Generation West Virginia Program Development and Recruitment

Background

Generation West Virginia (GWV) is the statewide nonprofit committed to attracting, retaining, and advancing young people. In 2015, GWV partnered with 84 Agency to develop, execute, and maintain ongoing communications and media production.

Impact Fellowship

84 Agency has been ingrained in the Impact Fellowship creation and growth since it’s launch in 2018. Over the past 5 years, 84 Agency has helped build a voice and brand for the Impact Fellowship that works for the many audiences of the program, from funders, to Host Employers, in-state employees, and young professionals seeking a new adventure in West Virginia.

Work, live, and give in the Mountain State.

Each year, 84 Agency assists the Impact Fellowship with its robust recruitment efforts of both host employers and program applicants. Through the pandemic we helped navigate the challenges of transitioning from in-person events, to virtual recruitment, a virtual interview day and selection process.

We supported the Impact team in technical ways on their application platform Submittable, produced a program website, developed and executed digital campaigns, created promotional printed materials, job postings on career platforms, produced email outreach to partners, and disseminated information on higher education platforms such as Handshake.

Most recently, we have helped highlight the current cohort of Impact Fellows in a way that feels authentic to the individuals and the new voice of the program.

NewForce

Generation West Virginia, in partnership with Mountwest Community and Technical College and the West Virginia Community and Technical College System, developed a free, six-week, software development coding program. As the project lead, Generation West Virginia relied on 84 Agency to provide creative services to develop the program’s name, messaging, and brand, as well as promote and market the program to recruit its first cohort of students.

84 Agency’s creative team worked with the executive director of GWV to develop the concept for the NewForce program. We brainstormed, discussed, researched, revised, and reiterated until the program concept was ready to be presented to the public.

“84 Agency co-built the NewForce program with Generation West Virginia. From program development to strategy, branding, publicity, recruitment, and implementation, 84 Agency’s team played an integral role in every part of the process. As skilled problem solvers and storytellers, they have been invaluable in helping us approach and begin to address an incredibly complex issue.”

— Natalie Roper, Executive Director of Generation West Virginia

Because GWV’s program was developed out of the state’s struggle with the effects of a declining coal economy and a stagnating economic landscape marked by a deficiency of 21st century jobs or industries, 84 Agency proposed the name “NewForce” as a nod to the development of a new kind of workforce in Appalachia. Generation West Virginia and the program partners agreed that “NewForce” captured the spirit and intention behind the program and our creative team proceeded to create a brand identity for the program that was connected to—but distinct from—the branding of GWV.

To promote the program and recruit applicants, 84 Agency convened a press conference launch at Mountwest Community and Technical College featuring speakers from each partner organization. The press conference held at the school attracted an organic attendance of 75 students and the news was covered widely in print and broadcast media.

We drafted and polished materials targeted at potential funders, allies, and other interested members of the community in order to secure funding, get the word out about the program, and attract employers and program partners.

To increase applicants and raise the visibility of the program, GWV partnered with Jobcase, a national recruiter social network. 84 Agency worked closely with Jobcase in the creation of the program website to ensure that traffic funneled interested applicants through the NewForce website to the Jobcase application portal. Concurrently, 84 Agency’s creative team developed and executed an advertising campaign designed to engage a regional audience and procure applications.

Impact

The Impact Fellowship has attracted applicants from not only across West Virginia but from around the world. As of 2021, 1,145 individuals have applied to become an Impact Fellow, creating over 40 West Virginia-based jobs at 23 host employers. The volunteer component of the program, in which Impact Fellows volunteer every Friday to a nonprofit organization of their choice, has benefited 53 organizations through 10,920 volunteer hours. Because the Impact Fellowship is a year-long program, Fellows are free to pursue whatever job opportunities they have access to and Generation West Virginia is proud to report that 87% of Fellows have received offers to continue employment at their Host Employer and 63% of those offers were accepted.

The NewForce program has exceeded projected project benchmarks. Within six months of graduating: 86% of job seeking graduates secure employment in software development within six months of graduating; NewForce graduates make a median salary of $45,000; and 100% of placed graduates work for companies based in West Virginia.

Generation West Virginia has maintained a retainer contract with 84 Agency since 2015, when the organization was in the beginning stages of program development, and continues the retainer contract because the ongoing creative support is a critical ingredient for both programs’ success.