Fife 1

Sydni Fife

Professor Adam Widener

DM391 Junior Project

Final Foresters4Kids Digital Analysis

10 May 2020

Foresters 4 Kids was originally designed as an on-campus fundraiser for Riley Children’s

Hospital that would include food, dancing, prizes, and other games and activities. However, due

to the COVID-19 pandemic, all on-campus class sessions and events were cancelled. We had

already made connections with Riley Children’s Foundation, so it was decided that we were still

going to partner with them. The purpose of Foresters 4 Kids was to allow us to use our God-

given abilities and talents to reach the community and raise funds for Riley. This could still be

possible even during quarantine. The challenge was adapting our original plans to the new

environmental circumstances.

My official role in this project

was Fundraising Chairman,

although I had a hand in many

different areas. At the end of

the digital campaign, a total

donation of $1, 162 was made

to Riley, and we were able to reach many people with our content.

Fife 2

I promoted our digital campaign the first week of April. One of my

biggest strengths took Friday when I posted my story of Conner West.

It was the first feature Friday and got the most traction of any of my

content. This story had a unique advantage because it appealed to not

only the community at HU, but also the Huntington community.

Community members were brought to our Forester Digital Network

Facebook page which they might not have visited otherwise.

Fife 3

A weakness that I noticed with my content was beginning the week with a graphic. I feel

that it was a good post that might have done better if it was posted later in the week rather than

on Monday. There was some engagement with it but not as

much as it could have. If I could do my week over, I would

start with a video or something more interactive.

An opportunity that I experienced during our month of promotions

was getting assigned to the first week. I had the chance to introduce our

cause to the public and make it my own. The girls who promoted after me

followed my lead regarding what types of content was posted on what

days of the week and in what format they were posted. I got to try different

mediums (i.e. video, graphics, text) and see what attracted viewers. My

Tuesday promo was a video of myself talking about the fundraiser, how to

donate, and our top prize, not realizing how well it would do on social media.

The opportunity to experiment and think

outside the box was very freeing.

Fife 4

Even though I do see going on the first week of April as an opportunity, I do think that it could

also be considered a threat. Our campaign was completely new to the public, and it could have

possibly flopped on that first week. With this in mind, I had to think about my content

strategically and contemplate how I as an audience member would react to posts about Foresters

4 Kids. It obviously did not stop the progress we made over the course of the month, but it was

definitely an added challenge.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed being a part of this project. Trying to make a difference

with three other women in such difficult circumstances was a struggle. We all have different

work ethics and personality traits that didn’t always mesh well, but I thrive on stress and

challenging situations so it made me work harder. All of the hard work and challenges were

worth it in the end. I learned a lot about myself as a team member and gained experience in the

areas of fundraising and community relations which will make me more marketable during my

post-graduation job search.