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For Patelco Credit Union, displaying paper snowmen in branch lobbies to recognize members’ donations to the CU4Kids Campaign is a long-standing holiday tradition. For the last two years, the line of snowmen has extended all the way to Facebook, giving members who bank online a convenient avenue to participate in this Children’s Miracle Network fundraiser.
As with the paper displays, each online donor can add his or her name to a snowman icon and pin it to Patelco CU’s virtual donor wall on Facebook.
The social media campaign, from accepting donations through posting the virtual snowmen, is powered by CafeGive Social’s Pin Up Wall App. Donors can authorize a contribution directly from their computer, tablet, or smartphone—and share their donations via their personal Facebook and Twitter accounts to encourage friends, family, and colleagues to chip in as well.
“As more and more of our members look to smartphones and tablets for their daily interactions, we wanted to provide them a hassle-free method of donating,” says Sharon Tallon, community outreach officer for the $4.1 billion Pleasanton, Calif., credit union, serving 280,000 members. “Partnering with CafeGive allowed us to provide our members a digital opportunity to support our fundraising efforts.”
Through another CafeGive app, a social impact map, Patelco CU graphically depicts on its website the full extent of its financial literacy programs, member donations, and other community outreach in the regions served by its 40 branches. The interactive map “allows us to localize support and showcase how our members are making a difference,” Tallon notes.
The 2014 campaign, which ran in November and December, raised $25,000 for the three children’s hospitals in the regions Patelco CU serves, up from the more than $18,000 in 2013. Most of the contributions came from members stopping by a branch, but the online donations provided “an extra boost of support”—and a highly visible demonstration of the CU’s mission in action via social media, Tallon adds.
Karen Bankston is proprietor of Precision Prose, Stoughton, Wis.
