting an
threaten that.
organizations website and volunteering or supporting a friend
through a charity walk or run (16). They are related to the issue because they value quiet, clean
and safe spots in Baltimore. It is also important to make them feel a part of the community and
that their efforts make a difference, especially because they are the wealthiest, free-spending
retirees in history. They want to contribute but want recognition for doing so.

SELF-INTERESTS AND MOTIVATORS
The group finds quick fixes, enjoys direct communication and looks to organizations with a
personal connection. They are most likely to fundraise on behalf of an organization and
volunteer their time. Giving is influenced by friends and family, but sometimes based on
emotional stories that move them (22). This group takes action when they know where their
money is going.

MEDIA USE
They prefer voice calls and regularly check email, but are also responsive to in-person
solicitations. They stay up-to-date on their social media feeds, especially on Facebook, in order
to follow groups, watch videos and support causes. They are not typically found on Twitter or
Instagram (22).



Donor Journey

Awareness
Word-of-mouth
Events
Work
News

Engagement
Facebook
Direct
communication
Website
Email

Support
In-person
solicitations
Through friends
Emotional stories

Advocacy
Thank You notes
Prove money
goes to a good
cause

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12

Unaware Newcomer
Objectives Accomplished: All
24-year-old Millennial

RELEVANCE
I fell in love with the place. I like
This group has lived in Federal Hill less than two years and are
the people here. I love the city,
excited by the social aspect of the neighborhood. They learn
especially the nightlife.
about their top charities through media outlets, peers and in-
person events, but are still unfamiliar with Baltimores community organizations, besides bars
and shops. They are related to the issue because they envision the world as a 24/7 place, so
they want fast and immediate content. They also seek social experiences and always desire to
be connected to their peers (20). Their connections to these experiences make them feel
important. This group also often searches for things to do and deals around the neighborhood.

SELF-INTERESTS AND MOTIVATORS
This group values their smartphones over cars, and there is a clear move toward experience
and away from ownership (25). Incentives and prizes motivate them to give they need to
see the difference they are making in order to feel inclined to donate. They favor happy hours
and in-person events to meet new people and influence them to donate to a cause (Appendix
3). They value authenticity and transparency. They participate in social sports, attends sports
games and socializing with neighbors (1). Overall, they crave experiences and are drawn to
projects that allow them to create share-worthy content.

MEDIA USE
The Unaware Newcomer is immersed in the online world constantly in order to socialize with
their friends and find the latest deals. The unlimited access to information makes them
assertive with strong views. They can be found on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram almost
daily.

Donor Journey




Awareness
Engagement
Support
Advocacy
Social media
FB, TW,
Incentives
Thank You notes
Instagram
Friends
Socialization
Prizes
Blogs
Sense of
Social events
Share-worthy
belonging
Happy Hours
content
Organic search
Night out events
Promotions

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13

Brand Positioning.
Right now, South Harbor Renaissance has low visibility and no current authoritative position in
the community because of low awareness. In order to increase awareness and significance,
they must position the organization as a positive community icon that is clearly important to
the social ecosystem of Federal Hill. SHR will stand for preserving and improving the
community, both in a social way and also in an environmental way. It is important to prove the
organization is dedicated to improving the entire Federal Hill experience for everyone living in
the community, no matter the age.

Framing.

SHR will be framed in a way that brings together both the older generations of Federal Hill and
the recent college graduates. The messages will present the park as a universal symbol of the
neighborhood that can be appreciated by any resident at any age or years resided there.

RESPONSIBILITY This frame implies the organization and Federal Hill residents have a
responsibility to maintain the park and continue efforts to improve it. Those who take
part in helping the cause are seen as responsible citizens and dedicated to the park and
Federal Hill. It is everyones responsibility to be proud of what the park represents.

ACTIONS By demonstrating the many actions and events SHR puts on in order to
improve the park, these messages will reinforce the importance of the organization to
the public. The actions the residents should take will also seem easy, yet important to
the entire park.

ATTRIBUTES SHR can differentiate themselves from Baltimore City Recreations and
Parks and other for-profit organizations associated with park maintenance. By
highlighting their unique nonprofit efforts and true need for help, the messaging will
take away from the city and move it to the much-needed non profit sector.

Messages.
All key publics

PRIMARY MESSAGE 1
Did you know all of Federal Hill Parks improvements are fueled by donations and residents like
you who volunteer? Not the city.

SECONDARY MESSAGES
SHR has put nearly $700,000 into the restoration of the park and activities with funds
coming from residents, grants and individual contributors.
In June 2015, volunteers planted 27 trees donated by the Baltimore Tree Trust. They
also are responsible for watering them (23).

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14

 Our first project was to improve the flagstaff including 120 granite slabs, a granite curb,
14 roses and 60 mature boxwoods donated by the Waterfront Partnership.
Unlike Baltimore Recreations and Parks, we rely on donations and grants to stay in
business. Without us, park updates would not happen. To raise more funds, we are
selling commemorative pavers for $135.
The ongoing support of individuals and the larger community is vital to maintain and
secure the Federal Hill Park investment, as well as adding historic icons and improving
the landscape.

PRIMARY MESSAGE 2
Help us build a better Baltimore and help the park reach its full potential.

SECONDARY MESSAGES
The ongoing local support helps us attract and retain residents and businesses (24).
The parks major challenges are the most basic needs: consistent trash pickup, cleaning
and landscaping, effective lighting and proactive security measures. These are things
that can be easily addressed with strong support and fundraising.
We hear you your feedback and messages are seen on social media since we monitor
our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages to keep our efforts going.
Local businesses like Bookmakers, The Boiler Room and Pub Dog also support our
efforts, making it a community-wide ecosystem for you to join.

Digital Good-Doer

PRIMARY MESSAGE 1
Positive changes in Federal Hill come from enthusiastic and supportive families like yours.

SECONDARY MESSAGES
The park is a valuable part to your daily routines, whether that is your morning walks or
your family outings to the playground. Combining funds from Baltimore Recreations and
Parks and more than $100,000 in private donations, we created the ship-like jungle gym
that embraces the Federalist history of our town to foster your routines (23).
Soon there will be a little train on the railroad where toddlers can play. We are always
looking for ways to keep making improvements and ways to raise funds for those
improvements.
A small monthly donation can go a long way to improve precautionary safety measures
to the park, landscaping improvements and more.

PRIMARY MESSAGE 2
Your act of support no matter how small creates a lasting effect in our neighborhood and
makes the community better collectively.


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15

SECONDARY MESSAGES
It is truly easy to make an impact. By sharing our social media content or attending a
fundraising event, you extend our reach to new residents who also value the park.
A small, monthly donation to our organization can fuel improvements like more
trashcans, security systems and new turf.
We offer a variety of opportunities for you to make your mark on the park, including our
paver campaign. You can purchase one to create your mark forever while giving back to
the community.
Just showing up to our events is a great help! You not only spread the word to your
friends about us, but your donations always go towards important and much-needed
improvements. We also love to hear your feedback and what we can do better.

Old School Samaritan

PRIMARY MESSAGE 1
Federal Hill Park is a direct representation of the quality of our neighborhood. Your continued
support to our organization helps keep it beautiful.

SECONDARY MESSAGES
With your individual contributions, we are able to remove old trees, install turf and
improve the draining system, on top of daily maintenance.
SHR works hard to maintain its image and meaning to the neighborhood. Our social
media accounts display our clean-up efforts and encouragement to the neighborhood to
help keep it clean. A positive, safe reputation for Federal Hill is our top priority.
We know the park is rich in history and celebrate the meaning to Baltimore with park
events, landmarks and content. We encourage you to join us for these events and share
its value with us.

PRIMARY MESSAGE 2
South Harbor Renaissance values your dedication to a beautiful park and appreciates your
constant support that keep our efforts going.

SECONDARY MESSAGES
Thank you for everything you continue to do for our organization. SHR recognizes your
help with cleaning the park on your walks and encouraging the younger generation to
clean up as well.
We want to hear about what the park means to you and share it with the rest of the
community. We know you value the park as much as we do.
We have about ten Board of Directors working hard to improve the park, but all have
the same motivations as residents like you.
We depend on individual support to maintain and secure the park. You help us attract
and retain residents and businesses, and keep trouble out of the neighborhood.

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Unaware Newcomer
PRIMARY MESSAGE 1
South Harbor Renaissance offers much more than a beautiful park to families. Connect with us
to enjoy valuable content and unique social experiences even local deals!

SECONDARY MESSAGES
You can de-stress after a long work day, workout, stroll with a significant other and
socialize with other residents. There are dog walkers, runners, bocce leagues, and at
least two weddings a week in the park (23).
We hold movie nights, happy hours and volunteer days to appeal to every resident who
loves Federal Hill. There are even workout groups who use the park for evening classes.
Why not take your routine there for a change of scenery?
We understand quick and interactive content peaks your interest, so our social media
channels offer quizzes, contests and stories to educate you about our neighborhood.
You can even win some free prizes!

PRIMARY MESSAGE 2
The park you visit is so much more than a place to run, relax and spend time with friends. Learn
how you can make a big impact as a new member of the community.

SECONDARY MESSAGES
The neighborhood is not just about going out to the bars it is steeped in history and
we work hard to educate others about what our town represents right in our park.
You can create a deeper meaning of your new home by lending a hand and experiencing
the park. Nothing impresses your friends and family more than being educated in what
your new community means. It also makes you feel like a more connected citizen!
Our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts showcase our work. Valuable content
adds to your community experience, so be sure to keep up with what were up to next.

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Strategy and Tactics.

The following strategies map back to the goal of this plan to inform and educate Federal Hill
residents about South Harbor Renaissances involvement with Federal Hill Park. They are
designed to ultimately increase organization awareness and satisfy key publics with tailored
tactics.

All key publics.

STRATEGY 1 | WEB PRESENCE

Enhance the online experience in order to create a simpler donation journey and an integrated
relationship.

TACTICS
1
Improve website user experience for clarity, effectiveness and authority. Consolidate
navigation tabs for easier use, ensure mobile-friendliness and easy donation process on
smartphones. See Creative Material 4 for a suggested mockup.

2
Promote Facebook posts and blog articles by targeting fans, custom audiences and
lookalike audiences, e.g. audiences who live in Baltimore, like popular local Federal
Hill restaurants and represent target audience demographics. Encourage local
businesses who use the park to give shout outs to SHR and tag profile.
o Example: Thanks SHR for Federal Hill Park (tag) for keeping the park clean for
our yogis! Check out their great cause on their site now and donate!

3
Interact with Federal Hill mentions
and any derivatives for an immersive
experience. Enter the conversation to
introduce SHRs involvement with the
park. Send them to a bit.ly link of the
website.
o Ex: So glad you enjoyed the
park, @name. SHR works
hard to keep it clean. See
what weve done here:
bit.ly/xxxxxxx

4
Maintain @FedHillPark_SHR Instagram
account with description of SHR as the
profile bio. Include tag us message
and email for user generated
submissions. Leverage user generated
Figure 3: Example of user generated content prompted by the profile
content for seasonal photo contests.
bio directions.
See Figure 3 for guidance.

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Send monthly email reminders and updates to members in SHR database. Include park
improvement updates, ways to donate, messages from the board, upcoming events and
links directly to the website. See Appendix 10 for email best practices.

STRATEGY 2 | PAVER CAMPAIGN
Emphasize the communitys opportunity to buy commemorative pavers in order to leave their
mark on the park.

TACTICS
1
Hold a 5k running event that ends in the park. Encourage runners to run to their paver
and pose when they have finished or purchase one at the end of the race to leave their
mark. Monitor submissions with a campaign hashtag like #OnYourMark.

2
Hold a Picture with your Paver photo campaign. Encourage paver owners to visit the
park, take a photo of their paver and use #MadeMyMark next to it. Share photos on
social media channels with links on how to get a paver on SHR website.

3
Host a paint and sip night in the park. The scene could be the Inner Harbor or the park
and the overall theme would be about making your mark on canvas and on the park.
Advertise event as fundraising towards a specific park improvement and promote
pavers with it.

4
Write People Behind the Pavers blog posts on the Our Fed Hill Park blog. Promote
stories and photos on social media channels. Use emotional and local stories to promote
the pavers and always include links at the end of each post on how to purchase one.
Example: if someone purchased it for a wedding, a tribute, a
childbirth, a memory

5
Leverage giving-based holidays, like Mothers Day, Fathers Day and Christmas to
promote pavers on social media.
Example: Mothers Day is coming up! Get her a gift that lasts a
lifetime with a paver in Federal Hill Park!

6
Remind the community about the paver campaign with birthday gift suggestions,
wedding season suggestions and tribute suggestions on social media throughout the
year. Tribute suggestions could extend to Memorial Day and military remembrance
holidays.

7
Hold a paver contest where residents guess how many bricks there are in the park. Once
a winner is revealed, promote how many pavers have been memorialized and how
many are available to purchase. Award the winner with a photography session or
Orioles tickets in return.

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Contact local tax accountants and give them presentable postcards with Make Your
Mark on the Park information. Encourage them to hand to clients during tax season to
receive a tax write-off while also giving back to the community.

Digital Good-Doer
STRATEGY 1 | CONTENT CREATION
Leverage valuable content and shareable stories in order to reinforce South Harbor
Renaissances involvement with Federal Hill Park.

TACTICS
1
Post seasonal How-Tos that provide value to families and neighbors that include simple
Donate and Share call-to-actions at the end of each post.
Examples:
How to have a Spring Break in Fed Hill.
How to workout in the park.
How to enjoy a snow day in the park and clean up after!
How to make a difference in the park in 5 easy steps.

2
Host seasonal photo contests on Facebook, like summer sunsets and fall foliage.
Generate more social media followers with incentives and rules to like the SHR
Facebook page during the contest. Offer a $50 gift card to the winner with the most
likes.

3
Interview and post Faces of Federal Hill Park stories. Use interns and volunteers to
interview park goers, take a photo and write the social media post. Hand interviewees a
business card after and tell them to check out SHR on social media for their story to
share with their network. See Creative Material 1 for examples.

STRATEGY 2 | UPLIFTING EXPERIENCE
Showcase South Harbor Renaissances involvement in order to engage key public online and
offline.

TACTICS
1
Maintain an Our Fed Hill Park blog to house all stories, contest rules and events
mentioned in tactics, along with clear social share buttons and Donate Now CTA.
Consider starting a weekly personal post from Anne called Updates from Anne and
post to social media pages with links to the website. Posts can even include short video
interviews with Anne or another board member going over updates.
Topic suggestions: History, projects coming up, progress, what donations
are needed for.

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3

4

Notify donors via email and social media where their next donation is going and start a
Vote for the Park where they pick where their next donation will go. They must
donate in order for their vote to count, even if it is only a small donation.
Example post: What improvements do you wish to see? Visit our site now
to vote where you want your donation to go: new turf or new surveillance
cameras.
Hold an online fundraising contest and whoever raises the most funds online in the
given timeline wins a gift card or free photography session in the park. Time the contest
with #GivingTuesday in November for extra traction.

Hold seasonal happy hours and volunteer events. Promote a Facebook event for each to
generate an extended and targeted reach. Encourage fans to share with friends and
provide clear and tangible reasons to donate.
Example: Join us for our summer happy hour at Bookmakers! 10% of your
bill go towards improving park security.

Old School Samaritan
STRATEGY 1| DIRECT MESSAGES
Focus on South Harbor Renaissances commitment to maintaining Federal Hill Parks beauty
and safety in order to gain the Boomers support.

TACTICS
1
Share photos and park updates about progress being made regularly. Cover future
improvement plans and how residents can get involved. Illustrate progress with direct
infographics and before vs. after posts for visual understanding. See Creative Material
5 for an example.

2
Promote positive media coverage with press releases in local newspapers, media
websites and social media accounts, requesting for links back to south-harbor.org. See
Appendix 8 for Press Release best practices.

3
Spread the need of donations via print ads and direct mail during high traffic donation
times. Ensure each message is clear and direct, with examples of where donations will
go towards park improvements.
Example: Federal Hill Park is in need of a new security system to keep our
residents safe. Your generous donation now will help SHR fund these
efforts.

STRATEGY 2 | THANK AND ACKNOWLEDGE
Emphasize this generations importance to the community in order to generate more support
through donations, volunteering and word-of-mouth awareness.

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TACTICS
1
Share Celebrate Seniors stories on social media about how long residents have lived in
Federal Hill and what they love most about the park. Ask for interesting facts about their
experiences in the neighborhood and document interviews on video to post on all social
channels.

2
Send Thank You postcards to each donors door thanking them for their donations and
time with SHRs next event listed, as well as social media handles and other ways to
give.

3
Prove their donations mean something to the park with direct visual representations of
how much donation amounts can improve the park.
Example: Your donation of $100 can install one new trashcan to help
keep the park clean. Your donation of $250 will install a security
camera to ensure everyone is safe.

4
Launch a special membership group for reoccurring donors that includes special
updates, membership swag and inclusive events. Create infographics with a breakdown
of the levels, including what monthly donations can bring to the park. See Appendix 11
for an example.

Unaware Newcomer

STRATEGY 1 | INCENTIVIZE
Highlight South Harbor Renaissance has more to offer than just park improvements in order to
appeal to millennial interests and expectations.

TACTICS
1
Organize an All You Can Drink night at a popular local bar and sell tickets for a
profitable price, part of which goes toward park restoration. Make custom koozies with
the SHR logo and simple graphic of Baltimore to include with happy hour tickets and
wristbands. See Creative Example 2 for Koozie design.

2
Hold photo and donation contests with an incentive for winners. See photo contest
tactic above.

3
Emphasize social aspect of the park with photo shares of #OurFedHillPark with young
visitors and park activity ideas.

4
Partner with a local fitness instructor for a workout night in the park. Promote it as a
joint effort and a portion of funds goes toward improvements. Encourage workout
instructor to promote it on their social channels.

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Hold a Baltimore-themed trivia night at a popular destination for trivia, like Brewers
Cask. Create a Facebook promoted event page to get the word out of the special
themed trivia night. Among popular sports and entertainment questions, ask Who
maintains Federal Hill Park? to gauge awareness. Arrange 20% of their bill to go
towards SHR, in addition to extra personal donations given by those who come. Offer
Baltimore Oriole tickets as the prize.

STRATEGY 2 | NURTURE HABITS
Establish a community between millennials and South Harbor Renaissance in order to appeal to
their active online and social habits.

TACTICS
1
Harness social media power this audience is already familiar with. Use #TBT hashtag to
enter the conversation and post historic photos of the park, showing how SHR has
improved it since then. Use Trivia Tuesday for Twitter polls and Facebook interactions
with social media fans.
Example: Trivia Tuesday time! How did Federal Hill Park get its name? Be
the first one to answer correctly and win a koozie!

2
Leverage existing social accounts that key publics follow to promote SHR. Ask the fed
hill biz Instagram account to promote events hosted by SHR. Post on neighborhood
pages, like South Baltimore and Federal Hill Neighbors, to encourage event attendance,
photo contest submissions and donations.

3
Encourage local workout groups to tag the SHR Facebook page in their posts promoting
the event and thank them for their help.
Example: Thanks @(SHR tag) for keeping the park clean for our Yogis! You
can help make sure the park is clean for everyone by donating here: link.

4
Use a social extension after online donation completions asking to share their
contribution on social media.
Example: Let your friends know you just made a generous contribution to
the park. Share on Facebook now!

5
Improve SEO practices for better search engine results. Update the website with
common audience keyword use like, Federal Hill views, Baltimore Federal Hill, and
Things to do in Federal Hill. Reach out to local websites like VisitBaltimore.com,
SouthBmore.com, and historicfederalhill.com to request an article or blurb linking back
to south-harbor.org, with an explanation about Federal Hill Parks activities and who is
responsible for maintaining it. See Appendix 8 for some SEO best practices.

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Calendar

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Budget.
























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Measurement and Evaluation.

OBJECTIVE 1
Increase organization name recognition by 50% by March 2017
To measure the increase in brand recall, run a similar survey as the primary research survey
asking the question, Who do you think cleans and maintains Federal Hill Park? Post the survey
in the Federal Hill neighborhood groups just as the original survey to gather results from the
same target audience. Track the number of recorded answers to determine if over 50% of
respondents answer the correct answer SHR.

Monitor donation increases to evaluate an indirect increase in organization awareness, since
people will donate more to SHR if they are familiar with what the organization does. At the end
of donation forms, ask how donors found SHR to determine which channels are working best to
increase name recognition.

Finally, informally interview park goers to gauge their awareness of the organization. Determine
if the majority recognizes SHR is responsible for the park improvements right in front of them
and survey their thoughts on how to improve communication in the future.

OBJECTIVE 2
Gain at least 800 new social media followers by December 2016
This will be measured by the total amount of new followers across all three social media
channels, starting from our April/May launch until December 2016. Monitor Facebook, Twitter
and Instagram followers to determine if the numbers are increasing at a progressive rate. SHR
started out with about 90 Facebook fans, about 200 Twitter followers and only six Instagram
followers. Total growth can be determined by followers on each channel.

For a more in-depth analysis, run social listening tests using Twitter and Facebook Analytics.
Each platform will indicate if the audience is interacting with content, what type of engagement
is happening (replies, shares, likes) and the total number of impressions. Further evaluation can
determine audience profiles, content analysis and image deconstruction. This evaluation can
reveal who is consuming SHR content, what content is performing the best and where traffic is
coming from before coming to the website. Most importantly, it can determine if paid
promotion efforts on social media are a valuable return on investment.

OBJECTIVE 3
Generate at least 100 new online donations by February 2017
Monitor incoming donations via the website and social media. Deeper analysis can show
donation trends by social media channel, seasonality, demographics and so on. Monitor SHRs
fundraising contests and posts to determine which type of content results in the most
donations in order to optimize efforts in the future.

In order to properly measure the backend of the donor journey, install Google Analytics to the
website code. This will reveal the total time users spend on the website, which pages they are
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26

most frequently on and which channels drive the most traffic. Google Analytics will also reveal
social media promotion efforts and how many users click on advertisements in order to donate.
Installing this software can show if the donor journey is smooth and simple. It can also indicate
if there is a high bounce rate for users arriving to the site and immediately leaving because of
an unpleasant experience.

OBJECTIVE 4
Host at least 3 in-person events with full-house attendance by February 2017
Track the number of community engagement events held, the total turnout for each and the
number of donations generated. For further evaluation, analyze which events raised the most
money, e.g. happy hours, gala, movie nights or 5K. This will help identify the most effective
means to raise money to optimize next year. Survey attendees at these events and email
participants afterwards to gauge what they liked about the event and what SHR can improve
next time. Ask additional questions about their favorite bars, which night of the week works
best for them for events and what type of night outs they enjoy the most. This primary research
will generate valuable insights on how to improve community engagement for next year.

SHR should also evaluate which type of incentive generates the biggest turnout. For example, if
baseball tickets are most popular with the trivia crowd or if a gift card to the gym is more
popular for the family audience, use those prizes for future contests for better results. In order
to optimize contests in the future, survey contest participants for their opinions on prizes and
what would motivate them to give more donations.

OBJECTIVE 5
Improve SEO organic rankings for Federal Hill by at least 3 spots by February 2017
Report website traffic changes throughout the year with tools like SEM Rush or Alexa.com.
Monitor data for traffic spikes from organic searches and note spikes from social media and
referrals like blogs and new sites. Tools like Google Trends can also indicate the top keywords
our audience is using to find south-harbor.org. Report the top keywords (e.g. Federal Hill
Baltimore or Things to do in Federal Hill) and update SHR landing page and blog topics to
include these search results.

Additional Recommendations
With each social media campaign, note hashtags generated and how many users included them
in their posts with tools like SocialMention.com. This can help determine the number of
residents participating in SHRs campaign efforts and which hashtags are the most popular. It
can also reveal the sentiment around SHR efforts and provide an opportunity for
communication between the audience and SHR itself. SHR should also email surveys to donors
and database contacts about how they feel about SHR efforts. These can be quarterly emails
with attractive subject lines like Your feedback is needed! Record their opinions and optimize
public outreach efforts.

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Creative Materials.
I.

Faces of Federal Hill Park question ideas and post example.

a. What does the park mean to you?
b. What is your favorite memory at the park?
c. What would you like to see next at the park?
d. What is your best tip for the community to have fun at the park?

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II.
Promotional Koozie Design
Use a creative play on words to promote SHR while appealing to the millennial
demographic. This piece will incentivize the community to donate more, attend events or
answer social media quizzes.

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III.

Content Calendar

Season

Maintenance

Content Ideas

Event Ideas

Spring

Update landing pages

Send spring emails with
event information
Install Google Analytics
Monitor relevant news
stories any local spring
deals, events.

Happy hour
Movie night
5k ending in park, tie in
paver campaign

Summer

Send summer emails

Hand out business cards
and flyers to park goers
with social media handles
and upcoming events
Monitor relevant news
stories any local
summer deals, events

Send fall emails
Upload new photos from
contests and social media
to blog
Monitor relevant news
stories any local fall
deals, events

Baseball-themed posts, like

photos of Oriole fans in the
park
Sunsets from the park
#tbt
Trivia Tuesday
How to have a spring break in
Federal Hill
Ongoing: #TBT and Trivia
Tuesday
Celebrate Seniors story
Did you know? content

4th of July fireworks from the
park photo sharing campaign
Make Your Mark on the Park
campaign
Ongoing: #TBT and Trivia
Tuesday
Interview a child for their
favorite thing about the park

Fall

Winter

Send winter emails

Gather website analytic
data for optimization
Monitor relevant news
stories any local winter
deals, events.

#GivingTuesday fundraising
contest
Fall foliage photo sharing
campaign
Ongoing: #TBT and Trivia
Tuesday
Fall family fun in the park article
Football stories and jersey
photo shares in the park

How to have a snow day in the
park and clean up afterwards
Snow fun photo sharing
campaign
Ongoing: #TBT and Trivia
Tuesday

Trivia night with Os game

tickets
Movie night
Workout classes partnership
Paint & Sip night at the park

Happy hour
Leaf pile contest
Prettiest leaf photo contest

Snowball fight in the park

with hot chocolate from a
local shop
Shovel and Sip (hot cocoa)
Snow Day

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IV.

Landing page improvements. This is an effective update to the current SHR website
because it is sleek and bold. The shorter navigation will not overwhelm users, which
will provide a better user experience. The big Donate Now CTA button is front and
center.

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V.

Social infographic. This treatment fulfills the target audiences desire to know where
their donations are going. This also creates awareness about what exactly SHR has
accomplished, what updates are coming up and how many donations are needed. A
creative piece like this is easy to share on social media and is visually interesting to
any key public.

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Appendix.

Appendix 1: SWOT

Helpful

Hurtful

Internal

Strengths
Dedicated volunteers
Organized internal structure
Important piece of the
community
Monthly scheduled board
meetings to stay on track and
up-to-date
Baseline knowledge and
understanding of the
communications issues

Weaknesses
Small group to produce all
marketing efforts
Small social media following
Untapped audience segments
within the community
Unfriendly user experience on the
website
Unfamiliar with measuring success

External

Opportunities
Threats
Differentiating online presence
Low brand awareness
from competition
More well-known community
Rally the community around
organizations
pride
Low funding for park
Owns strong neighborhood
improvements
symbol
Crowded community organization
Room to grow online presence
space in Baltimore
Enhance web experience for
Must readdress the surge of
easier online donations
unaware newcomer audience

every year

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Appendix 2: Digital Giving Index

Research shows the most popular times of year in which people are willing to donate the most
money, mainly centered around Giving Tuesday and New Years Eve. It also shows peer-to-peer
giving brings an average $100 donation amount, which is driven by giving events and social
connections.

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Appendix 3: Primary Research Survey Results

The following survey results reveal the type of content and media that one hundred Federal Hill
residents consume. The most desired are local events and promotions, how-tos and blog posts.
They would most likely be a part of happy hours, night outs and volunteer days. Finally,
Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are the most used social media platforms.

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Appendix 4: Online Giving Attitudes

Research shows internet users would be very willing to vote to designate funds to a cause, learn
about changes they can make in their community, give feedback to organizations about what
they would like to see, and make a donation. SHR can use this research to implement future
online campaigns and measurement with polls.






















Appendix 5: Nonprofit Mentions Online
This graph illustrates where users are mentioning nonprofit causes online. The top area is blogs,
then Facebook, followed by Twitter and forums. This matches SHRs presented strategy and
proves it will be useful to start an Our Fed Hill Park blog and continue posting on social media.

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Appendix 6: Google Trends Federal Hill Park vs. Patterson Park

This graph shows the search queries traffic for the keywords listed in the past year. There is an
obvious gap in the number of searches between Patterson Park and Federal Hill Park which
could mean there is more awareness about the location of the park, events involved and overall
interest in learning more about it.

For future researches, use Google Trends to monitor keywords for campaigns, trends and more.
Compare similar phrases to see which are the most popular ones people are using.

Data from Google Trends

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Appendix 7: Website Analyses

The following images represent each competitors landing page and highlighted best practices.
In summary, the best examples have clear navigation, prominent donate call-to-action
buttons and sleek photography. SHR can improve the current website with updated
photography and condense navigation tabs for a more organized flow.

South Harbor Renaissance Current Website Audit


Long

navigation

and no logo











Outdated photo










No Facebook

stream

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Friends of Patterson Park Website Audit

Email signup at
the top

Clean logo and

navigation

Donate CTA on
front page

Baltimore Waterfront Partnership Website Audit

Clean logo and

navigation

Stunning
photography

Prominent email
sign-up

Mobile-friendly

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Baltimore Recreations and Parks Website Audit

Easy-to-use
search bar

Prominent social
media icons

Federal Hill South Neighborhood Association Website Audit

Logo a t the
top

Otherwise, not
visually
interesting

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Appendix 8: SEO Best Practices

1. Use unique content like text, images, videos or attachments. The newer the content, the
better chance at getting more inbound links, which equals a higher authority by Google.
2. Ask for inbound links from relevant sites, like local Baltimore websites and news
sources.
3. Social channels indirectly boost your SEO. Your followers can reblog or repost your
stories, which are considered more valuable and weigh more than links you post as an
organization.
4. Use Google Webmaster tools to view important data on how your website is indexed
and any problems you need to address.

Appendix 9: Press Release Best Practices
1. Provide facts, not promotion.
2. Keep it short while answering who cares?
3. Optimize for SEO by including landing page URL in the post.
4. Keep the headline under 70 characters and include a keyword phrase your audience
may search later.
5. Include a punchy headline.
6. Create a media distribution list with journalists who deal with community news,
local news, environmental news, or anything related to the specific SHR update.
7. Monitor who publishes what articles. It is important to track how your efforts are
working and note positive coverage in the press so you can post it to social media.

Appendix 10: Email Best Practices
Emails are crucial in building awareness and a donor base. Gain subscribers by including a
subscribe to our newsletter section to the landing page. Consider using a service like
MailChimp. Plans are free for up to 2,000 subscribers and 12,000 emails per month. This
service also optimizes all emails for mobile. Other things to consider:
o Make emails scannable with bullets, numbered lists or bolded subheads.
o Have a primary to call-to-action (CTA). Whats the primary action you want people
to do with the email? It could be to donate, sign up or learn more. You can have
more than one CTA in an email, but make sure your desired one is highlighted.
o Send on a regular basis. Make sure your emails are more than just a channel to push
information out. Send out fun content, interviews or photo contest winners.
o Link all images. For readers, images are like a target to draw their eyes in. By linking
images, you can reinforce CTAs and the copy.
o Send special emails to members. Make frequent donors feel special with tailored
emails and special updates made just for them.
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Appendix 11: Membership Communications

Below are two examples of communications to establish a membership level. On the donation
page, SHR should provide social proof and examples of how much a donation can help the park.
The target audience responds well to donation breakouts and seeing where their money is
specifically going.
































Source: Hubspot Blog, 5 Communication Strategies to Grow Your Nonprofits Monthly Giving Program

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