Modernizing The Auburn Education Foundation
Auburn Education Foundation · Nonprofit · Board member & marketing lead · 2023–Present
At a glance.
420K+
Organic social views in 7 months
521%🢁
Growth in content interactions
417% 🢁
Follower growth
Paper🠮Digital
Operations modernization
The challenge.
The Auburn Education Foundation does meaningful work — funding classroom grants, supporting Auburn teachers, and celebrating community impact through programs like the Alumni Hall of Distinction. But the organization was operating mostly on paper. Grant applications were submitted by hand. Fundraising was mostly done offline. Social media was quiet. And the work happening inside Auburn classrooms wasn't visible enough to the donors, parents, and community members who made it possible.
The foundation needed more than a social media refresh. It needed a complete operational and storytelling modernization — one that would make it easier for teachers to apply, easier for donors to give, and easier for the community to see what their support was actually achieving.
The approach.
I joined the AEF board for the love of our community, and have been excited to drive the foundation's transition into the modern era — building digital infrastructure, modernizing fundraising, rebuilding its public presence, and creating a storytelling engine that connects donors to the classroom impact they fund.
Pillar 1
Migrated the foundation's grant application process from paper to digital using Google Forms — making it dramatically easier for Auburn teachers to apply, and easier for the board to review, track, and report on awarded grants. The result: more teachers submitting requests, faster decisions, and better data to share with donors.
Built a Digital Operating System
Pillar 2
Modernized Fundraising
Launched the foundation's first digital raffle through Zeffy, expanding the donor base beyond what traditional in-person fundraising could reach. Drafted annual giving letters and oversaw the donor outreach window — turning fundraising from event-dependent to year-round and digitally accessible.
Pillar 3
Took over a quiet social presence and built it into Auburn's most-followed education nonprofit. 420K+ organic views, 521% growth in content interactions, and 417% follower growth in 7 months — driven by storytelling that puts teachers, students, and community impact at the center.
Rebuilt Social Presence from the Ground Up
Pillar 4
Event Marketing & Community Storytelling
Handle full marketing strategy and execution for foundation events including the Alumni Hall of Distinction — from graphic design and digital promotion to content capture, post-event storytelling, and stakeholder communications. Every event becomes a year-round content asset.
The results.
In under two years, AEF has gone from a paper-based foundation with a quiet digital presence to a fully modernized nonprofit reaching tens of thousands of community members every month.
420K+ organic social views in 7 mo. building Auburn's most-followed education nonprofit
521% growth in content interactions (5,500+ in trailing 90 days)
417% follower growth (119 new follows)
172% increase in page visits
Paper-to-digital grant application process — driving more teacher submissions
First-ever digital raffle launched, expanding donor reach beyond traditional events
Modernized annual giving with digital outreach and stakeholder communications
Qualitative lift in grant submissions and donor inquiries reported by leadership
The transformation has made the entire process easier for teachers — and the work happening in Auburn classrooms is finally visible to the donors who make it possible.
The Auburn Education Foundation supports the Auburn Enlarged City School District
See the work. Meet the people. Hear the impact.