DIGITAL STRATEGIES OF THREE NON-PROFIT MEAL PROVIDERS FOR THE CRITICALLY ILL:COMMUNITY SERVINGS, PROJECT ANGEL HEART, AND PROJECT OPEN HAND

Digital Strategies for Health Communications (HCOM 512)Tina Chang7/14/2013

WHY THESE ORGANIZATIONS? First heard of Community Servings

Unique service Found organizations with similar services All non-profit Effective digital strategy is needed to carry

out their great mission

Not-for-profit food and nutrition program Founded in 1989 by coalition of AIDS

activists, faith groups, and community organizations

Mission: To provide services throughout Massachusetts to

individuals and families living with critical and chronic illnesses

Target Audience: Anyone living with a life threatening illness who

is unable to shop or cook for him or herself.

PEOPLE THEY SERVE Those with

HIV/ AIDS Cancer Multiple sclerosis Lupus Kidney failure And others

Application process to determine eligibility Extent of illness, client’s mobility, other

factors that affect ability to shop/ cook Currently prepare and deliver 7500

lunches and dinners each week to homes of almost 800 individuals and families; in 1 year, they deliver 395,000 meals to 1,300 people

SERVICES OFFERED Meals Program for the Critically Ill Nutrition Education and Counseling Program Food Service Job-Training Program Volunteer Program Meals for Many Social Enterprise Program

Subsidize free meals service, prepare meals for local schools and nonprofits

Technical Assistance Program Local Foods Program Step Forward Program

WEB STRATEGY

WEB STRATEGY Has pages on Twitter, Facebook, Pintrest,

Yelp, Google+, Linkedin To share recipes, nutrition tips, updates on

events, increase connections New Agency Video from 2013

Promotes Community Servings Tweets from Community Client Stories Newsletter Sign-up

SWOT ANALYSISStrengths- Links to other webpages are

very clear- Has updates on every other

online page- Clean Homepage, easy to

navigate- “Donate Now” button- Many links on homepage- Box for newsletter sign-up,

donations, volunteer opportunities, news in the press

Weaknesses- The amount of presence online

can be overwhelming- Might be hard to manage so

many pages online- No updated yelp reviews- May be unnecessary to post

the same information on so many different web platforms

- Not offered in other languages

Opportunities- Having a great online presence

increases chances of networking and being involved in the community

- Many chances to work with individuals, students, corporations, other groups

- More networks, more donation and sponsorship opportunities

- Asks for local community support and involvement

Threats- Dependence on corporations and

sponsors for support- Caters to a specific population…

misses others who might need the service too

- Loss of focus of the organization

Non-profit organization that delivers meals to improve quality of life at no cost

Founded in 1991 by dedicated members of the Denver community

Mission: To ensure those living with life-threatening

illnesses are receiving proper nutrition Target Audience:

Men, women, and children living with life-threatening illnesses in metropolitan Denver and Colorado Springs

PEOPLE THEY SERVE Those with

Cancer End Stage Renal Disease Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease HIV/ AIDS Diabetes

No age or income restriction Qualifications

Homebound with illness, limited mobility factor Initially served 12 clients in 1991, now serves

1950 clients with 445,581 meals (frozen or hot)

SERVICES OFFERED Meal Delivery

One meal delivery per week 3 meals a day for 5 days Mostly frozen Hot foods if client is bedridden

WEB STRATEGY

WEB STRATEGY Has pages on Facebook, Twitter, and Pintrest

To update on events, share recipes, ask for volunteers, send announcements, share client stories

Side tab of upcoming events on homepage Offers Newsletter Sign-up

SWOT ANALYSISStrengths- Calendar of upcoming

events clear on homepage- Sign-up for email updates is

easy- Donations are easy to

arrange- Simple, clean homepage- Focus is on meal delivery- Has 3 different “pages” to

share about the organization

- Offers information in Spanish

Weaknesses

- Not as many colors or pictures

- Past events have not been removed from the page

- Links for facebook/ twitter/ pintrest only on homepage

- Webpage not as personal and “fun” as impression from other web platforms

- Not offered in other languages

Opportunities- More investment into

Facebook/ Twitter/ Pintrest to gain followers and supporters for events

Threats- Need more local involvement- Create more connections with

groups in the community- Consistency between

homepage and other web presences

Nonprofit organization that provides meals with love to seniors and the critically ill

Started in 1985 when a retired food-service worker began feeding her AIDS neighbors

Mission: To nourish and engage the community by

providing meals with love to the sick and elderly Target Audience:

Those in the Bay Area who have a life-threatening illness and are unable to shop and cook for themselves, or if they are elderly and need help tackling the health challenges of old age

PEOPLE THEY SERVE Those in the San Francisco or Alameda

County area With HIV/AIDS With Breast Cancer With Critical illnesses that cause them to be

homebound Who are elderly

Last fiscal year, they served 8,628 clients and prepared 757,586 meals

SERVICES Meal delivery

Hot, nutritious meals to anyone under 60 years of age and cannot shop or cook for themselves due to their illness, 7 days a week

Option of frozen meals Congregate lunch program Nutrition education Pick-up meals and groceries

For people living with HIV/ AIDS and breast cancer

WEB STRATEGY

WEB STRATEGY Has pages on Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, and

FeedBurner, Flickr, Yelp To advertise events/ fundraisers, share client

stories, introduce staff, market products Running banner with client/ staff members/

supporters’ pictures and quotes E-news sign-up bar on the side Facebook updates on side of homepage

SWOT ANALYSISStrengths- Clean website, easy to

navigate- Very personal homepage

with pictures and quotes- Makes donations easy to

make- Facebook news on

homepage- Link to blog on website- Link for e-news sign-up and

joining their community on every page

- Many photos of events- Many languages of website

offered

Weaknesses

- Links to other pages not as clear as others

- Two places to “join” their community

- No focus on videos posted on youtube

- Need focus on things like Facebook

Opportunities- Personal level of the website

and on other pages draws the community in

- Very large presence in the community increases networking opportunities

- Easy for local groups to join in for events

Threats

- Dependence on donations for support

- Need to maintain presence online and in the community to get funding

COMPARISON OF ORGANIZATIONSCommunity Servings

Project Angel Heart

Project Open Hand

Facebook Y Y YTwitter Y Y YYoutube YFlickr YPintrest Y YFeedBurner YYelp Y YLinked In YGoogle+ Y

COMPARISON OF ORGANIZATIONSCommunity Servings

Project Angel Heart

Project Open Hand

Videos Y YDonation Button

Y Y Y

Volunteer Button

Y Y

Newsletter Button

Y Y Y

Links to other pages

On top of Homepage

Mid-homepage

Mid-homepage/ Bottom Banner

List of Upcoming Events

Y

Clear List of Sponsors/ Partners

Y Y

All platforms updated

Yes, except for Yelp

Y Y

Websites Appealing

Y Less so Y

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR COMMUNITY SERVINGS Cut-down on presence online

If some sources do not receive as many followers or “traffic,” consider removing it

Post more videos about the organization Consider a youtube channel

Gather more focus on target audience and services

RECOMMENDATIONS FORPROJECT ANGEL HEART Make website more appealing

Photos, colors Transfer updates from Facebook to Website Provide more nutrition services to customize

meals Engage the local community more

RECOMMENDATIONS FORPROJECT OPEN HAND Gather the focus on sites like Facebook/

Youtube/ Twitter Sharing the community’s level of engagement is

good, but set limits Redundancy in having links to other pages on

two parts of the webpage Have a donation button on more pages