Hope House: Demystifying the art of social media marketing
Hope House for the Multiple-Handicapped Inc. was founded in El Monte in 1963 by a group of community leaders and parents of children with multiple handicaps. Today, it operates twelve community-based homes for children and adults with co-occurring autism, intellectual disabilities and mental health needs.
While national and state funded regional centers largely serve clients in their natural homes, Hope House offers a 24-hour residential alternative for families who need more assistance. Its goal is to ensure that people with disabilities have full access to community living with long-term service and support in the most integrated setting possible.
Like all nonprofits, Hope House needed to boost its donations. But not enough local people were aware of its work. These days, savvy social media marketing is the key to building that awareness. JRP connected Director of Development Vicki Mastro, CFRE, with Sarah Emery Bunn, an experienced communications professional, who specializes in providing web, social media, and marketing support to small businesses, non-profits and individuals.
Sarah’s most powerful gifts to Hope House were skill and assurance. “Sarah gave me the tools I needed to increase my confidence in social media marketing,” says Vicki. “She answered so many questions about the ins and outs. I really feel confident now about posting and how to create more engaging posts.” She’s also grateful for JRP’s support through the process. “Jericho Road’s management was great,” she says. “They were there at every turn.”
The collaboration is already having a direct impact on the potential Hope House audience. Vicki has been getting positive comments on her posts, and has been able to use some of them for other communications, too.
Sarah has equally high hopes for the outcome. “Now that their social media is easier to organize and publish, Hope House can use it more effectively to raise visibility,” she says. “That will lead to more participation and donations.”
Thanks to volunteer Linda Taubenreuther for writing JRP social media posts!
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