First Book is a national organization that aims to close the achievement gap and attain educational equity, by providing kids, classrooms, and communities in need with books and educational resources. First Book Indy, the local Indianapolis chapter of the organization, is committed to providing access to new books for children in need in Marion County and the surrounding counties. This fully volunteer-staffed group has competed in three Indianapolis Brackets For Good tournaments and has raised over $13,000 for their mission.
Despite not having any full-time staff, no budget for promotion, and changes at the national level that resulted in retiring their local website in 2015, they have managed to successfully compete in the tournaments through good organization and planning, leveraging the skills and passion of their volunteers, and utilizing the resources of the national organization whenever possible.
Before the start of each tournament, the local group discussed the competition in their board meetings. Everyone on the board, comprised of about a dozen people, was involved in idea generation. A public relations team of two took over the plans for the social media aspect of the competition. One member planned and scheduled most of the posts, but input came from multiple members, such as the idea for their “unselfie” promotion, which featured facts about literacy. Material from the national website and blog was curated and repurposed for social posts. They also launched a giveaway for donors during a specific week of the tournament. Additionally, members used their own social media accounts to promote First Book to a wider audience and several different members attended BFG events.
They relied on the professional knowledge of their volunteers; their lead for public relations works in the field, and had experience with similar campaigns. They did their research with the content created by the national organization, and planned ahead for the “unselfie” promotion by taking several pictures of board members to use later in the tournament. The national organization also supported them by retweeting some of their Twitter posts and by donating to their giveaway.
Without spending any money specifically for the tournament, and by strategically using Facebook, Twitter, and e-newsletters, as well as leveraging the use of their board and personal networks, they were able to raise awareness about their cause and attract many new donors. Over their 3 years BFG, First Book states that 83% of the donors that came to them through the tournament were new to them. In 2015, their highest-scoring and furthest advancing year, First Book reports that they definitely saw additional benefits from advancing into the second and third rounds.
First book has succeeded by working together as a team and divvying up the tournament responsibilities amongst their members. Everyone in this group owns a share of the points they’ve scored, the supporters they have attracted, and the educational advancement of many children for whom the love of reading will serve them their whole lives.