CLIENT: California Community Foundation
PROJECT: Social Media Campaigns
Art Direction
Design
Content Creation
Motion Graphics
Video Production
Social Media Management
PROJECT
California Community Foundation
Uplifting & Amplifying the work and efforts of one of LA’s most influential philanthropic groups
Overview
When the January 2025 wildfires broke out across Pacific Palisades and Altadena, the California Community Foundation activated its Wildfire Recovery Fund to mobilize emergency resources across Los Angeles County. Born in June Creative Studio served as creative partner across the full arc of the campaign, from immediate crisis response to sustained recovery storytelling leading digital strategy, content development, social media, email design, and visual asset production.
Approach
Within 24 hours, we launched emergency content, donor communications, and the LA Strong brand identity across all platforms, with the first grants reaching 130 nonprofits within 10 days. As the crisis scaled, we built CCF's presence as a trusted voice in the recovery, driving social content beyond their existing audience in close partnership with the press and internal teams.
A segmented email strategy grew CCF's newsletter audience from 5,628 to 26,000+ recipients, a 360% increase across four January sends. The final phase focused on long-term donor retention and grantee storytelling, including a video series and on-going digital and email marketing support.
Creative Direction
Born in June's approach centered on a core conviction: in a crisis, visual clarity and narrative urgency are not in tension; they are the same thing.
The LA Strong brand identity was built and deployed within the first days, communicating strength, solidarity, and institutional credibility across social, email, and digital platforms.
Social content was managed in real time, generating over 2 million channel impressions, an 829% increase in total impressions, 5,993 engagements (up 417%), and a 5.8% engagement rate. Celebrity amplification extended reach nationally.
Email campaigns were designed as standalone storytelling pieces , visually consistent and narratively evolving. Born in June also designed the full suite of visual materials for donor briefings and board reporting, balancing data clarity with human impact.
Impact:
Over $60 million raised from 40,000+ donors. Two rounds of grantmaking totaling $30 million deployed to approximately 200 nonprofits. Email audience grew 360%. Social media reach hit 2 million impressions. The campaign helped CCF establish itself not just as a fundraising vehicle, but as the trusted narrative anchor of LA's wildfire recovery.
The CCF Wildfire Recovery Fund is a demonstration of what's possible when strategic communications, creative direction, and cultural fluency work together in real time. Born in June moved at the speed of the news cycle without losing sight of the people at the center of the work. This is exactly what we were built for