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“Giving back to your community will always be inspiring.” —juror Sean Klassen

“Beautiful design, smart social integration. Well done.” —juror Dustin Callif

Overview: Why would anyone “like” a bank on Facebook? With public perception of financial institutions at a low, Neighborhood Wishlist was created to give people a reason to trust (and yes, even “like”) a bank again. This social funding program by PNC Bank offered grants of up to $500 for community improvement projects. People were invited to submit projects via Facebook, where they could share ideas and vote for their favorites. For each vote, PNC provided $1 of funding. Neighborhood Wishlist led to positive engagement not only on Facebook, but in real PNC communities as well.

• A custom Facebook tab and app integration was developed to allow users to submit and vote for projects within Facebook.
• Five hundred projects were entered in less than three days.
• More than 32,000 votes were cast, 43 projects were funded and PNC got a total of 94,000 new “likes.”

Comments by Jeremy Bernstein, Cindy Kridle, Suzanne Molinaro and Jillian Cornette:
What do you think are the project’s core features? “Neighborhood Wishlist had several distinct phases. We introduced the program with an animated video, then invited people to submit project ideas with a budget of up to $500. Next, 100 finalists were posted for public voting, with each vote worth $1 toward a project’s goal—like a Kickstarter campaign, but with all funds provided by PNC. To submit or vote, people had to ‘like’ PNC on Facebook, building a social following for the bank. In each phase, the site was anchored by illustrated characters and an animated video. During the voting phase and the announcement of winners, we used images and videos provided by the project finalists as primary visual elements. We provided a digital toolkit to help project owners campaign through their social networks during voting.”

What was the most challenging aspect of the project? “With 500 project submissions, the process of reviewing and selecting the 100 finalists was challenging from a time perspective, and we often had to make tough decisions about which projects were selected as finalists. Reviewing the projects, you realize how many communities are in need, and you want as many as possible to get funding.”

How did this project compare with others you’ve worked on in the past? “Neighborhood Wishlist is one of the most reward-ing projects our team has worked on. We are inspired by the number of people who want to improve their communities and by the creativity of the projects they submit. It’s been an honor for us to create a platform that helps make these ideas a reality.”