Nonprofit
Reaching Philly Families Across Multiple Touchpoints
CSFP provides the highest-need students in the lowest-achieving schools with scholarships to choose a tuition-based school that's right for them. When application rates dropped, Maven targeted the five lowest-income zip codes with a digital campaign and raised scholarship application rates by 63%.
Background
Children’s Scholarship Fund Philadelphia (CSFP) changes lives by providing scholarship funding for Philadelphia families to choose a tuition-based school that meets their student’s educational needs. It is the largest and most diverse provider of K-8th scholarship support in Pennsylvania, focusing on the highest-need students in the lowest-achieving schools in the city. All CSFP scholarships are need-based and awarded by random lottery.
Challenge
When scholarship application rates began to fall, CSFP tapped Maven to create a targeted campaign, focused on five specific zip codes that historically received low application rates. The organization specifically wanted to target applicants based on student’s ages and parental status.
Strategy
Heading into the 2024-2025 scholarship lottery season, Maven created an integrated campaign consisting of both traditional media relations and paid social campaigns, designed to compliment each other as well as amplify CSFP’s messaging and call to action.
Maven developed targeted digital campaign that included compelling copy with a solid call to action, vibrant graphics and engaging videos targeted toward student ages and parental status in five identified zip codes.
Throughout the campaign, Maven strategically adapted zip code targeting and assets based on engagement to increase applications from areas with a low number of applications.
In tandem with paid social media efforts, Maven executed a traditional media relations campaign around milestone events and promote all media coverage through organic social media posting. Maven also positioned Keisha Jordan, CSFP’s President and CEO, as a prominent thought leader in Philadelphia on school choice. Resulting media coverage ran in outlets that had never covered the nonprofit before.
Results
The paid social media campaign for CSFP’s 2024-2025 lottery earned over 25,000 link clicks and over 3.4 million impressions.
Across the five identified zip codes with low applications, Maven’s approach supported a 63% average increase in applications throughout the duration of the general lottery, with one zip code achieving a 97% increase. Eleven percent of CSFP families reported that they heard about CSFP from social media, nearly doubling the number reported the previous year (6%).
In the same timeframe, Maven secured over 20 placements across digital platforms, radio shows, and print publications, including WURD Radio, Generocity, Northeast Times, South Philly Review, Kensington Voice, Chestnut Hill Local, MyChesCo, Southwest Globe Times, and Germantown Info Hub.