Fusionmarx Connect Issue 01

P1 / UNITED WAY OF

P3 / COMMUNITY

P4

ALLEGHENY COUNTY

Fusionmarx largest

/ BEACON OF BLAIR COUNTY

Meeting the unique

COLLEGE OF ALLEGHENY COUNTY

round of new hires ever

Helping an after school

set of standards and

Reaching out to alumni

means expanded and

program expand their

expectations when

with an arsenal of

new services for our

reach, right here in our

it comes to donating

communication tools

clients

backyard

and volunteering to

and services

/

P4

NEW HIRES

millenials

fusionmarx

Connect IS001

FALL / WINTER EDITION

United Way of Allegheny County looks to Fusionmarx for focus on millennial giving

Volunteers for United Way of Allegheny County revitalizing a playground in a Pittsburgh, PA neighborhood.

Unfortunately, it’s a common

expectations when it comes to donating

more online donations and engage

misconception that young people are

and volunteering.

millennials. Millennials are generally

not interested in volunteering and donating to charity. The truth of the matter is that young people are very interested in charitable causes. In fact, in 2013 alone, 87% of millennials donated to charity.

It is true, however, that millennials do have a unique set of standards and

The United Way of Allegheny County was looking for a way to bring in

not receptive to the old methods of fundraising (cold calling, letters, etc.). >> CONT. PAGE TWO

developed a phenomenal peer-to-peer “ Fusionmarx fundraising site that I think will be a huge spark in getting young people to donate to United Way. ”

– Micheal J. Herald, Esq., Millennial Steering Committee, United Way of Allegheny County

MyUnited Way >> CONT. FROM PAGE ONE

One of the reasons for this is that millennials are extremely cautious regarding who they donate money to.

Before making any kind of contribution, they prefer to do research, finding out how trustworthy the organization is and exactly how the money is going to be used.

This research is typically done by visiting the organization’s website. For this purpose, it’s important that an organization’s website clearly explains

to Fusionmarx, we have taking a “ Thanks giant leap in peer-to-peer fundraising. ”

– Linda Jones, VP of Campaign Development United Way of Allegheny County

who they are trying to help, how they are trying to help them, and how they have helped in the past. This is best done with

doable in the least amount of clicks possible.

videos, testimonials, and photos.

The same goes for volunteering. Registering

Once a charity passes the “trustworthiness” test, millennials then

as a volunteer for an upcoming event should be easy, quick, and painless.

money on the organization’s behalf?

By partnering with Fusionmarx, the United Way of Allegheny County has been able to do all of this and more by launching My United

want to be able to make their donation

Finally, millennials also want to know that

Way. Since its launch, millennials have been

as quickly and easily as possible. Upon

their contributions are going to be recognized.

using the site to raise money for causes that

visiting the organization’s website,

Will they be able to share their donations with

mean the most to them, all while being able

it should be instantly clear how a

their friends and family via social media? Can

to share their accomplishments with their

contribution can be made, and it should be

they set up their own fundraisers to raise

family and friends.

The Tools We Used United Way of Allegheny County MY UNITED WAY

The website also comes with a custom-built community, which allows users to sign up and share status updates, photos, videos, post blogs, join groups, and more! Similar in design and functionality to Facebook, the community gives My United Way users the unique feeling that the site really is their own.

SOCIALGOOD GIVING My United Way also runs on Fusionmarx’s SocialGood software. These tools give United Way a clean, powerful website that gives users the opportunity to raise money on United Way’s behalf. United Way can then track and analyze donor information to mold its future marketing efforts. Whether it be donation amounts, age, or email address, United Way has all the donor information they need to get the most out of their fundraising.

Below: Community College of Allegheny County students ready for the graduation ceremonies.

Right: The CCAC Alumni Association Heritage Society poses for photographs prior to an event.

Community College of Allegheny County reaches out to alumni

WHAT WE DO FOR CCAC The Community College of Allegheny County utilizes Fusionmarx’s VDP, magazine, and email tools to reach out to its alumni database.

VARIABLE DATA DIRECT MAIL The VDP tools allow mailing recipients to be addressed by name, as well as receive information thanking them for their most recent donation, naming the specific date and amount. This gives the mailings a personal touch, which has been shown to increase donations.

ALUMNNET NEWS MAGAZINE PUBLISHING Fusionmarx designs the magazines with custom color photos, graphics, text, and layout.

The magazine is published in both a physical and digital format and it distributed both through the postal service and email.

The magazine updates alumni on what is going on around campus, what other alumni are up to, and is built to create

CCAC: Fusionmarx provides tools and services to help reach out to alumni.

engagement and bring in more donations.

EMAIL DESIGN AND MARKETING The Community College of Allegheny also

Unlike many four-year

as an alumni magazine and regular email

works with Fusionmarx to design and send

universities, community colleges

campaigns regarding ongoing events.

custom emails. Fusionmarx creates custom layouts, graphics, and text for each email blast

often have a difficult time creating lasting

All mailings address the recipient by

relationships with alumni. This can make it

name, thanking former donors for their

hard to bring in much-needed donations.

most recent gift, adding a personal touch

By partnering with Fusionmarx, the

to each piece that makes donors feel

The statistics for each email are precisely

Community College of Allegheny County has

appreciated. Recipients that have not

tracked, giving an exact report of who opened

been able to enliven its alumni database

donated in the past receive a separate

through updated and effective marketing

mailing, with text specifically written to

campaigns.

inspire first-time donors.

The Community College of Allegheny County

The efforts have been effective in

works with Fusionmarx to create four

broadening the Community College of

alumni donation appeals per year, as well

Allegheny County’s donor database.

and targets each campaign to specific groups (for example, LYBUNTS and SYBUNTS).

the email, who unsubscribed, who clicked each individual link, which date the email was last opened, how many times it was forwarded, and more. This allows the Community College of Allegheny County to adjust its email marketing plan effectively, giving them a thorough understanding of what is working best for each individual group.

>> READ THE FULL ARTICLE ONLINE AT WWW.FUSIONMARX.COM

Fusionmarx Welcomes New Team Members

“ We are delighted to welcome these

individuals to the Fusionmarx family.

They will greatly expand our services and expertise for our clients.

”

GEORGE SACKANDY; CEO AND FOUNDER FUSIONMARX

KEVIN KEEGAN

STEVE WEITZMAN

LINDA KOVAL

COURTNEY LYNN

DAVID TESTA

As Project Director, Kevin is

Our Communication

Linda develops

Beyond duties as office

David manages social

often a project’s point person.

Specialist, Steve, manages

communications campaigns

manager, Courtney also is

and traditional print media

He prepares a project plan,

media and legislative

that effectively target all

a project manager and is

outreach for our clients.

manging the resources that

contacts for media relations

market segments and also

responsible for the day-to-

From technical writing, press

align the project with broader

and grassroots advocacy.

helps with relationship

day management of active

releases to social media updates, David also assist in writing and editing client

outcome goals and measures

He packages concepts and

building strategies and

accounts as well as drafting/

the outcome.

programs into persuasive

membership drives for our

proofreading written content.

“messaging” for our clients.

association clients.

Beacon of Blair County Helping Youth in Our Region Fusionmarx built and helps manage the Beacon’s website. The Beacon needed a clean, well-designed website to get its message out and raise money for its afterschool program.

Fusionmarx worked with the Beacon to shoot and edit a testimonial video where youth that have been helped by the Beacon explained the importance it has played in their lives.

Telling stories is an important part of fundraising, and with the help of Fusionmarx, the Beacon was able to tell a story and raise money through its website and video.

communications campaigns.

PAWorkersCompHelpNow.com Growing in a Competitive Market PAWorkersCompHelpNow

for all of PAWorkersCompHelpNow’s social

works with Fusionmarx to

and online media.

design, manage, and craft both

Fusionmarx has also worked with

its website and its website

PAWorkersCompHelpNow on other marketing

content as well as its social

efforts, including the writing of press releases

media efforts.

and white papers.

Fusionmarx works with

Fusionmarx has also worked to enter

PAWorkersCompHelpNow to

PAWorkersCompHelpNow’s information into

write a weekly Pennsylvania

various directories around the web, greatly

workers’ compensation blog.

improving its local SEO rankings.

The blogs are written with the best SEO efforts, utilizing the keywords needed for an attorney to get noticed on Google searches.

All blog posts are then shared on PA WorkersCompHelpNow’s social media accounts.

Fusionmarx also works to

PAWorkersCompHelpNow.com attorney A.J Paltutus,

curate content and other posts

Esq. during an interview for a Q&A web series.