OneReef

Integrated Marketing, Community Growth & Fundraising Enablement

OneReef is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to protecting coral reef ecosystems by empowering island communities. Their model combines traditional ecological knowledge with scientific, financial, and technical partnerships to create sustainable, locally led conservation solutions.

The organization operates globally, collaborating with island nations such as Palau and Micronesia, as well as scientists, NGOs, and philanthropic partners including the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation.

Objective

Build awareness, credibility, and engagement with funders, partners, and supporters while establishing a scalable digital marketing foundation to support long-term conservation and fundraising efforts.

Strategy

The work focused on building an integrated marketing system that could simultaneously:

• Grow awareness and engagement with a highly values-driven audience

• Strengthen trust with foundations, scientists, and funding partners

• Translate complex conservation work into clear, compelling narratives

Key strategic pillars included:

• Audience-first messaging tailored by platform and stakeholder type

• Data-driven experimentation across paid and organic channels

• Strong alignment between storytelling, fundraising goals, and impact reporting

Execution

• Led an integrated marketing campaign across social, email, web, and paid channels

• Developed and executed content strategy across Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube to engage funders and conservation partners

• Wrote and managed monthly email newsletters to donors and foundations

• Planned and executed SEO-informed digital campaigns to grow community and reach

• Collaborated with field teams in Palau and Micronesia to translate on-the-ground work into authentic, compelling content

• Built and maintained relationships with NGOs, scientists, and nonprofit partners through targeted marketing initiatives

• Created persuasive copy and visual assets aligned to OneReef’s mission and positioning

• Established KPIs, performance dashboards, and regular reporting to evaluate impact and guide optimization

• Designed editorial calendars, weekly goals, and quarterly projections to support consistent execution

• Recommended and executed blog strategy to support thought leadership and discoverability

• Developed lists of prospective funding partners and supported relationship-building through awareness campaigns

• Ran targeted giveaway campaigns to activate highly engaged supporters

Results

• Increased target audience engagement by 1,096% and reach by 2,525% within three months

• Established a repeatable marketing foundation that supported both awareness and fundraising objectives

• Strengthened OneReef’s visibility and credibility with foundations, NGOs, and conservation partners