LINC Campaign Proposal
Leanne Dornseif, Victoria Gonzalez, Erica Hardy, Elena Sayers, Elizabeth Thorell
October 9, 2019
Executive Summary
“Turning setbacks into comebacks” is how Frankie Roberts, Co-Founder of LINC Inc., describes
the goal of LINC Inc. This non profit organization's primary goal is to support previously
incarcerated people while they are going through the reentry process back into society. These
people face a lot of barriers such as criminal background checks, which bar people from getting
jobs and starting back into a normal life. Those who have been incarcerated for a long time may
have lost simple everyday skills and proficiency in tasks that are essential for the workplace.
LINC houses those who have either come straight from prison, or found themselves homeless
after being released from prison, for up to 18 months. During their stay, the residents are
provided beds, meals, simple clothing and hygiene supplies, transportation, computers, a
standard gym, etc. One of the most helpful tools provided to them, are the case managers on
campus. Each resident works with a case manager who helps them with all their needs and
guides them on the right track towards getting a job and becoming stable. Since LINC is a non-
profit organization, they are looking to expand their funders and increase awareness.
Introduction
LINC is a 501 (c)(3) non profit organization that supports people who have been released from
prison get back on their feet, as well as provide support and give opportunities to African
American youth males in the educational and workplace field. According to LINCs website, their
mission is to, “Educate and motivate youth to make positive life choices and to empower men
and women returning from incarceration to be productive members of our community (LINC).”
They provide a place for 25 men and 20 women to stay for up to 18 months. They are located at
222 Division Dr, Wilmington, NC 28401.
Key Figures:
● Since 2000 there have been 2674 adults and 290 youth that LINC has served.
● Of the 2674 adults, 1200 have been reintegrate thanks to the help of LINC and 92%
didn’t return to prison.
● LINC has a drop-in program as well as a referral system that has allowed them to serve
an extra 100-150 adults each year.
● LINC’S success rate is 85%. NC’s success rate is only 40% (Pew State of Recidivism).
● A report in 2012 found that LINCs campus costs $5000 for a person to live at versus the
state paying $27,572 for a person to live in prison.
([Link]
History/Background
LINC inc. was co-founded in 2000 by Frankie Roberts and Tracey Ray. Frankie grew up
watching his older brother, Marvin, struggle with drug addiction. Marvin was incarcerated
several times and even spent 7 years in jail at one point. When Marvin was finally released,
Frankie found it difficult to forgive his brother and give him a second chance. By the time
Frankie finally realized that his brother needed help, it was too late and Marvin unexpectedly
passed away. After Marvin's passing, Frankie vowed to support other individuals like Marvin
who were overcoming drug addiction and attempting to re-enter society. Frankie began LINC in
the back of his barbershop, House of Creations, which is located at 1202 Castle St in
Wilmington, NC. Frankie reached out to law enforcement officers and other community
organizations in order to get the program started and find individuals struggling with re-entry.
Today, LINC has been operating for almost 20 years. The organization has continued to grow
and show that it is successful.
Key members of the organization
● Frankie Roberts, Founder, Executive Director
● Michelle Gunn, Operations Director
● Anne Rose, Director, Development and Communications
● Nita DeGroodt-Pettet, PHR, Human Resources Director
● Linda Thomas, Lead Case Manager
● Micah Moore, Case Manager
● Vincent Burgess, Director of Social Enterprises
● Lauren Secero, Relief Staff - Peer Support
● Wilma Moses, Case Manager - Day Treatment Coordinator
● Steve Lee, Bookkeeper
● Demond Wells, Facilities Manager
● Darryl Palmer, Relief Staff
● La-Tanya Rivers, Relief Staff
● Rashawn Sidbury, Relief Staff
● William E. Hennessee, Relief Staff
● Davonna Cohen, Relief Staff
· Organization’s goals
● LINC’s biggest goal for their residents is for their reentry process to be more successful.
Their goal for their company is to diversify their funding sources. They want to get more
private funders and not rely so heavily on grants that are government or contract related.
· Prior fundraising efforts
● M.E.R. Campus Buy a Brick Campaign
● Annual Giving Campaign
● 2020 Milestones Gala Sponsorships
● Wish List Donations
Methodology
As part of the research process, our group reviewed the LINC, Inc. website. The website
provided extensive information regarding the origins of the organization, different programs
offered, and how to get involved with LINC. Our group participated in primary research by
visiting the M.E.R. Campus. We were given a tour of the facility and introduced to several staff
members. A large part of our insight into LINC, Inc. came from speaking with the executive
director, Frankie Roberts, and the director of development and communications, Anne Rose.
Our group reviewed the LINC social media channels in order to assess what content is posted
and how often it is posted. Our social media research involved looking at LINC’s Twitter,
LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook accounts.
Situation Analysis
LINC, Inc. was founded on the principle that people deserve second chances. Since its inception
in 2000, Linc has established several programs in order to fulfill their mission of supporting
previously incarcerated individuals. LINC’s main program is the Residential Re-entry Program,
which “provides transitional housing, job training, support for educational attainment, substance
abuse treatment, and health and medical services” ([Link]). The essence of the re-entry
program is “strength-based,” allowing residents the chance to capitalize on their strengths in
addition to gaining work experience and job training. Residents at the Marvin E. Roberts
Traditional Living Campus are provided with food, shelter and clothing for up to 18 months. At
the start of each resident’s stay with LINC, Inc. he/she is required to complete a minimum of 60
days of work experience and job training ([Link]).
In addition to the Residential Re-entry Program, LINC also created the L.I.T.E Manhood
program. This program is designed to reduce barriers in education and employment for African
American males from the ages of 16-21 ([Link]). The L.I.T.E. Manhood program “enables
youth to remain enrolled in school and avoid direct involvement with the juvenile justice system”
([Link]). This youth development program focuses on mentoring, spiritual awareness, and
tutoring, among other things.
LINC is also working on a Detox Center. Currently under development, the Detox Center is
available for lease for use as a weeklong detox center or an overnight Wet Shelter ([Link]).
Linc is also home to a variety of work and job training opportunities. Through their social
enterprise programs, residents can work with LINC Lawn Care and LINC Urban Farm in order
to gain work experience and income. Through LINC Lawn Care, residents provide services such
as lawn maintenance, mulch installation, and weeding. On the Urban Farm, residents grow high
quality and affordable food to be used at the LINC facilities or sold to local businesses
([Link]).
In addition to their programs, Linc provides a variety of ways to donate to their cause.
Individuals can make donations through the Buy-A-Brick Campaign or the Annual Campaign, or
they can volunteer in one of the many programs Linc provides.
Like most nonprofit organizations, LINC, Inc. faces the issue of needing consistent funding
sources. One of the main constraints for LINC is diversifying their funding sources and getting
consistent donations. Another potential constraint for LINC would be facing the stigmatizing
language and labels that people often associate with previously incarcerated individuals.
Current Communication Efforts
LINC, Inc uses social media as their primary way to communicate. LINC also has their email
listed on their website as a way for the public to communicate with them. They are active on
various social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. They have a strong
Facebook presence and are currently working on being more active on Twitter as well. LINC
uses social media to advertise their events, promote ways to donate to their organization, and
share news articles related to their organization's purpose. They usually post at least once a day
about 5-6 days per week. Most of their Twitter content comes straight from their Facebook posts.
Strengths
LINC’s main communication strength is their website. It is aesthetically pleasing and well
organized so that it is easy for visitors to the site to find the information they need. The
organization’s purpose, history, and goals are well laid out, and there is a page dedicated to
drawing in donors and volunteers. Additionally, the website features news updates that involve
LINC INC or issues that are relevant to them, which makes sure that at least one part of their
website is continually updating, and also keeps the website’s content in line with LINC’s values.
Weaknesses
LINC’s social media accounts are an area they need improvement in: especially their Facebook
and Twitter accounts. Their Instagram has the best content of the three, but it needs to be more
consistently updated (their last post was four weeks ago). The Facebook and Twitter accounts
mostly contain updates on events and other seemingly “internal” communication that people who
already know about LINC would want to see. The Twitter account is especially plain to look at.
Many of the posts are just links to posts from their Facebook account. I think that LINC’s social
media should have a more focused purpose, because they have great potential to raise awareness.
They would be the perfect outlets to post “resident profiles” or “resident stories” where
outsiders can learn more about the people who live at LINC.
Additionally, the website could use more information on their “get involved” page. At the least,
they should “fill out” the page with photos of volunteers and employees working at LINC. As it
is now, the page looks very short and empty, which might be discouraging to a first-time
volunteer who is curious about getting involved.
Communication Goals
● Increase awareness: LINC is a very successful organization, but it is not as well known
as it could be. With LINC’s high success rate, they have the potential to gain even more
support from the local community. To increase awareness, they could increase their
social media presence and post flyers around UNCW’s campus, local businesses, etc. To
increase awareness specifically at UNCW, LINC could reach out to various student
organizations on campus.
● Increase communication with previous residents: LINC has had a lot of success with
their past residents, but they would like a way to do better about staying in touch with
them once they move on from the program. To increase communication they could reach
out to them through social media or consider doing a weekly/monthly email column.
Target Audience Profile
● Demographics
○ Millennials (ages 21-44 years)
○ Working professionals
● Psychographics
○ Persons with connections to previously incarcerated people
○ Philanthropists
● Geographics
○ People living in or around Wilmington/New Hanover County.
● Behavioristics
○ People who could potentially be private donors
○ Potential monthly donors
○ People inclined to make frequent donations.
Campaign Strategy
We believe that our proposed campaign strategy is a good solution because it will bring attention
to LINC’s mission while also bringing in more donors/funding. One of LINC’s main goals is to
increase awareness of their mission and we believe that can be achieved through an active social
media presence and effective storytelling. Our primary focus is the stories behind LINC and the
residents living there, and our strategies will help achieve that goal.
Objective 1. To bring in more private funders and donations and increase awareness.
Strategy 1. Advertising LINC Inc. more, so that more people are aware of the impact they
are making and are desired to donate.
Tactic 1. Create videos that will be introducing some of the residents at the MER campus.
During the videos they will answer some questions about how LINC has changed their lives
and how they have benefitted from it. The goal of these videos is to create a connection to
those watching, which will compel them to want to spread the word and donate.
Tactic 2. Host donation drives so people in the community can support LINC through giving.
We can compile a list of items that LINC residents need and post it on social media to spread
the word.
Objective 2. Increase communication regarding LINC, Inc.’s message within the
community.
Strategy 1. Increase presence on social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook,
Twitter, etc.
Tactic 2. Schedule weekly social media posts on a social media content calendar. Posts can
be informational (regarding the services that LINC provides) and/or can contain information
about the residents featured in LINC videos.
Tactic 1. For each strategy, what tactics will you implement? A tactic is the tasks you
perform to execute the strategy. For example, if my strategy is to increase awareness about
the palliative care services offered by Lower Cape Fear Hospice, a tactic might be to create a
brochure targeted to families of recently diagnosed terminal patients describing available
services. Again, you may have more than one tactic to execute each strategy.
Campaign Concept
Our concept for this campaign is based on Frankie’s idea of “turning setbacks into comebacks.”
This motto embodies the core of LINC, Inc.’s mission. By taking the idea of turning setbacks
into comebacks, we can effectively communicate LINC’s needs.
Implementation
October 16-17:
● On-site filming video interviews of the residents.
October 18-20:
● edit the videos to fit their intended purposes (short clips for social media and full-length
interviews for the website). The editing will be done by Monday (October 21).
October 21:
● The campaign officially begins and the full-length videos are uploaded to the website.
From this day on, video clips will be periodically posted to LINC’s social media accounts
as well, and the captions will include links to the full videos.
October 21-25:
● Meet with Anne Rose to discuss content.
● Brainstorm and create upcoming blogs and social media content.
● Begin creating website content
○ Find appropriate photos for Get Involved and Support LINC pages
○ Strategize on how to generate more website traffic
October 28-November 1:
● Curate and refine the general content on LINC’s website to make sure everything is
cohesive and fits the desired image.
○ Upload more photos to “Get Involved”
○ Link with social media posts
● Post completed blogs to website.
● The first grouping of social media content will be tailored and posted.
November 4-8:
● Meet with Anne Rose to discuss outcomes so far.
● The second grouping of posts will be tailored and posted on social media.
● Marketing push for our upcoming donation drive.
○ Social media posts will center around the drive.
○ Create flyers that spread the word about the drive and list what items are needed
○ Print and post at relevant locations on campus.
November 11: Potential date for donation drive.
November 11-15:
● Third grouping of posts will be tailored and posted to social media.
● Post completed blogs to website.
● Final meeting with Anne Rose, where groups will hand over any extra content to be
posted after the end of the campaign.
November 15: Campaign ends.
Budget
Our campaign is going to cost a total of $0. We will be filming the residents and putting together
the clips on our own, so we will not need a budget to hire any videographer or editor. We will be
using a camera supplied by one of our own team members which means we will not need a rental
fee. The rest of the campaign just consists of posting on LINC’s social media and advertising.
The only potential money coster will be the pizza we buy to bring to the residents as a thank you
for letting us film them. We predict this total to be no more than $20 which we were all going to
split as a team.
Evaluation
To measure the success of our campaign, we will keep track of LINC’s social media accounts
and their website. This will allow us to measure our social media engagement and get an idea of
who and how many people our posts are reaching. We can also keep track of donations we
receive for LINC residents including clothing items and other necessities. To measure the
success of our videos, we can evaluate how many likes, views and shares each video received.
References
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