AN ANALYSIS OF ONLINE STRATEGIES USED BY BOSTON-AREA

FEEDING ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS

Feeding Families in Need

Meghan JohnsonMS/MPH Health CommunicationTufts University

Feeding Boston’s Homeless and Needy

Haley House

Community Servings

Boston Rescue Mission

What do they have in common?

A mission to feed and serve Boston’s homeless and low-income population with dignity and respect.

Where do they work?

Boston Rescue Mission

Haley House Soup Kitchen

Haley House Bakery Cafe

Community Servings

What are their differences?

Haley House Community Servings

Boston Rescue Mission

0

1,000,000

2,000,000

3,000,000

4,000,000

5,000,000

6,000,000

Operational Budgets FY12

What are their differences?

Haley H

ouse

Commun

ity Se

rving

s

Boston

Res

cue M

ission

0

2

4

6

Number of web personnel*

*This number include pro-bono, interns, volunteers, and paid staff.

What are their differences?

Haley House Community Servings

Boston Rescue Mission

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Charity Navigator Score

What are their differences?

Social media usage

Haley House

Community Servings

Boston Rescue Mission

What are their differences?

Social media followers

Haley House Community Servings

Boston Rescue Mission

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

FacebookTwitter

What are their differences?

Haley H

ouse

Boston

Res

cue M

ission

Commun

ity Se

rving

s0

2,000,0004,000,0006,000,0008,000,000

10,000,00012,000,000

Alexa Global Traffic Rank

Haley House

Haley House

Strengths Weaknesses

Visually appealing website

Consistency in branding across multiple platforms

Excellent use of photo5 web personnel

Difficult to navigate website

Underutilized social media outlets (ex. Yelp, Blogger, LinkedIn)

Poor tracking and feedback mechanisms

Haley House

Opportunities Threats

Compelling client storiesConnections to hunger,

nutrition, public health & social justice communities

Downturn in the economy focused national attention on food assistance and poverty

Access to numerous universities for steady stream of interns/volunteers

 Competition: Other organizations in the Boston region are involved in hunger/nutrition community

Downturn in the economy may limit funding or pro-bono efforts

Haley House

Recommendations

Improve navigation and create site map

Expand social media presence

Create digital communication goals and start tracking against them

Better integrate blog into online communications

Create feedback solicitation systems

Community Servings

Community Servings

Strengths Weaknesses

Uses many social media channels

Clean and consistent look & feel

Dynamic, engaging content

Larger budget and 3 available web personnel

Use of recipes

Fundraising and event pages feel disconnected

Lack of tracking & feedback systems

Out-sourcing web design to pro-bono firm

Lack of video/blog presence across channels

Community Servings

Opportunities Threats

Hunger networkBoston’s “foodie”

community Numerous health-focused

undergrad and graduate students in Boston

Downturn in economy has put a spotlight on food assistance

AIDs crisis garners media attention

Saturated health & nutrition community in Boston

Downturn in the economy may limit incoming funding or effectiveness of fundraising appeals online

Community Servings

Recommendations

Create a consistent look and feel for event and fundraising pages

Incorporate engaging media (slideshows and video)

Highlight “Feeding a Crowd” blog

Create mechanisms to solicit and collect feedback from users

Boston Rescue Mission

Strengths Weaknesses

Clean site appearanceEasy navigation & site

mapGood use of photo &

videoProminent donation and

newsletter buttonsConsistent access to

engaging volunteer and client stories

Social media channels are out-dated, not regularly updated

Lack of staff devoted to online presence

Minimal followers/engagement on exiting social media channels

Boston Rescue Mission

Opportunities Threats

Collaborative approach within hunger community

Access to social justice, anti-hunger, & poverty advocates

Down-turn in the economy has focused national attention on food assistance and anti-hunger programs

Economic downturn may limit incoming funding or effectiveness of fundraising appeals online

Competing organizations in the Boston with similar missions

Boston Rescue Mission

Recommendations

Regularly update existing social media channels

Increase number of personnel devoted to online presence

Replace or expand upon testimonials through a blog

 Improve systems to track usage and collect user

feedback

THANKS FOR LISTENING!

Questions