Bridging the Communication Gap
Sacred Heart Catholic School in Shawano Wisconsin is a small school with a big vision: To create lifelong learners distinguished by how they live their faith. One challenge its administration faces is school-to-home communication and how to reach as many parents as possible.
Autumne Gee, Director of Admissions and Development, explains. “We have different generations of parents with different communication comfort zones: Who’s on social media? Who wants email? Who still expects a hard copy?” Gee needed to continue meeting folks where they were at, while striving to reach a broader parent audience. She determined a mobile app was the tool to bridge the gap.
Why LetsAllDoGood?
Gee set out in search of an affordable mobile app that would cater to Sacred Hearts’ specific needs and work with its existing communication channels. For all those reasons, she landed on the LetsAllDoGood nonprofit mobile app. Gee says, “It was much more customizable than other options, and it was really easy for me to jump on and just start with it.”
Easy to Get Parents on Board
Sacred Heart became a LetsAllDoGood customer in April of 2021, and quickly brought a large percentage of its parent audience on board by promoting the app’s “AllAboard Link” and branded QR code.
Ease of Use
Gee enjoys how quickly she can send urgent messages or proactively schedule content in the app to coincide with content she’s delivering through social media. Easily seeing how many subscribers she has and how many push notifications have landed gives peace of mind that those who need to know, know. She is also experimenting with different types of messaging. Gee explains, “We promoted our Halloween activities, and we had great engagement with the content through the app.”
Feature and Promote Video Content
The app is also a great place to feature and promote the video content the school publishes. “We have numerous families that are not on social media,” explains Gee, “but I know they are on the app, so I know I can reach them.”
Little Things That Matter Most
Gee notes, “The great thing is, it doesn’t have to be big things, it can be simple reminders.” And it seems so much of school-home communication is about just that. From picture retake day to back-to-school supply lists, Sacred Heart uses the mobile app to notify parents in advance and remind them in the moment of what their kids will need that day at school.
Instant Weather Alerts & Cancellation Notifications
Being in the midwest, weather is always top of mind. Gee exclaims, “It’s Wisconsin, after all!” With the mobile app, push notifications about cancellations and schedule changes are immediately delivered to their families’ phones—not lost in a social media algorithm or cluttered email inbox. If parents have a smart watch, the notification lands there as well, making sure no one is left waiting out in the cold.
Key Features and What’s Next?
Gee’s favorite app feature is the ability to send Direct Push Notifications that include links. This makes it easy to drive her audience directly to sign-up sheets, webpages, Facebook posts… wherever she wants them to go.
One upcoming app feature that Gee is really looking forward to is the ability to send notifications from her phone as well as her desktop, making it even easier to reach families instantly.
LetsAllDoGood is proud to be a part of Sacred Heart Catholic School’s mission “to work cooperatively to ensure the optimum academic, spiritual, physical, and social growth of every student.” If you’d like to learn more about their work, please visit their website, or facebook page.
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