Boosting Applications for the Charlie Sifford Foundation Scholarship
Category
Scholarship
Industry
Foundation
How a revamped social media strategy and targeted advertising drove a 42% increase in scholarship applications in the program's second year.
Overview
After a strong launch year, the Charlie Sifford Foundation Scholarship needed to re-engage its audience, expand reach beyond a limited follower base, and reduce application drop-off. Here's how a revamped social strategy, targeted online advertising, and automated email reminders drove a 42% jump in applications.
Program impact
42% Increase in scholarship applications
Process change
15% Engagement rate on Meta ads
Scalable growth
2K+ Visitors to the scholarship homepage
Introduction
Charlie Sifford was the first Black player on the PGA TOUR, securing his first PGA victory in 1967 at the Greater Hartford Open in Connecticut at Wethersfield Country Club.
To honor his legacy, a scholarship was created to help fund college costs for students attending Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), or for students focusing their education on a golf management program. Any student who is or will be attending college is eligible to apply.
Challenges
The program faced several key challenges: maintaining excitement, re-engaging its existing audience, expanding reach, and reducing application drop-off rates.
Replicating Initial Excitement
As this was the scholarship's second year, maintaining the excitement and momentum from the launch year was a genuine challenge.
Re-Engaging the Audience
The existing social media audience needed to be re-engaged to sustain interest and participation into a second cycle.
Expanding Reach
With a limited number of followers, the program needed to reach a broader, more relevant audience beyond its existing base.
Application Drop-Off
A noticeable drop-off rate during the application process meant intervention was needed to help applicants actually complete their submissions.
Solution
RQ Platform's marketing team introduced targeted social media outreach and online advertising to boost program visibility and increase application numbers.
Revamped Social Media Strategy
Content refresh: Updated social media post styles to strengthen brand recall.
Engaging content: Introduced a mix of past-scholar videos, FAQs, testimonials, information about Charlie Sifford's legacy, and notable quotes to build intent and provide social proof.
Online Advertising
Posts on Meta were boosted to reach a wider, more relevant audience, increasing overall program visibility.
Email Scheduler
The email scheduler feature was used to help manage drop-off rates, with automated reminder emails sent at set intervals (21 days, 14 days, and so on) leading up to the deadline, reinforced by consistent social media messaging.
Results
Increase in Scholarship Applications
Achieved a 42% increase in the final number of applications compared to the previous year.
Social Media as a Primary Source of Awareness
42% of applicants reported learning about the scholarship through social media and online ads.
High-Engagement Content
Videos featuring past scholars had the highest engagement rate of any content type, at 7.73%.
Engagement Rate on Meta Ads
Achieved an engagement rate of 15.38%, far surpassing the industry benchmark of ~1%. Eighteen people shared the call-for-applications posts and ten saved them, signaling strong interest and interaction.
Program Visibility
Meta ads attracted 600+ users a new channel that proved effective in reaching the target audience.
Enhanced Communication
Automated email reminders reduced response time and improved the completion rate of applications already in progress.
"Our relationship with RQ Platform is a critical part of our partnership with our sponsors, scholarship committee, applicants, and award winners. We very much appreciate the easy-to-use turnkey portal and the customer service that comes from the technical and marketing teams at RQ. We couldn't perform at our best without their total offering." - Russ, Program Manager, Sifford Foundation Scholarship
Ready to Simplify Your Programs?
See how RQ Platform and RQ Mentorship can help your organization streamline applications, reviews, program administration, mentorship, and participant engagement.