4. 4
Situation Analysis
Client Background:
Our client is Youth Network, a program benefitting local children that belongs to the
nonprofit organization Guilford County Resource and Referral Center (or the GCRRC) and is
also partnered with the Christ United Methodist Church, who donated the property in which
Youth Network takes place. The GCRRC operates under the mission to “support individuals,
families, and communities by assisting them with enhancing their ability to overcome life
challenges, benefit from opportunities, and maintain their quality of life.” This particular
component of the association is focused on children ranging from grades pre-kindergarten
through twelfth and helping them, as Dr. Pamela Palmer put it, “grow and develop a strong sense
of…self-confidence, high self-esteem, and self-motivation.” Youth Network helps to instill
positive values in terms of family, life outlook socialization, education, work ethic, nutrition and
health, recreation and fitness, and spirituality into all children involved. The Youth Network
opened its doors on June 7, 2012 and has since been open every Saturday for young boys in the
High Point community. The entire program operates on donated time from community
members, a significant portion of which are High Point University students, and also requires
participation on the part of the children‟s parents. The ten-week programs Youth Network offers
would, according to Dr. Palmer, cost parents over $525 if paid out of pocket; however, the
program is available at no cost to the families, being funded by the GCRRC and donations.
Industry Trends:
In the non-profit industry we often see many charitable trends. Some of these trends
include holding events and fundraisers to raise money for a good cause. For example, the
national organization Big Brothers Big Sisters holds an annual bowling tournament for each of
their chapters sponsored by various companies on a local and national scale that acts as both a
fundraiser and a heavily promoted outlet for awareness (Bowl a strike, 2013). Relay for Life, the
March of Dimes, and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, just to name a few, hold walks
several times per year in nearly every area across the country that work to gain events for their
respective causes. A lot of charity programs hold things like after school programs for kids to
come together and socialize and become involved in sports, education, spirituality, et cetera,
5. 5
again like Big Brothers Big Sisters and also the YMCA and YWCA. Many non-profit
organizations have volunteers to help them carry out their plans and goals and Youth Network is
no exception. They also look for donors to donate money or items to the charity to better the
program or fundraiser with some organizations running purely off of these, such as the annual
Toys for Tots campaign. We see many trends in the non-profit industry, all of them working
towards bettering society, a specific group of individuals, or within a specific cause.
Competitive Analysis:
In the High Point area, extending into the entire Piedmont-Triad, there are several
organizations that exist that are similar to Youth Network, but do differ from the overall
program. For example, Youth Focus, Inc. is a United Way Agency based in Greensboro. While
Youth Network is open to any child in twelfth grade or younger, this program is targeted toward
at risk and troubled youths from ages 5-21. Youth Focus, Inc. does not require participation on
the part of parents, but offers a much more inclusive list of program services, such as in-home
counseling and access to the other involved groups like Big Brothers Big Sisters. Most of the
services offered are free for the families involved or billed to insurance, although occasionally
there are out-of-pocket costs. With the aforementioned Big Brothers Big Sisters organization
there is a local chapter within the city of High Point. The national positive recognition of this
program allows each branch access to corporate and local sponsors, as many companies want
their names associated with helping the cause. They also work to help children grow into well-
rounded and high-functioning adults much like Youth Network does; however, their primary
focus is on children in minorities facing adversity while Youth Network does not discriminate in
who is brought into the program. In the same respect, there is also a Boy Scouts of America
chapter in High Point, although this program does require payment on the part of the participant
and/or his family.
Youth Network has three partners – High Point University, the Guilford County Resource
and Referral Center and Christ United Methodist Church. As far as rivals are concerned, the
client made it clear that they do not believe they truly have any threatening rivals or “rivals” at
all for that matter. They believe this because all the organization‟s “competitors” are working for
good causes and for the greater good and therefore should not be in competition with each other.
They also stated that there would always be a need for this kind of community service and help
6. 6
so the competitors in the industry aren't necessarily a threat. We understand the basis for this
reasoning; however, with the amount of charitable donations declining with the economy, it is
becoming harder for each group to acquire the funding and resources they need. Because of this,
we feel that Youth Network needs to emphasize its position as a local organization in order to
separate itself from the pack in terms of brand identity.
Audience Analysis:
The Youth Network has many possible audiences to consider. The participants of the
Youth Network include children from grades pre-kindergarten through twelfth. These children
attend the program to grow and develop a strong sense of self-help, including; self-confidence,
self-esteem, and self-motivation, which Dr. Palmer says are the keys to the program. Volunteers
for this program come from many different backgrounds and areas. However, the majority of
them have ties to High Point University, the Guilford County Resource and Referral Center, and
the Christ United Methodist Church, all of which are primary sponsors of Youth Network. The
largest influencers of the Youth Network are donors. There are a considerable number of people
who have been extremely generous by helping keep the program afloat by donating any money
they may have to offer through the GCRRC. The top donators include High Point University,
Alan and Pamela Palmer, Janice Buxton, Crystal Rucker, and Shawna Torrence (Donations,
2013). There are also thirty other donators that have all been apart of helping this organization
continue to strive.
The primary target market that the Youth Network should aim towards would be the
children in twelfth grade and younger. This would be their primary concern because if a child
hears about the program and is interested, it will be difficult for a parent to say no to such a great
program. The secondary target market for the Youth Network would be parents with children in
pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade. If the parents are targeted, they essentially have
jurisdiction over what their children will be doing. If they know about the great aspects of the
program, they will be more than likely to enroll their child, considering parents are always
looking out for their children‟s well being. In addition, they will also help get the word out
quickly to other parents as well.
Program/Brand Analysis:
7. 7
The Youth Network helps local children develop a strong sense of self. The program is
about education, but it is as much about school-age children growing through self-discovery and
through exchanges with individuals from the High Point community that can help them on a life
skills level. They like to call themselves an enrichment program. Youths enrolled in the program
spend several hours each Saturday at the Youth Network House. Here, they interact with
volunteers from the organizations who are able to generate a positive impact on the young
people's lives. Youth Network features four learning centers that focus on different
developmental aspects. The first feature being self-discovery zone, which is designed to help
children develop goals and objectives for their lives; the second being powerhouse, which
emphasizes fitness and health; the third is peer connect wherein open discussion and self-
expression are encouraged; and lastly, inspiration nation, during which speakers attempt to
motivate and inspire the children of Youth Network (Youth Network, 2013).
Media Usage Analysis:
Public Relations has been a key tactic utilized by the Guilford County Resource and
Referral Center in promoting Youth Network. This method is of particular importance as there is
limited funding for Youth Network as is and therefore dollars spent on advertising the program
would not benefit the children involved, but possibly take resources from them. Various media
channels have been used to spread the word, including segments on the Triad‟s local CBS
WFMY News Channel 2 and articles in the High Point Enterprise. With High Point University
students‟ involvement in the program, there have also been news releases on the University‟s
website. Aside from these, because the Youth Network House does have limited resources in
terms of how many children they can actually support, the rest of the advertising relies primarily
on word-of-mouth. As a community organization, simply building the image of Youth Network
in the mind‟s of community members with the potential to be involved is what truly matters. We
will attempt to increase this image in a positive manner throughout our campaign.
Category Creative Analysis:
From the secondary research conducted, it seems that Youth Network has not launched a
creative or strategic campaign in High Point since its formation. This is an obvious reason why
8. 8
the client needs our advice and guidance on which direction to pursue as far as campaign. This
gives a wide range of opportunities for a strategic campaign that could benefit the client.
Public Opinion & Stakeholder Analysis:
From the secondary research on the public opinion and stakeholders of the Youth
Network it is obvious that positive opinions feed this non-profit program. Feature articles of the
Youth Network in the aforementioned locations have been positive since its launch in June of
2012. High Point University, The Guilford County Resource and Referral Center, and the Christ
United Methodist Church are the three partners or stakeholders for this project. The Christ
United Methodist Church as provided the location in which the program takes place and the
GCRRC provides the majority of the necessary funding. High Point University supplies a
significant number of volunteers and also has been successful in disseminating messages about
Youth Network. This program is seen as an enrichment opportunity for the youth in the
community of High Point. It also fosters the education of Non-Profit majors attending High Point
University. That being said, the public opinion and stakeholder involvement will be crucial to the
success of the Youth Network. By combining the needs of the city of High Point as well as the
needs of stakeholders, the Youth Network has the capability for growth.
SWOT Analysis:
Strengths:
There are easy ways to get involved with the organization, through the donation of three
hours of time or a meal for the children and volunteers.
Youth Network is linked to three reputable organizations: the Guilford Country Resource
and Referral Center, the Christ United Methodist Church, and High Point University.
Involvement in the program does not cost anything for the families of children involved.
Youth Network and the Guilford County Resource and Referral Center are tax-exempt.
Weaknesses:
There is not enough funding for Youth Network to expand and build on the existing
programs.
The Guilford County Resource and Referral website is not accessible through Google and
the page dedicated to Youth Network contains only two sentences and a video. Other
9. 9
facets of the website, particularly the „Donations‟ and „About Us‟ pages, are
unprofessional, not uniform (with haphazardly placed images and pages containing
clearly copy & pasted information comprised of multiple fonts), devoid of content (the
„About Us‟ page says “ynuowuhdssd, powmgcwulo”), and would deter involvement.
There is a small volunteer base currently involved with the program and many on the
High Point campus have not heard of Youth Network.
Opportunities:
Similar local organizations only target at-risk youth so there is a gap in the market for
children who wouldn‟t fall into this category, but could still benefit from the program.
There will never be a shortage of potential new children to be involved in the program.
Many student organizations on the High Point University campus are constantly looking
for ways to volunteer in the local community.
The lack of a fee for the family of children involved in the program makes involvement
easier than in similar organizations.
They have not yet utilized social media, which would be a great way to increase
exposure, especially among college-aged students.
Threats:
Similar local organizations are attached to larger organizations and therefore have greater
means of gaining exposure.
Client’s Opportunity:
Youth Network has a largely untapped group of potential volunteers at High Point
University. As many (if not most) student-based organizations on campus engage in
philanthropy work on both a local and national level, these groups are constantly looking for new
ways to have their members be involved in the community. As Youth Network has limited
funding, but would still like to expand the program, students have the ability to be involved on a
greater scale than they would in similar, larger organizations. We have developed a preliminary
plan to target the largest groups on the High Point University campus, such as sports teams,
Greek organizations, service fraternities, and the SGA. This plan will also include the Youth
Network presence online separate from the GCRRC website, as we believe this is a weakness for
the program.
10. 10
Research
We broke our research questions up into two parts, the first being internal to the High Point
University campus and the second being more exterior factors pertaining to the Piedmont-Triad
area. Those directly pertaining to HPU are as follows:
What are the most effective ways to get High Point University students not only aware of
Youth Network but willing to participate in the organization and donate.
Which students on campus are most likely to volunteer with or donate to Youth Network?
We followed these up with a question regarding the surrounding environment comprised of
smaller points:
What events do similar organizations in the Piedmont-Triad area already do?
Which of these are the most successful?
How are these events promoted?
Data Collection:
The data for our primary research was collected through a distribution of surveys to various High
Point University students. Since all of the members of Advanced Innovations belong to various
organizations, we had originally planned to distribute the survey electronically to members of
said groups. However, we later decided that this would not be truly representative of all of the
campus community, particularly those not involved in clubs or organizations, and therefore
decided to simply submit the paper surveys to get a greater variety of answers while still using
the available population in nonprobability sampling. The survey was comprised of 25 multiple
choice and short answer questions designed to get a feel both for our audience and what we
could achieve in working with them. We each set off with a number of surveys distributed via
the personal drop-off method and returned with 33 responses from High Point University
students. We then put the data into an Excel spreadsheet where we were able to find various
statistics about our sample of students.
11. 11
Data Analysis:
We began analyzing our data in response to our research questions, the first of which
being “What are the most effective ways to get High Point University students not only aware of
Youth Network but willing to participate in the organization and donate?”
Also, our data shows that the various clubs and organizations on the High Point
University campus would be the best target for the campaign. This also begins to answer our
third question, “Which students on campus are most likely to volunteer with or donate to Youth
Network?” The motivation behind student participation in volunteer work was very evenly
dispersed among class requirements, club/organization activity, Greek philanthropy, and
personal interest; however, club/organization activity and Greek philanthropy were slightly
ahead of the other options and therefore reinforce the notion that clubs and organizations on
campus should be the focus of the campaign.
We then looked at what volunteer organizations students were participating in already.
Many students were involved in large-scale organizations, such as the Juvenile Diabetes
Research Foundation, the National Brain Aneurysm Foundation, and Habitat for Humanity. We
wanted to focus in on organizations closer related to Youth Network to answer our next question,
which were Big Brothers Big Sisters and Girl Scouts of America. Working with both of these
groups involves direct contact with the children involved and not much room for contribution
else wise, except for purchasing cookies once a year.
In addition, nearly all of our survey respondents said they were only willing to commit
between zero to six hours per week volunteering. This gave us a new, unique way to express to
our audience that they could have a large impact on Youth Network without committing the
extensive amount of time required for participation in programs like Big Brothers Big Sisters.
Big Brothers Big Sisters does not require a certain amount of hours a week to spend with your
little, however, it is highly recommended that you volunteer at least five hours a week as well as
reach out once a week to do outside activities, which could be an all day event. Overall, Big
Brothers Big Sisters is a much more time committed relationship with someone, and many of the
targeted people who took our survey stated that they would not be willing to dedicate as much
time as is needed for the Big Brothers Big Sisters program.
Students also responded on the types of fundraisers and events that they would be
interested in being a part of. By a clear majority, students were interested in attending concerts
12. 12
and also supporting events in order to support charities. When specifically asked about
fundraising on campus, the responses reinforced the need for larger events to promote student
participation, such as Big Man on Campus, would be the most effective means of reaching High
Point University students. With interest in other events, such as hosting restaurants, there is a
greater potential to expand an event into a multiple day or weeklong program with several
smaller parts leading up to the main event.
Please see the chart below regarding real life percentages of our survey responses from
33 respondents.
Secondary Research:
The secondary research was conducted to better understand the community in which we
are trying to promote Youth Network. There are various organizations that High Point
University is involved with and sponsors particular events. That being said, there are also
different organizations in the Piedmont Triad area whose events we can use as example. We
already know that Relay for Life is a successful event held here on campus each year. From
experience and the secondary research, we have found other non-profit organizations with
similar goals and objectives of the Youth Network.
1. Big Brothers and Big Sisters
Big Brothers and Big Sisters is a national organization that has gained plenty of exposure
and success throughout the years. Like the Youth Network, Big Brothers Big Sisters focuses on
the youth of the community and providing fostering experiences for their development and
growth. Although the method is somewhat different, the organizations share the common need
and want to provide resources to the vulnerable youth of communities. One event that stuck out
the most and could be possible for the Youth Network is something along the lines of the “Bowl
For Kids‟ Sake” event. It is an annual sponsored bowling tournament in majority of areas that
Big Brothers Big Sisters is located. This event is one of the largest fundraising events of the year
and allows companies and organizations to sponsor the event and raise money for the youth. The
city of High Point also hosts this annual event, allowing opportunities for people to sponsor
different aspects. This is obviously already a popular event for the organization as a whole, and
can be beneficial to look at to construct a main fundraising event for the Youth Network. The
13. 13
event is heavily promoted on their website, as well as online search engine results. This could be
an idea of an event for the involvement of High Point University students as well. Bowling is a
relevant thing to HPU students; many students participating for leisure while others receive
credit for the physical education course. Tarheel Lanes in High Point is the bowling alley where
these classes assemble. The relationship that is already built through HPU and the bowling alley
could be a key to putting on a successful event for the Youth Network. We know that students
participate already and we could promote this throughout campus and student email.
2. United Way
Another organization is United Way. High Point‟s non-profit department already has a
relationship with the program. Students can offer volunteer hours for the organization in order to
meet service learning class requirements. That being said, their events and campaigns are
important to look at for Youth Network ideas. United Way has a campaign called Children
Initiatives which helps the science of early childhood development. Alike Youth Network,
United Way has aims to better the future of young children. The secondary research conducted
showed a large emphasis was put on local partnerships that fostered successful volunteer and
fundraising opportunities. By creating more relationships with local organizations and businesses
Youth Network could create a larger, successful campaign. Not only that, but more involvement
from businesses in the Piedmont-Triad area allows for further exposure of the Youth Network
and events.
3. Relay For Life
Relay For Life is a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society. This specific fundraiser
is held to help people find support and comfort with the hard issue of cancer. It honors cancer
survivors, those who have died from cancer and just to help fight back against the disease.
During these events relay teams camp out and take turns walking or running around a track.
These events last up to 24 hours long and asks that one team member is walking on the track at
all times to imitate the fact that cancer never sleeps. This is the type of event that often takes
place at schools from middle to high school to colleges. In fact, Relay For Life is hosted on the
High Point Campus every year.
I went further into researching this event because it seems to be very successful on this
campus. The turn out increases every year and High Point students really get involved. After
14. 14
researching this event/organization thoroughly we found a lot of good information. There is
food, refreshments, games and contests throughout the entire event.
Also, there is something constantly happening to keep participants involved and excited
about the fundraiser. This may seem like a small step but I think it is very important. People,
especially students, can easily get bored with typical fundraisers/events but if there is constantly
a new game or contest being introduced it will continue to draw in the attention of the
participants. We also found that holding small events within the event is a good way to get
students involved and wanting to participate. The American Cancer Society's Relay For Life
event is a great fundraiser to look up to. This organization is relevant because we can look to
them for advice and tips on how to run a successful event.
Besides collecting secondary research on other events and organizations in the Triad area,
our team decided to go a little further. We found some general secondary research on hosting and
promoting non-profit events. We found a lot of information we were already aware of however,
we also found some extra good advice and ideas from a marketing blog called, The Marketing
Spot and another website called the Digital Marketing Department also Using sources like the
school newspaper, community calendars and press releases can be very beneficial in spreading
the word about the event.
Goals & Objectives
Output Objectives:
In order to garner the largest amount of awareness for our various events, we will reach our
target audience of High Point University through three groups with specific messages for each.
We have decided to target those students on campus involved in various organizations, although
our methods for reaching them will expand to all students.
We will be featured in the daily Campus Concierge email beginning with their first
correspondence of the semester in order to inform all students on campus about the
events for For the Kids Week by August 26, 2013.
For the Kids Week and Youth Network will be featured in the High Point University
Campus Chronicle during the first August issue (date of publication to be determined)
15. 15
telling students the purpose of Youth Network and where the funds raised will be going
in order to facilitate greater awareness.
We will set up an event on Facebook for the week through the specific Facebook fan
page we will have already established for the Youth Network organization. This will
consistently remind students about the events and allow us to keep a steady stream of
positive facts occurring on Facebook newsfeeds. We aim to get approximately 50% of
the student population seeing the page by August 30.
We will attend the meetings of various campus organizations the week of August 19 (IE:
SGA, Greek-affiliated organizations, sports teams, etc.) to explain the importance of the
cause, encourage participation, and present ourselves as contact resources. With Greek
organizations, we will also introduce a contest lasting the duration of the week for which
group can raise the most funds. These meetings should give us access to approximately
75% of students according to the High Point University Office of Admissions.
In order to reach students who do not have access to social media or do not necessarily
check their email accounts daily (as there are not many of them, but they do exist), we
will visit each of the dormitories on campus and place flyers under the doors from
Monday, August 26 to Thursday the 29. We will also be doing a “dorm storm” during
this timeframe, which will remind students about the events and also directly ask them to
donate to the cause. This potentially gives us access to 93% of students, which is the
percentage of students living on campus according to the High Point University Office of
Admissions.
Outcome Objectives:
Get students to attend the weekly events
Our objective is to get at least 25% of the HPU campus to attend each of our six
events (approximately 1,000 students at each) in order to garner funds for Youth
Network and increase awareness of the organization.
Increase awareness of the Youth Network
We will conduct a follow-up survey to find out if the number of students aware of
Youth Network has increased throughout the weeklong event. Currently, the
percentage of students who know about the program is about 30%. Our goal is to
16. 16
get this number up to at least 70% awareness by the end of our For the Kids Week
on August 31.
Fundraise money for Youth Network to use for any expenses
By the end of the week Advanced Innovations seeks to raise at least $2,000 from
the various events and from students donating to Youth Network by August 31.
Because Youth Network wishes to become funded independently of the GCRRC,
we would like to provide them with money to be used on any of their expenses in
running the program.
Collect other donations of money and resources for Youth Network
We will have collection bins located in the Slane Student Center and the
University Center for people to donate various items to Youth Network during the
week. On aforementioned flyers we will distribute and on the concierge emails
we will give a list of items we would like donated (IE: paper towels, hand soap,
toilet paper, paper plates, disposable cutlery, etc.). We will also arrange with the
concierge to have a donation box for students to put in separate donations and
loose change. This will cover some of the gaps in funding Dr. Palmer has
expressed Youth Network possesses.
Encourage resource donation for weekly meals
Our goal for this objective is to get sponsorship of all meals for each of the
Saturdays throughout the duration of the ten-week-long program. We will mainly
express this to the organizations we visit during weekly meetings as it will be an
easy feat for them to accomplish with a huge membership for support. This will
be one very easy way to alleviate some of the cost burden on Youth Network.
Get organizations to sponsor children to attend Youth Network
Since there are currently 15 children participating in Youth Network and they do
not have the facilities to accommodate too many more, our goal for this objective
is to get organizations on campus, or a team of a couple organizations combined,
to sponsor 3-5 new children to attend the ten-week Youth Network program by
September 1.
17. 17
Business Objective:
We aim to create a positive and prominent reputation for Youth Network in the High
Point community, particularly on the High Point University campus, that fosters a greater
knowledge of and participation in the organization by the end of our events on August 31.
Messages & Audiences Report
Client Problem or Opportunity:
Youth Network currently operates in High Point, North Carolina with support from the
Guilford County Resource and Referral Center (GCRRC), but aims to generate its own funding.
With such close proximity to High Point University, the ten-week-long program receives a
significant amount of support from students in terms of volunteers, especially with Dr. Palmer‟s
classes studying nonprofit organizations that are required to participate. However, there are only
fifteen boys from grades pre-kindergarten through twelfth currently participating and what Youth
Network needs is not additional people volunteering time. They simply need funds to continue
the success of the organization and also to potentially expand it. The cost for the series of
weekends, which Dr. Palmer estimates to be about $525, is not paid for by the children or their
parents, but is rather funded by the GCRRC and outside donations. There are additional
expenses as well, such as meals for the children and volunteers and basic supplies like paper
towels and hand soap, which do add up for program. These factors have lead Youth Network to
recognize a huge opportunity in the generosity of nearby HPU students: to acquire donations of
resources and/or funds from students and their respective organizations on campus for Youth
Network.
Campaign Objectives:
In order to achieve the most possible success in pursuing this opportunity, we have
decided to host a weeklong event for Youth Network on the High Point University campus from
August 26-31, 2013. Each day of the week beginning on Monday, there will be events such as
hosting restaurants and movies in the Extraordinaire Cinema in the University Center. These
will all culminate in a formal dance event on Saturday, August 31 for which tickets will be sold
18. 18
the week leading up to it at the University Center tables as well as in the Slane Student Center.
The goal of these events is to garner funds and donations for Youth Network through attendance
at the week‟s events as well as to inspire future giving from the students on the HPU campus.
Target Audience:
The overall target audience for the campaign is High Point University undergraduate
students, comprised mainly of young adults ages 18-22, 59% of which is female.
Target Audience Segmentation:
However, we have decided to target mainly those students involved in various activities
and organizations on campus, although some of the means of doing this will reach the miniscule
minority of students who do not participate in any groups. Approximately 30% of students are
involved in Greek organizations, which lead to our first segmentation of fraternity and sorority
members. There are three governing bodies of these groups on campus, which are the Inter-
Fraternity Council (IFC), Panhellenic Council, and National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC) and
membership in these organizations can reach over 150 members. Each fraternity, of which there
are five currently active, and sorority, of which there are an active nine, hold weekly chapter
meetings that often have guests from the University or the community who come to speak about
different opportunities for the organizations and their members. We would attend these
meetings, possibly with additional representatives of Youth Network if they are interested, to get
across a key message to these students. As many of them are involved in many other activities
such as clubs and jobs, they do not always have ample time to devote to philanthropic efforts.
We want them to know that by helping Youth Network by donating resources or sponsoring a
child they are making a huge difference without spending a lot of time. We also want to
emphasize the idea of sponsoring a child to attend the program as a chapter. Since many
chapters are so large, 150 students sponsoring one boy for the ten-week program duration would
only cost each member approximately $3.50. This ease will be highlighted on flyers that will be
distributed at these chapter meetings as well as put on display in the Greek Village Conference
Center and to the individual houses. In addition these flyers will feature a contest across the
different Greek-affiliated organizations to see who can raise the largest amount of funds for the
Youth Network. The winning team will receive a plaque featuring a photo of the Youth Network
19. 19
children supported thanking the organization by name and they will also have a private showing
of the newly released movie of their choice in the Extraordinaire Cinema with free popcorn,
candy, and drinks.
Next, we will target the student athletes at High Point University. Dr. Palmer had told us
that several members of the men‟s basketball team are already involved in Youth Network,
which allows us a great starting off point with this particular group. With fourteen Division 1
sports teams and over twenty Club teams on campus, there are a significant number of people to
contribute to this worthwhile cause. As a theme for targeting this group we have adopted the
slogan “Take your teamwork off the court!” We will encourage these students to give back to
their community and improve the reputation of their team members by working to help these
younger students, according to Dr. Pamela Palmer, “grow and develop a strong sense of…self-
confidence, high self-esteem, and self-motivation.” We will have a strong visual that will be
distributed to the various programs and put around athletic facilities across the University
featuring athletes helping children either learning various sports techniques or with homework or
other self-improvement. We will have a mixture of celebrity athletes representative of the bigger
sports teams on campus, such as Bubba Watson for golf and Carmelo Anthony for basketball,
and the actual High Point University athletes volunteering. This will inspire our students to
achieve both as much as their professional role models and the same level of giving as their
peers.
20. 20
Finally, we will target students in other clubs and organizations on campus that are not of
a Greek-affiliated or athletic nature. These groups include the Student Government Association
(SGA), the service fraternity Alpha Phi Omega (which, although their name has Greek letters in
it, is not governed by IFC, Panhellenic, or the NPHC), the Campus Activities Team, and
Odyssey Club (for students in the Honors Scholar Program) to name a few. Some of the
methods we will use to target these students will conjointly reach others, but they will reinforce
the messages specific to these people. We will have the students operating the ice cream truck
distribute facts about the Youth Network organization with the treats they are handing out.
These will present our message on it that helping support the organization will, like ice cream,
make you feel good and reach beyond the bubble of High Point University to help foster a sense
of community with citizens of High Point. We will also reach out to the leaders of these
organizations and ask them to personally talk to their members about helping with Youth
Network. As these groups do not have as regular meetings as the two aforementioned
segmentations, this will allow the personal contact we would like to establish on their schedule.
We will give these leaders flyers highlighting the positive results of donating funds and resources
Example of
handout/poster to give
to athletic teams. On the
back would be a boiler
plate giving more info
about Youth Network
21. 21
to Youth Network to distribute to their members both in physical and digital form in order for
them to fit into regular correspondence.
While we will be reaching every student on campus in some way or another, by targeting
these groups we hope to achieve the greatest amount of positive response for the Youth Network
organization. We aim to increase awareness of the program as well as gain support during the
week with donations and participation in our events. Ideally, this will produce long-term support
of the program through our different organizations at High Point University with sponsorship of
children to participate and continuing donations. While we separate our messages into different
segmentations, the overall theme is the same: Youth Network is a worthwhile cause that should
be supported by students.
Media Recommendations:
All of these students will gain exposure to the Youth Network by our Facebook event
page, the distribution of information through the Campus Concierge Daily Update emails, the
High Point University Campus Chronicle newspaper, and flyer distribution and “dorm storming”
we described in our “Goals and Objectives” summary. Social media is so important these days so
we recommend using that as much as possible. Using a Facebook page to promote and keep in
contact with people will be very helpful. Another idea is even setting up a Twitter account to
These are examples of
handouts that would be given
out by the ice-cream truck
with ice cream/treats. There
would be a boiler plate on the
back giving info about Youth
Network.
22. 22
keep track of progress during the week and to help further promotions. We will communicate to
them that this program is a worthwhile cause for the High Point community and how much any
donation can help to build on the program and allow children to benefit greatly. We will also let
them know about all of our fun ways to get involved throughout the week, particularly the formal
event at the end of the week.
Strategies & Tactics
In order to improve upon and expand the program offered by Youth Network, as well as to
garner the organization financial independence from the Guilford County Resource and Referral
Center (GCRRC), we have decided to host a weeklong series of fundraising events called For the
Kids Week. With its close proximity to High Point University and a largely untapped pool of
generous students, they would like to target the campus to help achieve this goal. There is a
cornucopia of methods HPU students can get involved with Youth Network and make a very
impactful difference in the lives of young, local boys with little effort on their part. These
include:
Donating resources such as paper towels or combining forces with other students to
sponsor a child
o According to Dr. Pamela Palmer, it would cost approximately $525 for the ten-
week-long program.
Target audiences include:
o Greek organizations
o Sports teams
o Other campus clubs
o The rest of HPU student body
Media Recommendations:
When we spoke to the representative from the Youth Network she mentioned that the
target market for this campaign was primarily focused on High Point University students. That
being said, we focused on media outlets and resources on campus, which would obviously reach
23. 23
that target market. Although outside resources are normally used for strategic campaigns, we felt
it was unnecessary to go to outside sources from HPU‟s campus. Listed below are a variety of
earned and owned media. Since all of our campus resources are free to us we did not have any
paid media to add to the list. Although paid media is not being used, this is a good thing for the
team and Youth Network. It allows more opportunities to use our budget accordingly for the
events being held throughout the week of August 26, 2013.
Facebook/Twitter
Social Media outlets will be a huge resource for gaining exposure for the events
that we plan on hosting during the week of August 26, 2013. We plan on creating
pages for Facebook and Twitter so both audiences that use these social media
tools will be reached. For example, we planned on creating a Youth Network
Facebook page that features the events that High Point University will hold as
well as all of the information that goes along with those events. Events are
promoted throughout Facebook by creating an event and sending an invitation for
all of your “friends” or Facebook users to see. This app also features the ability to
determine who plans on attending the events. Users have the ability to Accept,
Decline or “Maybe” attend the event that the invitation features. So, the Facebook
page would first give the mission statement of the Youth Network, the cause for
the week-long event(s) and how you can participate, attend and donate. The
Twitter page will have the same concept, featuring daily tweets about the events
that are coming up prior to the actual week of the event. We can also team up with
HPU‟s twitter account in different tweets to get more exposure to our target
market of HPU students and groups.
Campus Concierge
Campus concierge is also another media outlet that we will use based out of
HPU‟s campus. This owned media is an easy way to reach the entire student body
of HPU. The campus concierge already features events that occur on campus and
emails to make students aware. This email can be drafted quite easily and will
24. 24
suffice as generating enough awareness consistently throughout the week and
weeks before.
Campus Chronicle
The Campus Chronicle would be the earned media element of our media outlets
for the Youth Network. The plan is for the campus newspaper to interview us
about the events we are trying to hold for Youth Network and why it is important
to HPU and High Point‟s community. If possible, the newspaper will publish and
feature our story in the Newspaper, gaining more exposure to our target
audiences.
Youth Network Website
As a form of owned media we are going to create a new website for Youth
Network. The website will be creative, eye catching and easy to navigate. Youth
Network needs a strong online presence to draw in their targeted audiences. The
website will have different pages. One of the most important pages the website
will feature is the events page. The events page will be updated regularly to notify
the surrounding communities about upcoming events such as fundraisers. There
will also be a clear spot with contact information on how to reach the members of
Youth Network and also how to donate.
High Point University Website
As another form of owned media we are going to have an advertisement on the
High Point University website for Youth Network and the event week. This is a
very important owned media source because the events will be geared towards
High Point University students. Therefore, the best way to reach the students is
through outlets in which they use often---such as the website. The website will
feature the different events that we will be hosting a well as the specific
information such as when and where. The website will also feature a small
“article” about Youth Network, their organization and their goals.
25. 25
Media List: Below you will find a media list specifying our media outlets listed above and their
contact information for the use of the Youth Network and Kids Week:
Facebook/Twitter
• Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/HighPointU?fref=ts
• Twitter: @HighPointU
Campus Concierge
• Email: Concierge@highpoint.edu
• Phone: (336) 841-4636
Campus Chronicle
• Email: News@highpoint.edu
• URL Link: Highpoint.edu/chronicle
HPU Website
• URL Link: Highpoint.edu
• Phone: (336) 841-9000
27. 27
The For the Kids Week events will take place the week leading up to Labor Day Weekend
from Monday, August 26 through Saturday, August 31, 2013. Because classes for the Fall 2013
semester convene on Tuesday, August 20 and students should begin to arrive on campus only
that weekend before, our various tactics will be implemented on a short time frame. The
timeline schedule we have devised to best extend our message to High Point University students
is listed in the points below:
Monday, August 12
Beginning the Monday before classes reconvene each semester, the Campus
Concierge resumes their „Campus Concierge Daily Update‟ emails. The list of
events for the For the Kids Week will be featured in the emails from this first
point, as well as on the corresponding kiosks around the school.
This is the same time that we will officially launch our Facebook event. We will
have already created an official Youth Network page (linked to the Youth
Network website) that will be the listed host of the event and from this account as
well as our personal accounts we will invite potentially the entire University.
Sunday, August 18 – Friday, August 22
The week leading up to For the Kids Week we will have students “Dorm
Storming” for Youth Network from Monday through Thursday, meaning they will
go door-to-door in each residential building and community asking for donations
and distributing flyers about the Week and Youth Network. This will occur from
approximately 7:00-9:00 PM in the evening once students are done with classes.
During this same time, we will have students post flyers in various locations
around campus, such as on dormitory bulletin boards and in the Millis Athletic
and Convocation Center.
Throughout the week, we will attend the meetings of each Greek organization on
campus and introduce them to a competition we will be holding throughout the
next week called Greeks Give, rewarding the group that raises the most funds for
Youth Network. We will also present them the idea of sponsoring a child to
attend the program, which is very feasible with their high numbers.
We will also meet with sports teams and other campus clubs and organizations
this week, urging them to participate in the events of the Week.
28. 28
Week of August 21
We will work with the High Point University Campus Chronicle to run a story
about our fundraisers for Youth Network, which will likely run on August 21;
however, the exact date the newspaper plans to release their August issue has yet
to be determined.
Monday, August 26
This is the official start of our events. The University Center tables will be
utilized from this point on for donations, awareness of Youth Network, and
selling tickets for our formal dance event (at $10 per person or $15 per couple),
specifically from 11:00 AM-1:00 PM on this day. The emails sent daily from the
Campus Concierge will now be tailored to the specific day‟s events as well as
reminding students to purchase tickets for Saturday‟s formal. There will also be
boxes for both the donation of cash and items for Youth Network at Concierge
locations during their hours.
That evening from 4:00-9:00 PM we will be hosting Feeney‟s Frozen Yogurt
where proceeds will go toward Youth Network.
Monday, August 26 – Friday, August 30
We will coordinate with the students driving the High Point University ice cream
truck to distribute miniature versions of our flyers with the treats they hand out.
These will have on them quick facts about Youth Network as well as the events of
the Week.
Tuesday, August 27
Representatives for the fundraiser will be at the University Center tables from
3:00-5:00 PM selling tickets for Saturday‟s formal dance event and collecting
donations.
At 8:00 PM there will be a movie playing in the Extraordinaire Cinema preceded
by a brief video about Youth Network. Donations will be requested.
Wednesday, August 28
Representatives for the fundraiser will be at the University Center tables from
11:00 AM-1:00 PM selling tickets for Saturday‟s formal dance event and
collecting donations.
29. 29
From 4:00-7:00 PM we will host a tie-dying event for students on the Slane
Basketball Courts. In order to dye a shirt, students may bring their own and pay
$5 or we can provide one for them for an extra $2. There will also be popcorn
and cotton candy for students who participate.
Thursday, August 29
Representatives for the fundraiser will be at the University Center tables from
3:00-5:00 PM selling tickets for Saturday‟s formal dance event and collecting
donations.
Liberty Steakhouse & Brewery will be our next hosting opportunity from 5:00-
10:00 PM with a percentage of profits for the night going toward Youth Network.
Friday, August 30
Representatives for the fundraiser will be at the University Center tables from
11:00 AM-5:00 PM. In addition to selling tickets for Saturday‟s formal dance
event and collecting donations, we will also be holding a bake sale.
Saturday, August 31
At 8:00 PM, there will be a formal event in the Greek Village Conference Center
as the capstone event for For the Kids Week. The winner of the Greeks Give
Competition will be announced here.
Budget:
As previously stated, throughout the week we will be hosting a variety of different
events. Luckily, the majority of these events will not cost anything from the Youth Network.
Our events that will not need to be funded include our Feeney‟s night, our movie night, Liberty
night, and the bake sale. The movie night will not need any funding due to the fact that we are
lucky enough to be able to rent out the school movie theater for free, and the school also is able
to supply the movie for us. This saves a tremendous amount of money instead of renting a theater
off campus. The Youth Network will also not need to fund anything for the bake sale due to the
fact that people will be donating their baked goods rather than having the Youth Network buy the
food themselves to sell. The other two nights will not need to be funded because they are hosted
at restaurants and yogurt shops that do not require any fees. The three apects that will require
funding are the tie-dye event, prize for the Greek Gives winner and the formal. The prize for
30. 30
Greek Gives will cost $100. The tie dye event will include fifty t-shirts for participants who opt-
in to pay for their t-shirts rather than bring their own. The total amount of money for these t-
shirts will be $75.00. The other supplies that will be necessary for the event is a tie dye kit. One
tie dye kit makes 50 shirts, which means we will be buying two for $100.00. In summation, the
total amount of money spent on the tie-dye event will be $175.00. The formal will be a little
more costly, however, the profit is still superior. The formal will be held in the Greek
Conference Center on campus, which allows us to not have to pay for a space. The only costs
that will need to be provided is for food and drinks. We have allocated funds to have the formal
catered by subway. This includes giant subs that serve upwards of 110 people as well as four
dozen cookies and an array of soft drinks. This total quantity of food amounts to $350.00, which
is a small price to pay compared to the profit that will come out of the formal event. Below is a
chart that further shows the allocated funds.
Monitoring & Evaluation
Youth Network is an organization dedicated to helping children in the High Point area
from grades pre-kindergarten through twelfth develop socially, physically, and cognitively. The
program currently operates with support from the Guilford County Resource and Referral Center
(GCRRC); however, those involved aim to generate its own financial independence and
potentially enough to expand the program further. To aid in this cause, Youth Network has
decided to reach out to the students of High Point University. Advanced Innovations has devised
what we feel will be the most affective means to do so with a week-long series of events entitled
For the Kids Week from August 26–31, 2013. This is designed to increase awareness of the
organization and garner funds in a positive, fun way that gets students involved. We have
created a set of output, outcome, and business objectives that we will work toward
accomplishing throughout this said week to best achieve this goal. Output objectives will be
measured purely on their enactment and will be evaluated based on our outcome and business
objectives. For the latter two we will monitor and evaluate the success of each through different
methods corresponding to their natures. Below you can find a summarized form of each of these
objectives as well as the means by which we will analyze them.
31. 31
Get at least 25% of the HPU campus to attend each of our six events (approximately 1,000
students at each) in order to garner funds for Youth Network and increase awareness of
the organization.
To monitor this objective we will have a member in charge of using a handheld tally
counter to keep track of every person who enters each event. By doing this we will be
able to keep track of the amount of HPU students that attend each events.
To evaluate this objective we will put the attendance numbers of HPU students at each
event into an excel sheet. By doing this we will be able to see which events had the best
and worst turnouts.
Get the percentage of High Point University students aware of Youth Network from 30%
up to at least 70% awareness by the end of our For the Kids Week on August 31.
To monitor this objective we will be distributing a preliminary survey to establish the
awareness HPU students have about Youth Network. We will also keep track of how
many people respond to the events through our social media tactics such as Facebook etc.
We will also use Google Alerts to find out what is being said about Youth Network and
their organization events. Additionally we will monitor the website traffic of the new and
improved Youth Network website that we have planned to set up.
To Evaluate this objective we will use a post survey about the awareness HPU students
have about Youth Network. With the preliminary and post surveys we will be able to
distinguish a difference between the awareness before the event week compared to the
awareness after the event week.
Each survey has been created using the website SurveyMonkey; however, a transcribed
version of each may be found on the next few pages.
The following is our preliminary survey:
1. Have you heard of the Guilford County Resource and Referral Center?
Yes
No
2. Have you heard of Youth Network?
Yes
No
3. Are you aware that HPU has a volunteering center?
32. 32
Yes
No
4. Have you ever utilized the volunteering center at HPU?
Yes
No
5. What motivates you to participate in volunteer work?
Class requirement
Club/organization activity
Greek philanthropy
Personal interest
Other (please specify)
6. How active do you consider yourself in volunteering for a non-profit organization? (1
being very unlikely; 10 being very likely)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
7. How likely are you to volunteer locally (e.g., Piedmont Triad community)? (1 being very
unlikely; 10 being very likely)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
8. How likely would you be to donate to a non-profit organization? (1 being very unlikely;
10 being very likely)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
9. Sex
Male
Female
10.Age
18
19
20
21
22
Other (please specify)
The following is our post survey:
1. Have you heard of the Guilford County Resource and Referral Center?
Yes
No
2. Have you heard of Youth Network?
Yes
No
3. Would you be willing to help sponsor a child to attend The Youth Network?
Yes
No
33. 33
4. Would your club or organization be interested in helping to provide food for the children
in The Youth Network?
Yes
No
5. As an alternative to paying school sanctioned fines, would you consider completing
community hours?
Yes
No
6. How active do you consider yourself in volunteering for a non-profit organization? (1
being very unlikely; 10 being very likely)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
7. How many hours are you willing to spend volunteering each week?
0-3
3-6
6-9
9+
8. How likely would you be to donate to a non-profit organization? (1 being very unlikely;
10 being very likely)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
9. Sex
Male
Female
10.Age
18
19
20
21
22
Other (please specify)
Finally, the following is a survey to judge the lasting perception of Youth Network:
1. Have you heard of the Guilford County Resource and Referral Center?
Yes
No
2. Have you heard of Youth Network? (If your answer is no, please end the survey. Thank
you.)
Yes
No
3. What do you know about Youth Network?
[open ended question]
34. 34
4. What do you think needs to be done to allow more people to be aware of Youth
Network?
[open ended question]
5. What do you think Youth Networks message to the public should be?
[open ended question]
6. Are there any improvements you would suggest for Youth Network?
[open ended question]
7. Sex
Male
Female
8. Age
18
19
20
21
22
Other (please specify)
How many open-ended questions. These will take much time to code and interpret.
Also, why post survey and another separate survey? You could combine those two and
add some more specific questions about your event participation!
By the end of the week Advanced Innovations seeks to raise at least $2,000 from the various
events and from students donating to Youth Network by August 31.
We will monitor this objective by each day calculating the amount of money made at
each event, UC tables, the concierge and online donations. We will structurally and
clearly enter these numbers into a table each day to keep careful track of the amount of
money made.
To evaluate this objective we will look at each table from each day, adding up the totals
and finding the final number of dollars raised by August 31.
Collect other donations of money and resources for Youth Network during the week of
August 26-31.
To monitor this objective we will keep track of other donations given to Youth Network
such as art supplies, lunches, field trips etc.
To evaluate this objective we will simply be able to look at the other donations given to
Youth Network after the event week versus before the event week.
35. 35
Get sponsorship of all meals for each of the Saturdays throughout the duration of the ten-
week-long program.
We will have a sign up sheet to monitor this objective. By using a sign up sheet we will
be able to see when and what people will be able donate meals. We will keep track and
make sure that all weeks are being signed up for. If there are still weeks that have not
been volunteered for we will make sure to produce more promotion/advertising about
being able to sponsor meals.
To evaluate this objective we will see the completed sign up sheet and see if all weeks
have been filled with volunteered sponsors.
NAME DATE FOR DONATION MEAL TYPE
Get organizations on campus, or a team of a couple organizations combined, to sponsor 3-5
new children to attend the ten-week Youth Network program by September 1.
To monitor this objective we will continuously keep in communication with
organizations on campus about sponsoring a new child. We will have the presidents of
these organizations email us with their interests. To monitor effectively we will
constantly check our emails to see if any organizations have shown interest.
To evaluate this objective we will see how many sponsors we have gained by the end of
the week.
Create a positive and prominent reputation for Youth Network in the High Point
community, particularly on the High Point University campus, that fosters a greater
knowledge of and participation in the organization by the end of our events on August 31.
To monitor this objective we will again utilize the Google Alerts tool to keep track of
articles, news stories and what is being said about Youth Network throughout the week.
We will also check our social network sites such as Facebook and Twitter to see what
36. 36
students, sponsors, volunteers and other people are saying about Youth Network and the
For the Kids week. To monitor the participation, again we will have the handheld tally
trackers. We will also keep a log of all papers and other earned media channels where
news releases, media alerts, and feature articles are distributed.
To evaluate this objective we will continue Google Alerts. We will also have routine
check ins to monitor if people continue volunteering and donating to Youth Network
after our events week has ended.
37. 37
Google Alert Search Terms
Google alert search terms we will use include,
Youth Network
For the Kids
High Point University student philanthropy
The Guilford Country Resource and Referral Center
38. 38
SEE APPENDIX FOR THE FOLLOWING VISUAL REFERENCES:
Donation Flyer 39
Bake Sale Flyer 40
Campus Concierge examples 41
Calendar of Events Handout 42
Screenshot of Donation Site 43
Facebook Event Page 44
Newsletter 45
44. 44
A week dedicated to help raise funds for Youth Network, an organization working to
support the physical, social-emotional and cognitive development of young boys.
In hopes to raise funds for the continuation of their success, Youth Network is hosting a week long
promotional stunt titled, “For The Kids,” with different events each day. The weeklong event will run from
August 26-31, 2013. Most of the events will be held on High Point University’s campus with some events
located at different venues throughout the week. A schedule of specific event dates, details and times will
be distributed within the coming week. The goal of this week is to get as many High Point University
students involved and passionate about donating to help continue the success of this wonderful
organization with hopes of expansion. Our hopes are to get as many organizations, clubs, sports teams,
greek life and any other students involved and motivated to help make this week a success!
