Once upon a time…In 2009, the Community Council of St.

Charles County received numerous phone calls from counselors and case

workers seeking prom dresses for high school girls who were unable to

attend prom because of their family’s financial situation

…staff members with heavy hearts…and closets

put out a few calls and emails to friends and the community

was launched

• 1000 formal gowns were collected

• 25 girls received FREE dresses

• The remaining dresses were put on sale to the public for $25 each and it was a success!

Prom Season 2009

As the story goes…• Fairy godmothers (and partners) appeared!• In 2010 The Metro St. Louis Cinderella Project was born• CBL malls came on board as collections sites • An upscale boutique was opened at Mid-Rivers Mall• Stevens Institute of Business and Art came on board with a class full of students• www.CinderellaSTL.com was born• We joined the network of national dress drives: donatemydress.org

Prom Season 2010• Nearly 3000 dresses were collected• 100 girls were referred to the

project who received a gorgeous gown, alterations, makeovers, hairstyles and girly-goodies

• The boutique opened to the public and the remaining gowns were made available at an affordable price of $25 to any girl not receiving a school or agency referral

Prom Season 2010

princess partners 2010-2011

Prom Season 2011• Over 2000 gowns collected,• Increased donations of NEW dresses• 150 girls referred from over 40 school

districts• Additional up-dos, goodie bags and

hair cuts for the dates!• Third party fundraisers emerged:

Parkway High School, Maryville University, Lindenwood University, Stevens Institute of Business and Art, Belleza Salon and Kettle Corner

Prom Season 2011

princess partners 2011-2012

The Impact of Social Media

CinderellaSTL was born in January of 2010

3262 visitors to the site in 2010

2 Facebook pages created

We’re tweeting!

Growth in 2011

January through May of 2011: 3703 new visitors to our website!

38% of our visitors come to our site from other web sites: donatemydress.org, stltoday.com, media articles and Facebook

37% connect from the Community Council website21% find us through search engines

Cinderella STL Facebook group has 550 membersand our Facebook page has 474 fans who like us!

Creating the buzz!

• Created awareness of our cause• New and repeated project participants-schools,

donors, partners, friends and volunteers!• New email addresses-contact information• Increased dollars raised/Increased quality of donations• Increased cause marketing partners who help us and help spread the word!• Pink Saturday 350 girls waiting to shop at the

boutique within the first 3 hours!

Telling the Story

Who’s talking about us online?

Seventeen magazine, ksdk, patch.com, mid rivers mall, stltoday, kmov, chesterfield mall, blogunteer, LinkedIn groups, STLauditions-SIBA, STL

Post Dispatch, The Current online, Moms Like Me, STL sprout, newsmagazine network, examiner.com, Maryville Pawprint, South

County Times, Streetscape Magazine, St. Louis Magazine, Sugar Britches , niuzer.com, Beauty Institute, Belleza Salon, Community News, Lenox

Knits, Westmont Homes, Pepsi Refresh Everything, Bliss Eleven, West County Mall, Dillards, Parkway High School, Macy’s, activerain,

Bridgeton-macaronikid, Online Free Kids Games ….not to mention all the blogs and tweets of folks we don’t even know!!

Social Media Can Help with…

RESEARCH event communications NEWSLETTERS

referrals CUSTOMER SERVICE sales/donations BRAND AWARENESS/AFFINITY public relationsTRAFFIC CREATION networking RECRUITINGvolunteer support RELATIONSHIP BUILDINGbuilding trust FUND RAISING friend-raisingENGAGEMENT advocacy TELL YOUR STORY…

…if you don’t do these, then you don’t need social media

Prom Season 2012We’ll see you online

www.CinderellaSTL.com