“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.”
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.”