PERRYSBURG — Owens Community College has been selected as one of seven winners in Lumina Foundation’s mini-grant opportunity and first Instagram challenge, resulting in a $50,000 award to enhance digital outreach and marketing efforts.
Lumina Foundation received more than 100 entries from public, accredited two-year institutions nationwide.
The Owens’ Instagram reel was created and produced by the college’s Strategic Marketing and Communications office. Watch it at https://www.instagram.com/reel/C6WaLP8OBxz/.
“We are thankful to Lumina Foundation for recognizing the quality and engaging work our office does on social media interacting with our students,” said Tasha Hussain Black, Owens vice president of strategic initiatives, marketing and communications. “Our goal is to increase access to high-quality educational opportunities for the nearly 190,000 people aged 25 or older living in key parts of the City of Toledo who have attained a high school diploma or some college but who do not have a college degree. The $50,000 will help us connect with this market.”
Through the grant, Lumina wants community colleges to share stories and highlight the diverse and profound impact of a community college education.
“For the past two years, Lumina has engaged in a national conversation about understanding and strengthening community college brands,” said Mary Laphen Pope, Lumina’s strategy officer for participation. “While discussions often focus on challenges such as enrollment declines, success stories about community colleges and their students are rarely highlighted. We aim to change that.
“We were excited to offer this mini-grant opportunity and are so impressed by all the outstanding video reels we received. We hope this initiative will help shift the narrative around community colleges and all that they offer,” added Laphen Pope.
For more information about the mini-grant, visit Lumina’s Challenge Page, https://www.luminafoundation.org/challenge/mini-grant/.
