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PO#
#TBA04270
Payment Status
Paid
PO Created Date
2025-02-20 23:49:49
Paid Date
2025-02-20 23:50:21
Competition
2025
Season
1
Entry ID
TBE104758
Entry Submission Date
2025-02-20 23:37:38
Member's Name
Azania Herron
Member's Email
aherron@zajapr.com
Entry Level
PR & Communications
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PF25017 Best PR Campaign
PF25018 Best PR Strategy Communcations Strategy
PF25019 Best PR-led Integrated Communications
PF25020 Best Public Affairs Strategy
PF25021 Best Real-Time Crisis Response (NEW)
PF25022 Best Regional PR
PF25023 Best Social Media Communication Strategy
View Entry Info
PR25022 - Community
PR25072 - Multicultural
PR25084 - Public Relations
PF25019 - Best PR-led Integrated Communications
PR25047 - Financial Services
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Project Description
The Beyond Open team, made up of staff and external consultants, proudly supported Foundation For The Carolinas (FFTC) in its mission to disperse a substantial amount in the millions in grant awards over three rounds to small business owners, including diverse owned, and select nonprofit leaders between 2022 and 2024 to help them to acquire capital assets needed to build wealth. The grant dollars were made available from an investment from Wells Fargo’s Open For Business Fund. In addition to dispersing grant funding, FFTC sought to change the narrative about business ownership and pathways to wealth creation with a focus on historically underserved communities known as the “Corridors of Opportunity” and diverse (minorities, women, veterans, and individuals with disabilities) small business owners in Charlotte. The Foundation was in need of an integrated marketing communications campaign that would raise awareness, inspire action and ensure the successful distribution of available funds. Approximately $1M was allotted to hiring a team of consultants, led by Tracy Russ, and implementing a campaign for this opportunity.
Project Description for Judges
The Beyond Open team, made up of staff and external consultants, proudly supported Foundation For The Carolinas (FFTC) in its mission to disperse a substantial amount in the millions in grant awards over three rounds to small business owners, including diverse owned, and select nonprofit leaders between 2022 and 2024 to help them to acquire capital assets needed to build wealth. The grant dollars were made available from an investment from Wells Fargo’s Open For Business Fund. In addition to dispersing grant funding, FFTC sought to change the narrative about business ownership and pathways to wealth creation with a focus on historically underserved communities known as the “Corridors of Opportunity” and diverse (minorities, women, veterans, and individuals with disabilities) small business owners in Charlotte. The Foundation was in need of an integrated marketing communications campaign that would raise awareness, inspire action and ensure the successful distribution of available funds. Approximately $1M was allotted to hiring a team of consultants, led by Tracy Russ, and implementing a campaign for this opportunity.
Question 1 : Provide a brief description / background of your nominated organizational, departmental, team, or individual circumstance. (Your response to this question will be used for public display if your entry is awarded.)
The Beyond Open team, made up of staff and external consultants, proudly supported Foundation For The Carolinas (FFTC) in its mission to disperse $15M in grant awards over three rounds ($5M each round) to small business owners, including diverse owned, and select nonprofit leaders between 2022 and 2024 to help them to acquire capital assets needed to build wealth. The grant dollars were made available from an investment from Wells Fargo’s Open For Business Fund. In addition to dispersing grant funding, FFTC sought to change the narrative about business ownership and pathways to wealth creation with a focus on historically underserved communities known as the “Corridors of Opportunity” and diverse (minorities, women, veterans, and individuals with disabilities) small business owners in Charlotte. The Foundation was in need of an integrated marketing communications campaign that would raise awareness, inspire action and ensure the successful distribution of available funds. Approximately $1M was allotted to hiring a team of consultants, led by Tracy Russ, and implementing a campaign for this opportunity.
Question 2 : Outline your nominated organizational, departmental, team, or individual achievements, dated 1-3 years prior, based on your selected categories.
Objective 1: Through clear communications and strategic brand development, we built a new brand and a community of over 7,600 individuals who subscribed to receive program updates. Of the selected grantees, 91% identified as people of color, 57% as women-owned, and 85% were located within a Corridor of Opportunity—proof of our ability to connect with and serve the right communities. Objective 2: Using a variety of communication channels—email, social media, radio, TV, digital media, and community outreach—we reached thousands of potential applicants. The campaign resulted in 179,000 total and 121,000 unique website visits; 92 media stories with a reach of 656,983,825; 72% e-newsletters open rate; 550+ in-person event attendance and 1,600 Application Information Session video views; Facebook reach of 12,500; 25,500 3-second or longer views of Grantee Stories videos; Instagram reach of 6,100 with 8,500 video views; LinkedIn impression of 6,409 in 2024; 480,000+ advertisement impressions across radio, podcast, print and digital media platforms. Objective 3: Through creative outreach efforts and collaboration with small business development organizations, we received over 4,000 applications and awarded $16.3 million to 402 small business owners, exceeding the initial commitment of $15M in grant funding.
Question 3 : Provide examples of the strategies / plans you have introduced, in order to attain your nominated organizational, departmental, team, or individual achievements. Explain why the highlighted achievements are significant / unique.
With an advisory council and research, our strategies and tactics included: Create a brand design that was captivating and includes people who reflect targeted stakeholders– · Develop print and digital marketing materials (logo, banners, wayfinding signage, flyers, booklets, t-shirts, and social media posts) that are vibrant, diverse and multilingual. · Design and launch multilingual Beyond Open website. Appeal to existing business owners by sharing information, visuals and program details through a variety of mediums with a creative element– · Press event and releases to announce the launch, support and key dates for each grantmaking round, and each round's deadline. · Produce “Grantee Stories” videos as 30 sec. vertical for social media and 2–3 min. horizontal for the website. · Create a social media calendar with milestones and stories throughout the grant cycle. · Design and place advertisements across diverse radio stations, print, digital, and social media platforms. Same messages, varying images/languages to reflect audiences. ($45,000 budget) · Collaborate with 50 organizations to share flyers and join meetings. · Plan and host six in-person (one per Corridor) and six virtual Beyond Open Application Information Sessions for potential applicants. Hold in locations and/or in partnership with existing small business groups, neighborhood business associations, and small businesses who are trusted by business owners. Incorporate a spoken word artist to present a motivating poem. Include bilingual team members for support. Record and upload virtual events to the Beyond Open YouTube account and website. ·Share Info Session presentation and ask community partner organizations to host their own and provide technical assistance to business owners. Communicate the grant opportunity to business owners within or near a Corridor of Opportunity– · Weekly media pitches on the program’s intentions, deadlines and impact. · Attend meetings and trainings hosted by Small Business Development organizations, small business groups, and community gatherings/events. · Create and coordinate outreach materials for the advisory council to share. ·Grassroots canvassing through door to door outreach; flyers in co-working centers, coffee shops, small businesses, and public spaces; e-flyers via nonprofit, business and civic group newsletters.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zX7Zyrcd6I&t=109s
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpCw0iTo37U&t=11s
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https://www.yahoo.com/news/historically-underserved-small-businesses-eligible-032706488.html
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https://qcitymetro.com/2023/06/14/the-beyond-open-grant-program-returns-for-a-second-round/
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Name
Title Organization
Azania Herron
Senior Public Relations Strategist, Zaja PR
Tracy Russ
Special Advisor for Civic Initiatives, Foundation For The Carolinas
Ismael Salgado
Foundation For The Carolinas
Kristen Bernier
Graphic Designer
Courtney Dailey
Digital Media Specialist
Ann Gonzalez
Marketing & Research, Savvy Pioneer
Almudena Monino
John Ramey
Kristy Teskey
EBS Universal
Mark Borja Creative
Media Arts Collective
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