a winning entry
This program won a
2013 IABC Gold Quill
Award for employee
engagement. For more
than 40 years, IABC’s
Gold Quill Awards
program has evaluated
the work of communication professionals
around the globe,
recognizing the best
of the best in the
profession.
The Canadian Association for Co-operative Education (CAFCE) is a nonprofit asso- ciation of 79 universities and
colleges that aims to foster and advance
postsecondary co-operative education.
Co-op is an international model
bridging students’ academic knowl-
edge and intended careers through
paid work semesters in the field. Stu-
dents graduate with a year or more
of work experience, a sharper career
focus and contacts that often lead to
full-time employment. Currently,
more than 80,000 students are build-
ing their careers through co-op pro-
grams across Canada.
CAFCE members are staff at universities, colleges and institutes, and
were the primary audience of this campaign. To raise awareness of co-operative education and create new co-op
opportunities for students, CAFCE
has staged an annual National Co-op
Week since 1988. Yet the initiative has
struggled, and by 2011, the committee overseeing Co-op Week consisted
of just two active volunteers from the
University of Waterloo, in Ontario.
CAFCE lacked historical information
demonstrating the success of the initiative across the country; without that
data, staff at many institutions were
unaware of the program’s benefits.
Without a coordinated communication campaign to encourage member
participation, CAFCE risked losing
the spark from National Co-op Week’s
early years.
case in point by adam brayford
Spreading
the word
Tapping social media channels boosts a nonprofit’s visibility and
connects students to co-op education opportunities
A
GOLD QUILL
WINNER
A mobile-friendly web experience was
vital to connecting with students who
use social media on their smartphones,
so a temporary contest website was
created using a third-party platform.
