Powering Innovation in the Classroom: Bright Ideas Grant Campaign Doubles applications

Challenge

Increase awareness among local educators and encourage them to apply for the Bright Ideas education grant.

Strategy

Encouraged followers on Facebook and Instagram to tag a teacher they knew or admired, giving the campaign an organic boost and widening its reach.

Outcome

This fast-moving, highly targeted campaign exceeded expectations across the board and resulted in a 103% increase in applications.

PROBLEM

The Challenge: With the Bright Ideas education grant deadline quickly approaching, Central Electric Membership Corporation (CEMC) needed to quickly raise awareness among local educators. Despite the long-standing success of the program, many teachers remained unaware of the opportunity to receive up to $2,000 for classroom projects. The goal: drive qualified grant applications and demonstrate CEMC’s continued impact on local schools.

SOLUTION

To break through the noise during back-to-school season, Fungi Marketing crafted a hyper-local, emotionally resonant campaign focused on recognition and community.

We encouraged followers on Facebook and Instagram to tag a teacher they knew or admired, giving the campaign an organic boost and widening its reach. We also featured real photos of past Bright Ideas winners from Central Electric’s service area to create immediate relevance and authenticity.

Channels Used:

Facebook
Instagram
Display Ads
Landing Page

All ads linked to CEMC’s Bright Ideas grant page, which housed program details and a direct application link.

RESULTS

This fast-moving, highly targeted campaign exceeded expectations across the board:

Social impressions: 90,000
Clicks from social: 5,428
Click-through rate: 6.03%
Website visits: 151
Engagement on grant page from paid social: 15.23%
Completed applications: 66

Community members enthusiastically tagged local educators, helping the campaign gain momentum organically. The client reported strong Facebook engagement and was thrilled with the campaign’s performance.

Key Takeaways

Personalizing the message by showcasing real local teachers made a measurable difference. By focusing on community recognition and social sharing, we turned a simple grant promotion into a movement that resonated.

Next year, we plan to expand the video assets to include 9:16 formats for reels and stories, ensuring even greater reach and engagement across platforms.