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Enhancing Life

Through groundbreaking investments in education, health, and the arts, Kenneth Rainin Foundation enhances the quality of life for those living in the Bay Area. A relatively new foundation just celebrating its 10th anniversary, the foundation has already dramatically changed how arts organizations retain real estate in explosive markets, boosted scientific research, and won TWO Academy Awards for producing Beasts of the Southern Wild and Fruitvale Station. Telling that story is an essential part of the Foundation’s success.

A highly strategic Facebook and Google ad buy accumulated more than 3.5K views of the Foundation’s annual report, more than triple of what was garnered the prior year.

Honoring 10 years of extraordinary success, data combined with storytelling engages those who will be part of the next decade’s milestones. The combination of video, narrative, and informative graphics lead users deeper into the report, resulting in more time spent on the site.

Targeted ads promoted the report to Facebook users based on interests of their online activities, device use and demographic information. With three different ads for Turning Points tailored to audiences with interests in distinct programming areas, the ads reached a total of 6.5K people in the US. Of those, 587 clicked the link or engaged by liking or sharing. This resulted in an engagement rate of 8%, surpassing the nonprofit industry average of 5.4%.

In contrast to Facebook, Google ads target audiences based on what they search in Google. Keywords such as “Oakland Foundation,” “IBD Research,” and other keywords resulted in over 79K views and produced over 1.6K clicks to the Turning Points microsite.

Isolation and competition can undermine scientific breakthroughs. Specialized sections within the Kenneth Rainin Foundation site enable scientific researchers to connect with one another and more easily identify intersections between their work, resulting in increased collaboration and innovation.

Complex challenges require complex solutions—and yet communication must remain simple and easy to understand. Having pioneered a new financing model that enables arts organizations to remain in expensive urban environments like downtown San Francisco, the Foundation sought to share what it had learned with other municipalities throughout the country.

Simple infographics lead city leaders through the funding model. Today, dozens of cities around the country are instituting similar programs.

Together with Akonadi Foundation, Kenneth Rainin Foundation is highlighting the extraordinary contributions of small arts organizations of color. But creating a report isn’t enough. An interactive map enables real-time updating of information to show where and how grassroots organizations engage a vibrant community.

The site won Gold Medal recognition from both the American Business Awards and PR News. Said one judge, “Stunning. Timely. Well-designed. The full report is a study in meticulousness. There was no over-reliance on data-visualization...and what was included was necessary and constructive. The website is absolutely gorgeous and the executive summary was a wise choice.”

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