The March of Dimes was founded in 1938 by President Franklin Roosevelt to research polio after his personal experience with the disease. It funded the development of polio vaccines by Jonas Salk and Albert Sabin, which effectively ended polio in the US. Since 2003, the organization has focused on preventing preterm birth through research and raising awareness as prematurity rates rose. The document discusses the organization's social media presence on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube to engage with supporters and raise donations for its mission of supporting maternal and infant health.

2. Mission Statement
We help moms have full-term
pregnancies and research the
problems that threaten the health
of babies.

3. History
President Franklin Roosevelt's personal struggle with
polio led him to create the National Foundation for
Infantile Paralysis in 1938 when polio was on the
rise. Better known as the March of Dimes, the
foundation established a polio patient aid program
and funded research for vaccines developed by
Jonas Salk, MD and Albert Sabin, MD. These
vaccines effectively ended epidemic polio in the
United States.

4. History (Cont.)
Since 2003, our fight to save babies has been
strongly characterized by our Prematurity Campaign.
The rising incidence of premature birth has
demanded action, and the March of Dimes has
responded by initiating an intensive, multi-year
campaign to raise awareness and find the causes of
prematurity. They are currently headquartered out of
White Plains, NY but have satellite offices throughout
the nation.

5. My Connection
During my child hood and up until I graduated high
school my aunt worked for the March of Dimes in
Ashland, KY. This was the first charity that I had any
experiences with. I helped her organize and put
together “walks” in different cities throughout Eastern
Kentucky. In 2012, a friend of my wife and I, gave
birth to her daughter at 32 weeks. The March of
Dimes was there to support both of them.

6. New Media Reach

7. Facebook

8. Facebook (Cont.)
At the time of making this slide, their FB page had 592,484
“Likes.” The are extremely active on FB with a post about every
12 hours, sometimes more frequent. In the “About” tab they
have their mission statement and a link to their website
(www.marchofdimes.org/) The main focus of the post seemed to
be the need for donations to make their work possible. In my
opinion, with over half of a million likes on FB, this is very
effective. This paired with the links directly to their website to do
so, has proven successful for them.

9. Twitter

10. Twitter (Cont.)
The presence on Twitter is a lot less than the
presence on Facebook with 50,400 followers.
However, though the reach is arguably smaller on
Twitter, the frequency of post is about the same.
Averaging around 1 or 2 post a day.

11. Instagram

12. Instagram (Cont.)
Instagram seems to be a newer source for the
organization. They have 5,525 followers on
Instagram with 393 posts. This is the smallest reach
of their social network campaign. In my opinion this
has the greatest potential in their current approach.

13. YouTube

14. YouTube (Cont.)
The YouTube presence is the one that surprised me
the most. They have twice as many followers as they
do on Instagram. Their channel looks very
professional and has a ton of educational videos.
They actually have a link on the top of their channel
homepage where you can donate. I was really
surprised by how active they are on YouTube.

15. Strengths
• Professional
• Large reach
• National Recognition
• All major new media outlets
• Donation links
• Mobilization

16. Weaknesses
• Traditional media
• Focusing on one over another
• Involvement on campus

17. Other New Media Tools
• Email Newsletter
• Online Blogs
• Threads
• Articles
• Online Donating