Client Spotlight: Solid Rock 5K 2019

Runner attaching their bib for the Solid Rock 5K.

Purpose

Solid Rock Youth Ministries is run through donations and annual fundraising. The annual 5K was started in 2018 and was a huge community success. A financial goal of $15,000 was set early in our planning for 2019.

We also had a goal of raising understanding of who Solid Rock is and what they provide for the community. Solid Rock Youth Ministries serves Southern Lancaster County families with free after school programs.

Awards table with custom medals donated by Fantom Laser.

Objective

Come race day there were just under 200 runners registered with race day registration available.

At that point we were just shy of our financial goal, $15,000.

We still had the entire day to continue to share who Solid Rock is and their role in the community!

After generous donations, sponsorship of runners and the race overall, and a few business owners mentioning they would be interested in sponsoring the race next year (yay!), we hit our financial goal!

Social media graphics created for promotion, using photos from 2018’s event highlighting the diverse runners highlighting the family-friendly environment.

Approach

Along with email marketing to last years runners, we used a lot of old school tactics to promote this event, and it’s with intention. The race was limited to 300 runners to keep it a family-friendly environment and not to be overwhelming for families with little kids. After all, that is who Solid Rock serves with their programs.

Facebook live videos, posters, and personal invitations were used to raise awareness for the event. Social media graphics were created to advertise and continue to enforce the established branding of Solid Rock, strong orange and blue.

Planning Committee: Annamarie Dixon, Abbey White, Mary Price, Danielle Little, Trey Little, Megan Boulden, Matt Boulden

Project duration

An event like this doesn’t just happen overnight. As a committee, we began meeting Monthly committee meetings ran from January 2019 – August 2019.

We organized everything from

Connecting with local businesses to sponsor the race
Scheduling the morning to provide a competitively timed 5K race along with a Kid’s Fun Run
Collecting donations for the swag bags and snacks
Aligning the race with Solid Rock’s values and needs.

My Role

As I grow in my career, I carefully consider projects. I ask myself, “Would I be proud to show off this project in the future?” and this is an undoubted “Yes” for me.

I joined the committee with my experience in marketing, graphic design, and web design/development. Throughout the planning period, I put together the page on Solid Rock’s website. We highlighted race information, schedule, registration access, and business sponsors. This was continually updated as more sponsors partnered with Solid Rock.