We know that nonprofits need a way to connect with their constituents and meet their mission-driven goals. That’s why we created our Spotlight on Inclusion initiative (SOI) as part of our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion program here at Bitly. We’re proud to offer premium-level plans at no cost to charitable organizations focused on equity and inclusion, social justice, or serving systematically marginalized groups through community and partnership efforts.
We set out with the goal of signing on 250 charitable organizations and are thrilled to share that we have accomplished this goal! We know that the Bitly Connections Platform has all the features nonprofits need to amplify their work at every stage of their mission, and we’re excited to highlight one of our incredible partners today—First Book.
Want to learn more? Visit our Spotlight on Inclusion page to check out all our FAQs. We also now have a wait list for organizations that wish to be considered for the program in the future, so fill out the form to express your interest.
First Book partners with Bitly’s SOI initiative
First Book, a chartered member of the SOI program, is leading the way by leveraging Bitly’s products for positive change. They’re a nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating obstacles to fair education for children in low-income areas—and their work is truly inspiring!
We recently sat down with Lori Prince, VP of eCommerce at First Book, to speak about the nonprofit’s mission, their participation in the Spotlight on Inclusion program, and the massive impact our Connections Platform has had in driving their organization’s growth. Pull out a chair as we dig into our conversation with Lori—you won’t want to miss it!
An interview with Lori Prince
Can you tell us a little bit more about First Book’s mission?
Lori: First Book is building a world where every child has access to a quality education. Founded in Washington D.C. in 1992 as a nonprofit social enterprise, First Book is dedicated to eliminating barriers to education and level the playing field for kids in need.
At the heart of our work are the more than 600,000 members of the First Book Network, the largest online community of individual educators, professionals, and volunteers dedicated to supporting children in need across North America. This Network is the key to creating systemic change.
Through our research arm, First Book Research & Insights, we conduct studies that aggregate their voices to identify barriers to equitable education and inform strategic solutions. To address their needs, we provide free and low-cost books, resources, and access to leading experts through the First Book Marketplace, which uses aggregated buying power to support this underserved community.
What are some of the biggest challenges you face today as a non-profit organization?
Lori: A major challenge we face is one every organization and company is experiencing—the challenge of reaching our audience and increasing ease of access to our resources.
What is unique to First Book is that our audience is made up of educators and program leaders working in under-resourced communities, so they are facing challenges of their own. Our members go where help can be hard to find, and many of the struggles they are so familiar with have become even more exacerbated recently.
From pandemic learning losses to major funding cuts, from an increased number of children living in extreme poverty to teacher shortages, members of the First Book network are consumed with the all-important work they do every day. They don’t have time to spare, so we must do everything we can to increase ease of access and remove any unnecessary friction to our resources.
From your perspective, what role does technology play in driving social impact within the nonprofit sector?
Lori: As a social enterprise, First Book has always strived to implement the most innovative solutions from the private sector in the nonprofit space. Applying technology like Bitly to our model of change not only improves efficiency and reach but helps us better understand the metrics that we build future data-driven solutions around.
Scaling positive social impact requires the most efficient use of finite resources, and applying the right technology to nonprofit work is essential in understanding and evolving best practices to continue to do more social good with less.
How do you currently use Bitly and how has our platform helped you overcome some of your business challenges?
Lori: We are always working to make it easier for our members to access all our resources. In addition to meeting our members’ needs by distributing books and other educational supplies, we develop and disseminate free expert-informed, research-based resources for educators via the First Book Accelerator.
From prioritizing student mental health to STEM career readiness to promoting student changemakers, Accelerator resources translate best-in-class expertise into actionable educational strategies to support learning for kids in need. With a network the size of ours, we know digital distribution is key, so we turned to Bitly as our solution to decrease friction and make our resources easy to access in a branded and trackable way.
Are there any unique features or functionalities within the Bitly Connections Platform that have been particularly beneficial to First Book’s operations?
Lori: One of the simplest but most important features of Bitly’s Connections Platform for us has been using branded links when we share our Accelerator resources with our network. Trust is key for any organization, but especially as online spaces come under threat and individuals are concerned about their online safety and privacy.
Being able to share links with our branding reassures our members and furthers our goals of decreasing the barriers between our members and the resources they need to support their students and communities.
One of my favorite success stories centers on a student mental health resource we developed in 2022 in collaboration with On Our Sleeves. In Dec 2021 – Jan 2022, First Book Research & Insights and On Our Sleeves conducted a survey of members in our Network. The goal was to understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on student mental health, to identify the challenges facing educators working to support their students’ mental health, and to determine what resources educators needed to better help the children they serve.
Informed by the survey results, we developed a guide for educators with best practices and activities to help them to build up students’ mental fitness and emotional resilience and decrease stress and anxiety. When we shared the resource with our network using our branded Bitly Link in April 2022, we saw over 24,000 engagements with the resource in just the first 9 months. Even in the two years since, an average of 200 educators continue to download the resource every month.
Looking ahead, what are some key areas or goals that First Book hopes to achieve with the continued use of Bitly as part of our Spotlight on Inclusion program?
Lori: In addition to our focus on ease of access to Accelerator resources through branded links, we’re also using QR Codes for easy sign ups at in-person events and exploring ways to utilize them on printed materials to open up more channels of communication with our members.
Going forward, we’re also planning to explore more ways to leverage the data available in the tool about how our resources are being accessed, including location and device data.
How important do you think it is for nonprofit organizations to embrace a Connections Platform like Bitly?
Lori: I think the key is in the name—connections. We are all working so hard to reach our audiences, be they people in need of information and services or donors or a mix of both. Finding great tools that can decrease friction and make it simple for your audience to connect with your message is critical in the nonprofit space, and we have seen some fantastic successes with Bitly.
We were thrilled to be selected to participate in the Spotlight on Inclusion program, and we are looking forward to all of the incredible resources we will be able to quickly and effectively distribute to our members for years to come.
Learn more about Bitly’s Spotlight on Inclusion program
Here at Bitly, we’re proud to support organizations like First Book who are working to build a more inclusive and accessible education system for children. It’s incredibly humbling to witness the positive impact of our platform in fostering such an essential change. Stay tuned for more stories and updates on how our partners are making a difference in communities around the world. Feel free to reach out to us for more details about the Spotlight on Inclusion initiative and be sure to learn more about First Book’s transformative work.
