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PR Throne

PRE 4600 Public Relations Campaigns Spring 2013
Client: SACRED PATHWAYS




Akeem Deacon




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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Executive Summary3
Research..4
Planning..7
Implementation..10
Evaluation..17
Appendix19










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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Sacred Pathways, Inc. is a crisis ministry in Pembroke, North Carolina. Services are
focused on the hungry, the addicted, the dislocated, and persons dealing with all kinds of
emergency situations.However, this non-profit organization struggled with inadequate funding
and public awareness for their services at their facility.
UNCP public relations seniors helped to revamp and relaunch all of their
communication channels in order to increase awareness and recruit volunteers.Through extensive
research we were able to design a new website, create one issue of the E-newsletter, increase
Facebook likes to 766 and distribute newly designed brochures at the Earth Day event on behalf
of Sacred Pathways. The campaign successfully boosted awareness of Sacred Pathways.














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RESEARCH
Background Research: Background research was conducted to find information on the client.
(Information found on Sacred Pathways online and in their brochure
Initial Client Interview

Funded through grants and donations

Desire to expand its donor base; 80% of donations come from local churches

Desire to expand its volunteers and volunteer desires

Services Provided: Week-day soup kitchen for breakfast and lunch,Weekend hunger bags
and monthly family food boxes, STD Testing; referrals; counseling, on-site pastoral
counseling, referrals and follow up for many other crisis situations, Emergency Food
Distribution: Food donation to senior citizens through partnership with local home health
care agencies, Food box distribution to USDA eligible families and children on site and
with faith partners, and certified Benefit Bank Site

Lack funding for operational expenses

Current channels of communication were not functioning

Primary Research: We conducted various interviews with our client and previous volunteers, as
well as different observations and analysis of other non-profit organizations. This was conducted
in an effort to discover what similar organizations had done to fix and adjust communication and
publicity issues and needs that are similar to our client. Most importantly this research was done
to identify the most urgent need of Sacred Pathways, which was their need of funds for
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operational expenses and to create a new communications outlook. A monthly newsletter can
keep donors, volunteers and the rest of the community up-to-date and informed about Sacred
Pathways progress and needs.

A more attractive and up-to-date website can give an organization a much more
professional look so that donors, volunteers and the rest of the community can take them
seriously.

Staying active on the social media site can generate buzz around Sacred Pathways.

New communication can enhance the stability of the organization.

Secondary Research: After researching other non-profit organizations, we summarized and
analyzed their data and devised a plan for our campaign.We used other websites
(www.charlotterescuemission.org & www.ncnonprofits.org), to expand our knowledge of non-
profit organizations. Using these websites as guidelines we better understood what kind of
content needs to go onto a non-profit organization and different ways we can appeal to our
audience.
Sample Websites:
Things we learned from: www.charlotterescuemission.org

How you can help page

Need list

Slideshow on home screen

Online application form

Things we learned from: www.ncnonprofits.org
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Color scheme

Use of social media icons

Reasons why non-profit organizations matter

Sampled brochure designs were also used, as well as the library to research best practices in
communications channels for non-profit organizations. Some other valid information we found
were:

1/3 of people living in Robeson County have incomes are below $15,000 a year

Sacred Pathways serves 5-10 people each day

50% of the working class in Robeson county do not have education

Sacred Pathways treat their clients like family, no matter gender or race

Sacred Pathways offer more intimate services than larger organizations

Robeson Community College will assist Sacred Pathways with planting a community
garden by donating 5 beds of plants funded by NC BioNetwork

The NC BioNetwork grant will teach the Robeson County how to grow vegetables,
nutrition value and opportunities to learn more at colleges

Vegetables that are left over at the Robeson County Community College garden are
donated to local food banks and crisis ministries



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PLANNING

Goal
o Enhance the overall communication outlook of Sacred Pathways

Objectives:
o To create and design Sacred Pathways website by April 20
th
(See Appendix A)
o To increase Facebook page likes by 20% by April 26th
o To create an e-newsletter subscription by April 25th
o To distribute 150 brochures by April 30th
o To create professional publications and present at Sacred Pathways Earth Day
Event

Strategy:
o Improve and establish communication channels and cross promote among each
other as well as presenting the organization materials at community events

Tactics:
o Website
! Register with Weebly.com
! Learn how to use graphic design program
! Redesign the website
! Write, edit content on the website and make other additions (social icons,
history, contact us, etc.)
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o Social Media
! Update Facebook
! Create a system to help the organization stay active online
! Schedule images and status to be sent at a certain time for Sacred Pathways
! Set up activities to involve target audiences on Facebook page
! Post Sacred Pathways services, updates and events

o Newsletter
! Bridge communication with potential donors and volunteers
! Write about Sacred Pathways services, updates and events
! Include Board of Directors pictures and names
! Include a letter from the Director about upcoming project and overall
progress
! Supply recipients with the website and social media handles

o Brochure
! Design a brochure that targets donors, volunteers
! Cross promote the website and Facebook

o Earth Day
! Showcase Tri-Fold at Earth Day event
! Distribute 25 Brochures
! Recruit 5 volunteers
! Give out free samples of seeds (flowers, watermelon, peas etc
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! Cross-promote the different channels by displaying the website via
computer, distributing brochures, solicit volunteers and donors for
Newsletter

Themes:
o
Building relationships that restore integrity productivity, and full human potential
Messages:
o
The reward of doing good is ten times what it merits
o
Create positive change in the community
o
Gain leadership skills
o
Happiness stems from helping others. Feel good about yourself

















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IMPLEMENTATION
.
Website:
Tactics

Create and remodel the website

Registered with Weebly.com

Learned graphic design skills

Edited, reorganized and wrote content on the website

Designed the web layout

Created the website plan

Added additional information (social media icons, history, contact info, slideshow, etc.)

Used www.charlotterescuemission.org, www.ncnonprofits.org & www.habitat.org as

guides

1. Home

Welcome statement
to include
overall
philosophy

Phone #

Social Media Icons

Logo

Photos: Slideshow

Videos
2. Who We Are

About Us

History

Staff members

Board of directors

Logo

Bible quote
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Facebook:
Tactics:

Updated Facebook

Created a system to help the organization stay active online

Scheduled images and status to be sent at a certain time for Sacred Pathways

Posted Sacred Pathways services, updates and events

Sacred Pathways previously owned a Facebook page with a network of 656 likes

Posted Sacred Pathways services, updates and events

Ownership process initiated February 28

th

Required for page ownership: Utility bill, tax forms, or certificate of establishment for
non-profit organizations
3. What We Do

Services provided

Events

YLC

Logo

Photos
4.What We Need

Donate

Volunteer

Urgent needs

Logo

Photos

Quotes
5. Contact Us

Address

Main office #

Contact form

Map

Logo

Photos
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Statuses Examples
1. Anything new that Sacred Pathways puts on the website must be linked to its Facebook
account
a. Events, workshops, pictures, volunteer/staff spotlights
b. Created an Event page for Bake Sale event
c. Invited People to page and post statuses about to build hype and notoriety
d. Included information of when, where, and why people should go
2. Once a week reach out to gain new volunteers
a. Want to lend a helping hand to someone in need. Volunteer for Sacred Pathways at
(website here) or call (number)
b. Want to join our staff? Apply now to become a volunteer
3. Reached out to donors
a. Dont live in Pembroke but want to help? Donate Now to lend a helping hand to
Sacred Pathways.
4. Introduced Sacred Pathways to the community
a. Expand network to students/teachers/locals/ government officials/ individuals
outside of Robeson County
b. Post opened statuses that require feedback
c. Stay active
5. Newsletter.
a. Ask for new subscribers for newsletters
March 7
th
, Good Luck PR took ownership of the Sacred Pathways Facebook page
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Newsletter:
Tactics:

To bridge communication to potential donors and volunteers

Write about Sacred Pathways services, updates and events

Include Board of Directors pictures and names

Include a letter from the Director of upcoming project and overall progress

Supply recipients with website and social media handles

Write about the online donation

Purpose: To bridge communication barriers to potential donors and volunteers
Target Audience: Donors and volunteers
Frequency: Once a month to the distribution list of donors and volunteers
Type Posted
Photo 3/28/13 8:17 AM
Question 3/28/13 8:56 AM
Photo 3/28/13 9:05 AM
Status Update 3/31/13 6:33 AM
Link 4/2/13 8:38 AM
Link 4/4/13 8:15 AM
Status Update 4/4/13 8:41 AM
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Color scheme: Orange- stimulates enthusiasm and creativity. Orange means vitality with
endurance. People who like orange are usually thoughtful and sincere. Yellow is the color of
sunshine. It's associated with joy, happiness, intellect, and energy. Yellow produces a warming
effect, arouses cheerfulness, stimulates mental activity, and generates muscle energy. Green is
the color of nature. It symbolizes growth, harmony, freshness, and fertility. Green has strong
emotional correspondence with safety. Use green to indicate safety when advertising drugs and
medical products.
April Issue:
1. Note from Director

A letter from the Director of Sacred Pathways progress

2. Link Website & Facebook

Supply viewer with Website and Social Media Handles

3. Upcoming Events

Promote Earth Day Event

4. Whats going on around Robeson County

Articles about relevant topics in Robeson County and around the world.
5. Volunteer Opportunities

The organization that have volunteered

6. Donation Make A Difference Article

An article about how donating m makes a difference in Pembroke community.

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7. Volunteer Spotlight

An opportunity to recognize outstanding volunteers.

Mail Chimp was the service that we used to send the newsletter to donors and volunteers.
It is an emailing marketing service provider. It helps you design newsletters, share them on
social networks, integrate with services you already use and track your results. This is great to
use when you have less than 2000 people to email and its FREE!

Procedure in creating the newsletter marketing plan:
1. Define your readers
2. Determine your purpose
a. Gather content to put on newsletter
3. Outline your goals
4. Determine Your Frequency
5. Create a time line
To learn more information, please visit: http://mailchimp.com/resources/guides/html/how-to-
create-an-email-marketing-plan/
There is a YouTube video that explains how to set up an e-mail or newsletter using Mail Chimp.
Please visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnnEZWGkPsQ







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Earth Day Publications:

Sacred Pathways attended the Bionetworks Earth Day to launch all publications which include:
website, Facebook, brochure, newsletter and handbills. This event was an opportunity to re-
establish connections and create connections with local companies and organizations that could
help and co-sponsor future events. This also allowed volunteers to connect and receive more
information about services Sacred Pathways offer. Clients were able to receive updated
brochures and offered to receive monthly e-mails that would keep them up-to-date on all events
and or opportunities they could take advantage of.
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EVALUATION
Objective #1: To re-create and remodel Sacred Pathways website
Outcome #1: Successfully created and re-designed website and included additional information.
(See Appendix B)
As of April 30th:
! 70 New Visitors
! 262 Pageviews
! 59 % Bounce Rate

Objective #2: To increase Facebook page likes by 20% by the end of April
Outcome #2: Successfully increased Facebook likes to 766. (See Appendix C)
Objective #3: To create an e-newsletter subscription
Outcome #3: Successfully created one issue of the E-newsletter. (See Appendix D)
Objective #4: To distribute 150 brochures
Outcome #4: Redesigned the brochure and successfully distributed 25 brochures at an Earth Day
event.

Objective #5: To create professional publications and present at Sacred Pathways Earth
Day Event
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Outcome #5: Successfully represented Sacred Pathways at the Earth Day event. Recruited 7
volunteers and distributed 25 brochures. (See Appendix E)

Lessons Learned:

Time management skills.

Communication is key to having a successful event.

Start everything as early as possible.

Always have a back-up plan.

Check and then re-check every detail.

Keep all channels of communication open. Especially face to face communication.

Maintain a high sense of urgency to complete all tasks.

Make sure the client is kept in the loop about any changes or information that is crucial to
the development of the campaign.

Do not procrastinate.

Additional research and studying outside the class room is required for better success.

Check in with the instructor as much as possible.

Learned how to create and design a website.

Learned how to create and design a brochure.

Learned how to create a newsletter.

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APPENDIX

Appendix A






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WEBSITE STATISTICS
Appendix B

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Appendix C
FACEBOOK:


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Facebook Likes
4/23/13
4/21/13
4/19/13
4/17/13
4/15/13
4/13/13
4/11/13
4/9/13
4/7/13
4/5/13
4/3/13
4/1/13
3/30/13
3/28/13
3/26/13
3/24/13
3/22/13
0 8 15 23 30
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Appendix D
Newsletter
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NEWSLETTER STATISTICS
DONORS:

Overall Stats
Total Recipients: 27
Successful Deliveries: 24
Bounces: 3 (11.1%)
Times Forwarded: 0
Forwarded Opens: 0
Recipients Who Opened: 10 (41.7%)
Total Opens: 18
Last Open Date: 4/24/13 3:24PM
Recipients Who Clicked: 4 (16.7%)
Total Clicks: 9
0.0
7.5
15.0
22.5
30.0
Total Recipients Total Bounces Open Rate Total Clicks
Series1
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Last Click Date: 4/24/13 3:29PM
Total Unsubs: 0
Total Abuse Complaints: 0
Times Liked on Facebook: 0
0-unsubscribers



















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VOLUNTEERS:


Article Open Rate N/A
Overall Stats
Total Recipients: 27
Successful Deliveries: 22
Bounces: 5 (18.5%)
Times Forwarded: 0
Forwarded Opens: 0
Recipients Who Opened: 4 (18.2%)
Total Opens: 7
Last Open Date: 4/23/13 10:34PM

0
8
15
23
30
Total Recipients Forwarded Opens Total Clicks
Series1
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Appendix E



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