LIN-MANUEL MIRANDA AND CHARITY NETWORK
Capitalizing on a unique moment in Broadway history, a record-breaking series of digital sweepstakes and auction fundraising campaigns with the Miranda family offered fans all over the world the chance to experience the groundbreaking cultural phenomenon Hamilton: An American Musical and monetize for good.
To date, the campaigns have raised more than $7 million dollars and cultivated over 373,000 donations for charitable organizations, including Planned Parenthood, Natural Resources Defense Council, and the Hispanic Federation.
SUMMARY
RISE UP FOR GOOD
With the phenomenal success of Hamilton as the catalyst, Charity Network helped Lin-Manuel Miranda and his family react quickly to the changing political landscape and leverage awareness and raise funds for timely causes. Each of the six campaigns focused on different members of the family and issues that were close to their hearts.
The campaigns have exceeded all expectations, raising more than $7 million dollars and cultivating over 373,000 donations for charitable organizations, including Planned Parenthood, Natural Resources Defense Council, and the Hispanic Federation.
THE PLAYERS
THE MIRANDA FAMILY
Lin-Manuel Miranda, the Tony Award-winning composer, lyricist, and book writer of Hamilton, is a 2015 MacArthur Foundation Award recipient and was awarded the 2016 Pulitzer Prize in Drama for the show. Along with his wife, Vanessa Nadal, and his parents, Luis and Dr. Luz Towns-Miranda, a psychologist and Planned Parenthood Action Fund board member (pictured, left), the Mirandas have worked with Charity Network to raise money for important causes such as women’s rights, immigration reform, and climate change.
THE PLAYERS
CHARITY NETWORK
Named one of Fast Company’s 2017 “Most Innovative Companies,” Charity Network harnesses the power of celebrity, technology,
and media to raise awareness and funds for causes around the world. With a mission to help nonprofits transition from analog
to digital, Charity Network has raised more than a quarter of a billion dollars to date. Launched in 2016 by entrepreneur
Todd Wagner, Charity Network is the parent company to the leading online sweepstakes-for-good platform Prizeo, online charity auction site Charitybuzz, and content production
studio Chideo. In 2017 Charity Network acquired LA-based
Global Philanthropy Group, which develops and implements comprehensive philanthropic strategies to maximize the
impact of the cause work of celebrities, charities, and brands.
OBJECTIVES
Charity Network began working with the Mirandas in 2016 to identify different ways to bring the Hamilton experience to fans worldwide, while raising funds and awareness for causes they were passionate about. It was important to provide equal access to everyone and to maximize the amount of funds that would go directly to the charities, without high production costs or exorbitant prize expenses.
Charity Network’s online sweepstakes platform, Prizeo, which democratizes giving by offering fans of any income level a chance to win prizes by donating as little as $10 to charitable causes, was in perfect alignment with the Mirandas’ goals.
STRATEGY
The Hamilton campaigns have leveraged the Miranda family’s commitment to philanthropy, Lin-Manuel Miranda’s status as a cultural icon, and the success of Hamilton to raise funds, generate awareness, and cultivate new donors from targeted audiences such as Lin-Manuel Miranda fans, Hamilton fanatics (#HamilFans), Broadway fans, Latinos, and supporters of the various charities and causes.
The social media strategy harnesses the power of Miranda’s extensive social media network and his authenticity, engaging on a personal and genuine level with millions of fans to generate excitement and momentum about the campaigns.
The Miranda partnership has fully utilized the cross-platform capabilities of Charity Network, auctioning exclusive experiences such as Hamilton tickets and meet-and-greets on the Charitybuzz platform, raising funds and awareness through its online community of 200,000+ high net worth donors; and utilizing Chideo to create and distribute content.
Several more campaigns are in the works for 2018 and beyond, including tickets to opening nights of Hamilton at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, and in Puerto Rico.
TACTICS
Content Creation
Social Media
Email Marketing
Long and short-form videos, .gifs, memes, and live online events through Facebook and Twitter’s Periscope
Extensive social media campaigns targeted existing fans and supporters and also generated new donors
Utilized email databases including Charity Network subscribers and the beneficiaries’ existing donor databases, to maximize impact and cultivate relationships with donors
Public Relations
Extensive consumer PR outreach promoted the campaigns, resulting in millions of media impressions and additional exposure to new audiences
Advertising
Paid media leveraged the power of social media to micro-target specific audiences on Facebook and other platforms
Media and Promotional Partnerships
Partnerships with BroadwayWorld, Emerson Collective, Hyatt Hotels, and Society of London Theatres helped promote campaigns and offset expenses
THE CAMPAIGNS
Over an 18-month period, Charity Network has executed six sweepstakes campaigns on Prizeo, offering fans the chance to win VIP tickets to Hamilton shows across the US and in the UK, roundtrip airfare + hotel accommodations, tickets to after-parties, and meet-and-greets with Lin-Manuel Miranda.
Click on the Hamilton logos for more information on the campaigns,
including videos, social media posts, and more.
RESULTS
$7M
TOTAL FUNDS RAISED
DONATIONS
373,032
1,184
PR PLACEMENTS
Social Media Impact
Campaign activity increased the reach of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Facebook page by more than 126,000 followers, and also resulted in increased positive sentiment.
1.3B
PEOPLE REACHED
$12M
MEDIA VALUE
“My family and I are committed to raising awareness and funds for non-profit organizations that make an impact throughout the United States and around the world. Charity Network is the perfect partner for us to accomplish this goal, since anyone can enter a Prizeo contest for just $10 (or for free by postcard) and they’ll have a chance to win the grand prize. CN team handles all the logistics and marketing, while I publicize the contest through social media. Throughout the year, we’ve been able to raise millions of dollars, reach new donors, and introduce so many to non-profits new to them.”
Lin-Manuel Miranda
CONNECT WITH US
THE STORY
When Charity Network began working with the Mirandas in 2016 to identify different ways to bring the Hamilton experience to fans worldwide, it was important to provide equal access to everyone and to maximize the amount of funds that would go directly to the charities, without high production costs or exorbitant prize expenses.
HOW WE DID IT
Leveraging the success of Hamilton, the Miranda family’s commitment to philanthropy, and
Lin-Manuel Miranda’s status as a cultural icon, the campaigns targeted Miranda’s extensive social media network, Hamilton fanatics (#HamilFans), Broadway fans, Latinos, and supporters of the various charities and causes. Targeted PR plans, email marketing, and paid advertising generated millions of media impressions and additional exposure to new audiences, while partnerships
with BroadwayWorld, Emerson Collective, Hyatt Hotels, and Society of London Theatres helped
promote the campaigns and offset expenses.
The Miranda partnership also fully utilized the cross-platform capabilities of Charity Network, auctioning exclusive experiences such as Hamilton tickets and meet-and-greets on
Charitybuzz, raising funds and awareness through its online community of 200,000+ high net
worth donors; and utilizing Chideo to create and distribute content.
Several more campaigns are in the works for 2018 and beyond, including tickets to opening nights of Hamilton at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, and in Puerto Rico.
THE CAMPAIGNS
Over an 18-month period, Charity Network has executed six sweepstakes campaigns
on Prizeo, offering fans the chance to win VIP tickets to Hamilton shows across
the US and in the UK, roundtrip airfare + hotel accommodations, tickets to after-parties, and meet-and-greets with Lin-Manuel Miranda.
.
Several more campaigns are in the works for 2018 and beyond, including tickets to opening nights of Hamilton at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, and in Puerto Rico.
Prizeo, Charity Network’s online sweepstakes platform that democratizes giving by offering fans of any income level a chance to win prizes by donating as little as $10 to charitable causes, was in perfect alignment with the Mirandas’ goals.
To celebrate the opening in San Francisco, the Mirandas offered the Ultimate Hamilton Experience—VIP tickets to the show at its two current stops (New York, Chicago) and San Francisco, where it was due to open in the spring. With funds raised benefiting Planned Parenthood Federation of America, the campaign capitalized on the post-election political climate and a surge in support of women’s rights, breaking the record of any online digital fundraising sweepstakes to date.
Dr. Luz Towns-Miranda, a psychologist, Lin-Manuel’s mother, and Planned Parenthood Action Fund board member, wrote an article for Vogue that discussed the importance of the work of Planned Parenthood and promoted the Prizeo experience, driving additional donations. Planned Parenthood later used the new email addresses captured from this campaign to raise hundreds of thousands more in donations on their own.
NEW YORK, SAN FRANCISCO, CHICAGO, JANUARY 2017
For our first Hamilton campaign, Lin-Manuel Miranda offered a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity—the chance to win VIP tickets to his final performance on Broadway, benefitting the Hispanic Federation, an organization that empowers Latino children, youth, and families founded by Luis Miranda. Lin-Manuel activated his fan base via a live Periscope stream on Twitter— the largest in the platform’s history at the time—generating 937,000 impressions, 209,000 viewers, and 1.58M engagements. Miranda also garnered an extra 84,000 Facebook followers and initiated a practice that continues to this day—FaceTiming the winners personally to inform them they won.
NEW YORK, JULY 2016
For the show’s first stop beyond New York, the Mirandas offered opening night tickets to Hamilton in Chicago, raising money for The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, the leading American history nonprofit organization dedicated to K–12 education, for which Lin-Manuel Miranda had created the Hamilton Education Program.
CHICAGO, OCTOBER 2016
With Lin-Manuel in London shooting a film, Luis and Luz Miranda stepped in to host for their son on opening night of Hamilton in San Francisco. Funds benefited
Code2040 and the Latino Community Foundation,
two organizations working to build inclusive, safe
spaces where minorities can work and thrive.
SAN FRANCISCO, MARCH 2017
Opening night of Hamilton in Los Angeles promised to
be a star-studded event and so was the campaign surrounding it. Funds benefited the Immigrants:
We Get the Job Done Coalition, a group of 12 organizations partnering with the Hispanic Federation that work throughout the country to provide services to immigrants, refugees, and asylees, including legal representation, advocacy, and awareness campaigns.
Miranda launched the campaign with the release
of the “Immigrants: We Get the Job Done”
music video, taken from the wildly successful
The Hamilton Mixtape. To further engage his fan base, Miranda introduced the #Ham4All challenge, inviting people everywhere to post a video singing or rapping a song from Hamilton, and then challenge a friend to post and donate to the Prizeo campaign. The challenge went viral, generating tens of thousands of videos from
fans and engagement from hundreds of celebrities, including Steph Curry, Amy Schumer and Ben Stiller.
LOS ANGELES, 2017
For the first production outside of the US, the Mirandas offered a trip for the opening night of Hamilton in London. For this campaign, Lin-Manuel worked with
his wife, Vanessa Nadal, a scientist and lawyer, to
battle climate change, with funds benefiting the
Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and
10:10 Climate Action. Husband and wife worked together on the #Ham4Earth campaign, with donors receiving a special challenge to reduce their carbon footprint and help save the environment.
LONDON, DECEMBER 2017