In late June we had the idea to picture the possibilities of how we could bring the local community and ADEC together in a virtual world with so many of our traditional in-person gathering options left unfeasible due to the pandemic.
In the face of a novel coronavirus, an innovative new style of fundraiser was born where our clients and #TeamADEC could interact with the community, and vice-versa, by completing social media challenges. Everyone was active, thanked their heroes, baked up tasty treats, created some beautiful art and showed off their talents.
Picture Possibilities followed the tradition of inclusion laid out by our founding families and everyone included themselves. Literally anyone near or far could do something. Even from the comfort of their couch, people participated from well beyond ADEC’s home base of Elkhart and St. Joseph counties. While ADEC also utilized its Twitter, Instagram and YouTube channels, Facebook became the central social media platform for Picture Possibilities and the community was clearly fixated.
During the duration of Picture Possibilities (June 28 to July 31), ADEC’s Facebook page reached 124,977 total users, 54,094 organic users and saw 6,729 engagements. Over the same time frame in 2019, ADEC reached just 20,622 and saw 1,672 engagements. Thus, Picture Possibilities increased ADEC’s engagements by 402%, its organic reach by 262% and its total reach by 606%.
All of that attention added up to an overwhelmingly successful fundraising campaign. ADEC set a goal of $30,000 at the onset. With the checks still trickling in, along with added generosity of our sponsors, ADEC ultimately more than doubled that goal. Picture Possibilities has raised over $60,000!
In addition to doubling the target gross income for the event, the net income has been overwhelming due to the almost-complete lack of expenses associated with a virtual fundraiser. Living in a virtual world made Picture Possibilities uniquely impactful.
The additional funds raised by Picture Possibilities are already being put to work in ADEC’s vital programs which are not funded by Medicaid. Guardianship, transportation, community employment, Camp Wy.Not and many other offerings that enrich the lives of ADEC clients have all been made better through your support.
“Thanks to your generosity, the individuals and families that ADEC serves have the resources they need like respite in the summer months, access to supports when they transition out of school, and advocacy through ADEC’s guardianship program,” ADEC president and CEO Donna Belusar said. “With your support, our families, friends, and neighbors with disabilities have more informed choices and greater possibilities in every stage of their lives. We could not do this without you and I could not say ‘thank you’ enough to show my gratitude on behalf of ADEC.”
Does this immense success mean there will be an encore of Picture Possibilities in July, 2021? You could say we’re already picturing the possibilities. ?
