Team MembersLauren Hovden Jody WendtMorgan Weiler Jordyn Woodruff

Katherine Tulibaski Chris Hagen

Advisers

North Dakota State University: Bison Gold

Table of Contents

Executive Summary 1

Situation Analysis 2

Research 2

Target Audiences 3

Key Messages 4

Objectives & Strategies 5

Challenges and Opportunities 7

Conclusion 10

Appendices 11

Executive SummaryReconstructing ‘Home’: More Than Just a Roof, the 2015 North Dakota State University (NDSU) Bison Gold PRSSA Bateman Team’s campaign, implemented the goals Home Matters strives for in our town of Fargo, North Dakota. Bringing the awareness of Home Matters’ goals and the goals of our own campaign to our target audience allowed us to make known that home can be defined as more than just a roof over one’s head.

We conducted research in a number of ways. Our primary research involved a survey and focus groups. In sum,155 students between the ages of 18-22 participated in an anonymous survey, which became an indicator that Millennials in our area are not concerned with homelessness. As a follow up, we conducted three focus groups consisting of fifteen students total, which allowed us to discuss more in-depth the participants’ ideas on topics such as affordable housing, student debt, as well as what home meant to them.

Our Home Matters campaign targeted Millennials, a demographic we are familiar with. We knew we could best reach our target audience by being present in the environments that Millennials are: sites such as Facebook and Twitter. This led us to implement our own sites, sharing facts and creating messages that have the most relevance to Millennials. We used a hashtag (#FridayFacts) to highlight important health, educational, societal, public safety, and individual success facts that a stable home can render. We were able to partner with Laurie Baker, Executive Director of the Coalition for Homelessness to ask what she thought of the importance of a campaign on the awareness of homelessness and what it means to our target audience. We made t-shirts to self-promote our campaign, and wore them to volunteer at Great Plains Food Bank here in the Fargo area, allowing our group to learn firsthand what goes on behind the scenes, as well as spread further awareness about Home Mat-ters and the issue of homelessness. It also allowed us to lead by example, as we posted pictures on our social media sites, and listed in our brochures local places in which people our age can vol-unteer.

By partnering up with one of our local radio stations, we received airtime to record a brief thirty second advertisement. Our advertisement was aired throughout the month of February to help further promote our campaign along with Home Matters and the goals intertwined. To reach a larger audience, we also used contact booths in a highly populated area on NDSU’s campus. Our contact booths were a great way to capture the attention of NDSU students and faculty and provide them with more information about our campaign and the Home Matters movement. As students and by passers stopped by our contact booth we had them write down what ‘Home’ means to them on a sticky note and then plastered all of the sticky notes up on a poster board. All of these efforts helped raise awareness and promote our goals and the goals of Home Matters.

We invite you to see ‘Home’ as More Than Just a Roof and learn how North Dakota State Uni-versity’s Bison Gold PRSSA Bateman Team created awareness to Millennials that home is much more than just a roof; it is security, a good education, and financial stability. 1

Situation AnalysisAccording to the City of Fargo, approximately 446 people are homeless in the Fargo, North Dakota area with roughly 20 percent of those 446 people being Millennials. Millennials can be best defined as a person or a group of people who are reaching young adulthood around the year of 2000. Our campaign focuses primarily on Millennials who were born between 1992 and 1997. Af-ter asking 155 North Dakota State University students who are in the millennial age range of 18-22 years old, “Are you concerned with the subject matter of homelessness?” 27.1 percent of the stu-dents answered “No” (see Appendix A for the survey results). Focus group surveys confirmed that they don’t expect homelessness to affect them in their lifetime. When asked the question “What do you think your average salary will be during your career?” the results revealed that 12 out of the 15 students involved in our focus groups believed they will make over $75,000 as their average sala-ry (see Appendix B for the focus group survey). When asking students in our focus groups what home means to them, most said a roof over their heads.Throughout our research we found this to be a common answer. With our campaign being “Reconstructing ‘Home’: More Than Just a Roof ” we want Millennials to be aware that home is more than just a roof or physical location; it is having security, a good education, and financial stability.

Research During our process of finding our secondary research we looked at numerous articles and websites around the Fargo area and from North Dakota States University’s online library databases (see Ap-pendix C for references). We searched for information relevant to our campaign goals so we could pinpoint exactly who our campaign should be targeted towards. Once we determined our target audience, we were able to focus on how we could use our campaign goals to help raise awareness. This initial research allowed us to discover information about our campaign that we could not have found elsewhere, and it gave us the opportunity to complete further primary research on informa-tion that was missing.

Key Research Findings That Guided our Campaign Included:• About 4 in 10 Millennials report that they are overwhelmed by debt obligation, primarily

paying off credit card, mortgage, and student loan debt (Wells Fargo Bank, 2014).• Millennials report that having a career and having a family is important but at this stage,

they may be focusing on establishing a career (The Council of Economic Advisors, 2014).• Millennials are less likely to be homeowners than young adults in previous generations (The

Council of Economic Advisors, 2014).• Each night there are roughly 446 people affected by homelessness in the Fargo area (City of

Fargo, 2012).• More than half a million people in the United States do not have a home (National Alliance

to End Homelessness, 2014).• As college enrollment grows, more students rely on loans to pay for post-secondary educa-

tion (The Council of Economic Advisors, 2014).• Likely due largely to their extensive debt obligations, 56 percent of the Millennials say they

are living paycheck to paycheck and are unable to save for the future (General Foundation, 2014).

Secondary Research

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Target AudienceOur target audience was Millennials born between 1992-1997. We chose college students as our primary audience because they are considered Millennials and are most concerned about financial stability. For our secondary audience we chose local community members and orga-nizations because they both are focused on improving our community in numerous ways.

Primary Audience NDSU Students College Students

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SurveysIn the beginning of October we sent out a survey to North Dakota State students who qual-ified as being Millennials; 155 students responded (see Appendix A for the surveys results). The survey asked various questions surrounding the topic of homelessness. During the sur-vey we found out that only 56.8 percent of the students were aware of the homeless rates in Fargo, North Dakota. We used that information to hypothesize that, this lack of knowledge might be a strong indicator for one of the reasons Millennials are not concerned with home-lessness here in Fargo. The research also told us that 25.8 percent of the 155 students knew people who were homeless.

Focus GroupsOur team conducted three focus groups with Millennials at NorthDakota State University that focused primarily on the topics of homelessness and what home meant to them (see Appendix D for the focus group interview guide). During the focus groups, we had each student take a private survey asking them personal questions about homelessness affecting their lives (see Appendix B for the focus group survey). After they completed their private surveys, we all sat in a circle at individual desks and had an open discussion focused around the list of questions related to homelessness and financial stability. Each focus group last between thirty to forty-five minutes and students actively participated in the conversation. We recruited a total of fifteen students to attend the focus groups and provided free pizza as an incentive to attend and participate.

North Dakota State University Millennials Focus Group Results• Students believe home is just a roof over their head.• Over half of the students never had the thought of homelessness enter their head.• 12 out of 15 students think they will be making $75,000 or more in their career.• Students are concerned with the price of college education and with future college debt.• Nearly all the students agreed that college debt would be the main factor of their home-

lessness if ever to become homeless.• 11 out of the 15 students pay for college on their own.

Primary Research

56.8% of NDSU students are aware of homeless rates

in Fargo, ND

Key MessagesOur key messages are consistent with the goals we created and implemented throughout the entire length of our campaign. These key messages were used to help raise awareness of Home Matters movement and our campaign to our target audience.

Millennials1. Home Matters is a national movement helping redefine the American Dream and Home.2. Reconstructing ‘Home’ is a local campaign in partnership with Home Matters. 3. This local campaign is focused on creating awareness for Millennials on the importance of a good, stable home and financial stability.4. Health, education, success, public safety and economy are all important parts of home.5. Reconstructing ‘Home’ spreads the word about the benefits of Home.

Fargo-Moorhead Community 1. The month of February is proclaimed as Home Matters Month. 2. Home Matters helps increase awareness of the housing crisis in the United States.3. Reconstructing ‘Home’ encourages community members to help improve the quality of Home through giving back to the community and using available resources. 4. Homelessness is a big concern in the Fargo-Moorhead area. 5. Home Matters promotes and recognizes the strong impact of Home in the community.

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Secondary AudienceNDSU Community FM Coalition for Homeless PersonsFargo/Moorhead Community Great Plains Food Bank

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Objective 1: To increase awareness of homeless populations by 10% within our target audience during February.

Strategy 1: Form a partnership with a local organization: We interviewed the executive di-rector of the Fargo Moorhead Coalition for Homelessness, Laurie Baker. Laurie informed us about the importance of awareness for homelessness directed at our target audience that was needed in our area. After discussing the goals of our campaign, we decided that it would be beneficial to partner together. This partnership allowed us to engage our audience on the im-portance of a good, safe home for all individuals. We shared statistical facts and stories about the homeless population in North Dakota on our Facebook and Twitter pages.

Strategy 2: Volunteer at a local organization: We volunteered at the local food bank where we learned the significance of giving back to one’s community which we shared with our Face-book and Twitter pages.

Strategy 3: Use traditional media sources (i.e., radio, news stations, etc.) to spread awareness about our campaign and Home Matters: We were given an in-kind donation of an air-time advertisement on KFGO, a local radio station in Fargo that gave a brief summary of our cam-paign, as well as promoted our social media pages and brought awareness to our goals. We created a press release about our campaign and released it to the NDSU and Fargo-Moorhead community to help raise awareness (see Appendix E for press release).

Objective 1: MET!We met our objective by increasing awareness of homeless populations among Millennials and the Fargo-Moorhead community by 43%, based on the survey we conducted. With 155 survey participants, it was determined that sixty seven individuals were unaware of Fargo’s homeless population. Upon completion of the survey, participants were provided with facts and information on homelessness concerns in the Fargo-Moorhead area. Additional impacts were made on our community through our contact booths, focus groups, radio advertise-ments, press release, social media platforms, and volunteering opportunities. Objective 2: To implement social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter to track, reach, and impact our campaign messages.

Objectives & Strategies

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Strategy 4: Use social media platforms to reach a larger audience: We used the hashtag #FridayFacts to highlight facts on important health, educational, societal, public safety, and ways for success that a stable home can render. We shared stories from the Home Matters’ Facebook page as well as local stories pertaining to homelessness. Our insights allowed us to track who and how many people we actually reached. Our total page likes on Facebook hit 150, but we saw our posts reaching over 750 people. Our Twitter page had 65 followers. After analyzing our audience, 64 percent of our Facebook fans were our millennial population (see Appendix F for Facebook summary and Appendix G for Twitter summary).

Objective 2: MET!We met our objective by creating and maintaining a Facebook and Twitter account to reach a larger target audience. Our top Facebook post reached over 750 people and our top tweet had 32 impressions.

Objective 3: To create a campaign that could capture the attention of Millennials. Strategy 5: Target NDSU students and faculty and raise awareness of Home Matters and community volunteer opportunities: We set up contact tables for four sessions in the North Dakota State University Memorial Union. At these tables, we asked passing students to define what home means, and how it can have an impact on one’s life. Students would write their definition of home on a sticky note, and stick it to our poster board which we displayed at our booth. We took a picture of various students holding our shirt along with their defini-tion of home to post to our social media sites. We had candy, brochures, and flyers to attract students to our booth and to display their opinions. We had an overwhelming response from not only students, but faculty members and other adults as well.

Objective 3: MET!We met our objective by creating a campaign that was focused on engaging Millennials to learn about our campaign, Reconstructing ‘Home’: More Than Just a Roof, and the Home Matters movement. We captured the attention on NDSU students and staff by engaging with those who stopped at our booth to learn more about our campaign. By providing each individual with information about our cause we were able to leave a lasting impression and encourage these individuals to volunteer and give back to their community. By raising aware-ness of our goals and Home Matters goals, we were able to educate and motivate students and faculty to take action and make a difference.

64% of our Facebook

audience were millennials.

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Throughout the entire campaign there were a few challenges and opportunities we discov-ered. By using our campaign goals, objectives, and strategies, our team was able to address these challenges and opportunities. At the end of our campaign we were able to successfully identify all of these concerns, so we could properly evaluate the success of our campaign.

Challenge: Millennials are sometimes unaware of the various connotations that make up and form the word ‘homelessness.’ In our focus groups with North Dakota State University students be-tween the ages of 18-22, we found that there is the belief that ‘homelessness’ can only de-scribed as physically living on the streets with limited access to a roof over their heads.

Opportunity: By coming up with a campaign slogan that embodied not only the physicality of homeless-ness, we were able to get our point across that there is more than one definition encompass-ing the word ‘homelessness.’ Our campaign slogan “More Than Just a Roof ” was placed on t-shirts, Facebook and Twitter pages, as well as any brochures and flyers we had to ensure that the population sees homelessness in a new light. We formed the slogan “More Than Just a Roof ” in hopes to provoke thought to the matter as well as make Millennials aware that home is more than just a physical location. It is security, good education, and financial stability.

Challenges and Opportunities

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Challenge: The city of Fargo, North Dakota, where we reside and carried out the campaign, does not actually have a Home Matters in the town itself, or in the state. On the NDSU campus, those native to North Dakota were not aware of Home Matters or of its mission statement or goals.

Opportunity: By creating Twitter and Facebook pages that focused on spreading the word of what Home Matters stands for, we implemented brand recognition through social media in a local sense. Those who were less knowledgeable about what Home Matters is about were provided with its goals and how they pertain to the Fargo area and not just nationally. In order to reach out on a more personal level, we implemented an information booth at a heavily populated area on our campus. We had a poster board with the word ‘Home’ written on it and asked students and faculty alike to share their ideas of the word on a sticky note and place it on the poster board. This allowed us to engage with students and allow us to promote Home Matters and its ideals on a more intimate basis.

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Challenge: Through our focus groups with NDSU students, we found that the Millennials on campus hold the belief that action should be taken to reduce homelessness, but also believe it is not a pressing matter in our area. Due to a lack of public homelessness statistics, visible signs of homelessness in our community, and consistent messages of nearly non-existent unemploy-ment rates and a strong oil-based economy in the state, Millennials have been led to believe that the homeless population is very small or does not exist entirely. This ends up being dif-ficult to recruit volunteers of the millennial age group to commit their time to organizations such as food banks or homeless shelters.

Opportunity: We had the chance to lead by example and volunteer at the Great Plains Food Bank, learn about the process of how food is distributed to those in need, and pass our knowledge and our volunteer efforts onto social media followers. We posted pictures of the encounter, and in our brochures, we listed places that a person could locally volunteer and give back if he/she so desired. As discussed before, we found in our research that approximately 446 people are homeless in our city of Fargo, with roughly 20 percent of those 446 being Millennials. We passed on this statistic to the participants in our focus groups as well as our social media pages and contact tables, in hopes of spreading awareness of these issues.

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In reality, homelessness is affecting the Fargo area more than Fargo’s population is aware of. In our campaign we were able to capture our target audience’s attention by different social media sites, four contact booths, pamphlets, brochures, and a radio ad. This allowed us to personally connect with the diverse Millennials around Fargo and at North Dakota State University. The goal of our campaign was to educate Millennials that home is more than just a roof over one’s head or a physical location: it is security, a good education, and financial stability.

At the beginning of our campaign, our group hosted three different focus groups and sent out four surveys. The four surveys were designed to help us learn more about Millennial’s background on homelessness. During our three focus groups, we educated Millennials on the topic of homelessness while having them discuss their opinions on topics of homelessness with one another. Throughout the month of February, our group implemented our campaign goals to help raise awareness of Home Matters through promotions and volunteering.

This campaign helped us reach and educate numerous Millennials in the Fargo area about the topic of homelessness. We connected with our target audience allowing us to help them become more aware of our message. We learned that college debt plays a huge role in con-tributing to Millennials becoming homeless. With that being said, we used this campaign to teach Millennials at North Dakota State University to be more aware of that problem so they can start planning for the future so they will not have to deal with college debt and being homeless.

Conclusion

Question 1: What is your age? Answer # Response % 18 19 12.26% 19 27 17.42% 20 22 14.19% 21 39 25.16% 22 17 10.97% Not Specified 31 20.00% Total 155 100.00% Question 2: Gender? Answer # Response % Male 38 24.52% Female 117 75.48% Total 155 100.00% Question 3: Are you concerned about the subject matter of homelessness?

Answer # Response % Yes 113 72.90% No 42 27.10% Total 155 100.00% Question 4: Do you know anyone who is homeless or who has been homeless?

Answer # Response % Yes 40 25.81% No 115 74.19% Total 155 100.00% Question 5: How many people do you think are homeless in Fargo, ND?

Answer # Response % 0-100 people 19 12.26% 101-500 people 88 56.77% 501-800 people 48 30.97% Total 155 100.00%

Appendix A: Survey Results

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Appendix B: Focus Group Survey

1. What is your age?

2. What year are you in school? (Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, Senior, Super Senior)

3. What is your gender?

4. What is your major?

5. How do you pay for college?

6. How much money do you expect to make with your first job out of college?

7. What do you think your average salary will be during your career?

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Appendix C: References

City of Fargo. (2012). Homelessness in Fargo. City of Fargo. Retrieved from: http://www.cityoffargo.com/CityInfo/Departments/PlanningandDevelopment/Homelessness/

Couch, Robbie. (2014). Millennials May be the Next Generation Facing Devastating Homelessness, Research Suggests. Huffington Post. Retrieved from: http://www.huffingtonpost. com/2014/07/15/millennial-homelessness_n_5586054.html

General Foundation. (2014). The Millennial Generation Research Review. U.S Chamber of Commerce Foundation. Retrieved from: http://www.uschamberfoundation.org/millennial-generation-research-review

Keckley, Paul. (2014). What Do Millennials Want From the Healthcare System? The Health Care Blog. Retrieved from: http://thehealthcareblog.com/blog/2014/03/18/what-do-millennials-want-from-the-healthcare-system/

Wilder Research. (2013, August). Homeless Adults and their Children in Fargo, North Dakota and Moorhead, Minnesota. Retrieved from: https://www.wilder.org/Wilder-Research/Publications/Studies/Homelessness%20in%20Minnesota%20 2012%20Study/Homeless%20Adults%20and%20Their%20Children%20in%20Fargo,%20North%20Dako ta%20and%20Moorhead,%20Minnesota,%20Full%20Report.pdf

National Alliance to End Homelessness. (2014). The State of Homelessness. Retrieved from: http://b.3cdn.net/naeh/d1b106237807ab260f_qam6ydz02.pdf

Pewter Research Center. (2014). Millennials in Adulthood. Pewter Research Center. Retrieved from: http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2014/03/07/millennials-in-adulthood/

The Council of Economic Advisors. (2014, October).15 Economic Facts About Millennials. Retrieved from: http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/docs/millennials_report.pdf

Wells Fargo Bank. (2014). 2014 Wells Fargo Millennial Study Retrieved from: http%3A%2F%2Fwww.myirionline.org%2Fdocs%2Fdefault-source%2Fresearch%2Fclick-here.pdf%3Fs fvrsn%3D0

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Appendix D: Focus Group Questions

1. Why did you come to NDSU?

2. What things did you think about when you were picking a college?

3. How are you paying for college?

4. How do you think college debt will be a factor of your choices in the future?

5. Where do you see yourself living 1 year after college?

6. Where do you see yourself in ten years?

7. How are you going to get there?

8. How do you think the average price of a house in ND is?

9. After college, do you have a home to go back to?

10. What is your American Dream?

11. What would you consider a home? What do you think of when you hear the word home?

12. Why do you think a home is important? What are its benefits?

13. Have you ever thought about the concept of being homeless?

14. What do you think should be done about the issue of homelessness?

15. What can be done to make housing more affordable in Fargo?

16. How much do you think people our age care about the idea of homelessness and affordable housing?

17. Any other comments, questions?

18. What knowledge and information do you wish you had about this stuff?

19. When do you think you will buy your first home?

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Focus Group #1 Date: 12/4/2014

Ages: Junior 22; Junior 21; Senior 21; Senior 22; Sophomore 20

Question 1: Why NDSU4 year college experience; Opportunity to get involved, campus was inviting; Room with your friends; It was in state with ND scholarships; It was close to home

Question 2: What did you consider?School spirit; How far away it was from home; Expense and the reality of the major – get a return on invest-ment; Scholarships and social life

Question 3: Paying?Loans; Working with stipends; Working more than one job; Parents; Full ride to NDSU; Loans; Scholarships and parents

Question 4: How do you think college debt will be a factor in your future?Yes…with being an education major…it may affect where I’m going to live and the location of my job; Loans which we will pay for right out of college; Marry into money; Wants to move after graduation….but loans will hold you back; I won’t have any debt

Question 5: Where living?Live in a cheap apartment; Stay in Fargo…live in an apartment for a few years then a house; Move back in with parents; Live in an apartment

If you guys are getting an apartment….will you be splitting the rent? If I can find someone to live with then yes; I’ll be married; I’ll be with parents or boyfriend; I’ll have roommates; I’ll live alone

Question 6: Where do you see yourself in 10 years?Small town teaching high school and coaching baseball; Get degree, pay off loans; Still be in Fargo and the Midwest, maybe kids; Married, kids, unsure about career; Not sure…working; Don’t like to plan too far in advance

Question 7: What is the average price of a house in ND?150,000, 210,000, 170,000, 250,000, 180,000

What is an average house?Like a 4 bedroom house…2 levels, bathroom; Split level

After college do you have a home to go back to?If I wanted to; Yes; Yes; Yes

What would you describe as the American Dream in your opinion?Teaching in a high school for 10 years so loans are forgiven, family, dog, house; Family, Midwest – owning own business or furthering education; Ranch house on a few acres close to a town, Midwest, garden, dairy cow, kids, helping husband; Living in a city with animals, be successful in my job; Making enough money to support a familyWhat would you consider a home? What words would you use? 15

In the country – middle of nowhere; Family – not a location, it’s who is there; Rapid City and my Mom; Home is about the people, with my family

Why is the idea of home important?An example of what you want when you are older; Support system there is nothing better than your family; Someone you can go to as home and to strive to have other people feel that way; You kind of have to have some-where to go, have the temperature as you want it; Agree; Agree

Have you ever thought about the concept of being homeless?Yes; Yes; Yes; Yes; Thought about it, but don’t need to worry

What should be done about homelessness?I’m not sure…the food shelves; The idea is well-known, but people are not aware. We need more awareness about the issue in Fargo. It is a problem in Fargo, it may be better than other cities, but it still is not good. We are focusing on countries outside of ours but we need to bring it home; Raise awareness on who is homeless and why they’re homeless. End the stigma; A lot of people who are homeless have mental health problems, the national mental health would help a lot with that

How do you think we could best raise awareness for our generation of millennials?Have them picture a world without Wi-Fi; Our generation is a lot about the experience. It needs to be an experi-ence. The Big Event. It’s better than nothing, but it’s still not great.

Focused selfishly on social media. We need to be more aware

How do you guys get your news?Social media, NYT, Internet, Word of mouth

What do you think could be done to make housing more affordable housing?Do you think it is well-known, Williston.

How much do you think people our age care about homelessness and affordable housing?Very little, we’re all just trying to chase our dreams; We still have our own bills and responsibilities, we try to fo-cus on our own to make ends meet; Most of us are in debt and it’s hard to help out; I would like to be more aware but I don’t know how

What information do you wish you had about this?You don’t know exactly how much you are going to be in debt; What goes along with a loan, when do loans start to gain interest?; The basics of budgeting and the difference between a checkbook and savings; A lot of students don’t understand that

Should there be a class implemented?Exit loan counseling; Sometimes parents don’t know about this too so they need a info session

What would make you become homeless?Loans, if you can’t find a way to pay off debt, displaced out of your home is still homeless, if you redefine home-less as not having a home of your own, if you have family you are not going to be homeless.

What do you think about as homeless?Yes I think about people on the street; We’re having more loans and debt than a homeless person 16

Focus Group #2 Date: 12/9/2014

Why did you come to NDSU?The program for my major Liked the campus and the dean; Last minute decision; Grew up in Fargo and decided to; First time I went to a Bison game and close to home; Close to home; Liked this school

What things did you think about when you were picking a school? Size; Cost; Cost; Majors offered; similar people

How are you paying for college? Financial aid; Loans and scholarships; Loans; Personal savings; Grants, parents; Loans

College debt be a factor? Spend more wisely; How you choose to spend

Where do you see yourself living a year after college? House in Fargo; Go back home and live at home until a steady job; Apartment closer to the cities; Apart-ment; Apartment; Apartment; Where I find a job in apartment or house

Live with roommates? Live with parents, then with siblings or friends; Roommates

Where do you see yourself in ten years? How are you going to get there? More school, then being in my profession; Work for a little then get a higher degree; Moving closer to the top of that company; Be in LA; Be a lawyer; Graduate school or law school; I have no idea

What do you think is the average price of a home in ND? 80,000; 95,000; 95,000; 120,000; 100,000

What is an average house to you? Three levels, 4 bedrooms,; Garage

After college do you have a home? All said yes

What is the American Dream? Making a lot of money; Being financially stable in a job that you enjoy; Financially stable so I have to work part time; Working enough to help kids have a good future; Become successful to enjoy life; Financially stable

What do you think of when you think of the word home? Comfort; No stress; Where your family is Why do you think home is important? Place to be home with your family; That’s where your family is; It will always be there; Safe place

Have you ever thought about the concept of being homeless? 17

Yes; No; Yes; No; Not really; No; No

What should be done about the issue of homelessness in Fargo? Make it more aware to the public – people talk about it more; Let them know about the homeless shelters; Donate your time to homeless shelters; Host more career fairs that are geared to more entry level jobs

How can we target millennials about it? It’s a possibility – you aren’t guaranteed a job; Just because it’s not happening now, doesn’t mean it won’t happen to us

How can we make housing more affordable in Fargo? Smaller houses?; Make a program where they can help you with a transition stage; Income based housing How much do you think people our age care? They don’t; I have my parents to fall back on; People our age our concerned with ourselves, it’s hard to look around Where does his mentality come from? Privilege; Everyone is going to strive to be the best; There are no consequences, there isn’t a real reality; None of us have been exposed to reality

Is this affected by Social Media? It makes people think that they are better than that; Facebook is geared toward making yourself look good

How can you learn about finances? Taking classes, exposing them young, add that in to our UNIV 189 class; I would take a class like that, it would be beneficial to everyone; Start those classes in high school

Is there anything else we could do to make people more aware? Business students may get that but other majors may not; Finance should maybe be in finance or classes like that; Create a sense of urgency and importance to developing skills like that

Is there anything you would like to learn more about? How to manage money and taxes; Taxes,; Understanding the difference between the financial aid – loans, grants, etc.; Financial management, knowing what to do; Investing and understanding taxes; Show examples of real-life and life long lessons; The different types of loans and how to do that

Focus Group #3 Date: 12/9/14

Why did you come to NDSU? Baseball and they have my major hear; Provided a new experience and for baseball and my courses for my major; Came for baseball and the business school; Came because I didn’t know where to go

What things did you think about when you were picking a college? Price was first, and then baseball, and then my major; Baseball program was good, NDSU picked me; Somewhat close to home, the price was cheap, the baseball facilities were nice and someone from my hometown was here; Had my major, and far away from home 18

How are you paying for college? Student loans; Savings and parents; Student loans

How do you think debt will be a factor? The first thing I would have to pay off,; It won’t be a factor, I do not have debt; But it is about how I market myself; I think I have just enough to pay for college but still trying to make sure I’m in a good spot; I have to put my money to student loans

Where do you see yourself living after college? In an apartment in Fargo maybe; I’ll live in Phoenix, most likely rent a house or apartment; Apart-ment in Minneapolis

With roommates? Either relatives or roommates; Roommates or parents; Friend or by myself; Roommates

Where do you see yourself in 10 years? Living on a farm or studying fields; Being an optometrist or entrepreneur; A job that travels a lot and preferably in Minneapolis; In a house, wherever my job takes me

What is the average price of a house in ND? 150,000 – 200,000 but depends what part of the state; 200,000; 150,000 – 250,000

What is your idea of an average house? Two stories; Three bedroom three bath, two stories, appliances,; Two to three stories, bedrooms, bathrooms,; Two stories, garage, 4 bedrooms, 2-3 baths

After college do you have a home? Yes

In your eyes what would you describe as the American dream? Raising a family and making a good income to take a vacation a year; Having financial freedom, do-ing whatever I want when I want; Not having to work a day after 55; Wife and kids, financially stable

What would you consider a home? What do you think when you hear the word home? A place to go back to that I will have paid for in a good amount of time; Home is where the heart is. There is not a specific place; Shelter and family; I think of my parents

What are the benefits of having a home? Most of your childhood memories; A sense of security; Shelter with a place you feel comfortable; A place you can go back to and be comfortable

Have you ever thought about yourself being homeless? No; No,; No; No

What is homeless? Living on the street; Not having a place to sleep What should be done about the issue of homelessness?Raise awareness, talking about it and bringing it up but you can’t force people; Commercials,; There 19

shouldn’t be anything done; They still have the opportunity to be educated? Whether they are from a low income school or not it’s not their fault, but they have a choice

You can get a high school diploma, but you can climb the latter, and you become a manager, you aren’t going to be living in your dream house but you are still going to be with a home

What can be done to make housing more affordable in Fargo? It is an issue around campus, but I would say ND has a good housing market; The pricing of the housing around here is very affordable considering the opportunity. If it was a problem it would be near campuses, But what can be done about that is more building, supply and demand; People are going to start moving out of ND and the housing are going to go down.; More buildings more houses

How much do you think people our age care about affordable housing? This generation was not born the same as the previous generations; Technology has changed a lot, buying things online; Manage and work technology will help with job growth; Not that much because we are self-cen-tered.

What do you wish you knew about financial information? In high school, they would focus more on life problems and concepts like saving money, debt, more prac-tical lessons in high school Would you want a college class on that? Like sophomore year

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Appendix E: Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

NDSU Students Creating Awareness for Millennials on the Importance of a Home and Financial Stability in National Bateman Competition

Fargo, N.D. – North Dakota State University students involved in the Public Relation Student Society of America (PRSSA) organization on campus are taking part in a National Campaign in partnership with Home Matters and Edelman, the World’s largest public relations firm.

The campaign is focused on creating awareness for Millennials in the importance of a good, stable home as well as creating awareness for the importance of maintaining financial stability.

The campaign name of the group is, Reconstructing ‘Home’: More Than Just a Roof. Throughout the month of February we will be spreading awareness through the Fargo/Moorhead area.

And check out:www.homemattersamerica.com for more information on the organization the students are creating awareness for.

###

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We started with 0 “Likes”

beginning February 2015.

We ended February with

150 “Likes”

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25

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Appendix G: Twitter

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Social Media Summary Reconstructing ‘Home’: More Than Just a Roof

We started with 0 “Followers” beginning

February 2015. We ended February with 65

“Followers”

Appendix G: Twitter

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Impressions

Appendix G: Twitter

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Top Tweets

Appendix G: Twitter

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Appendix H: Photos from the contact booth

Students and faculty shared what home meant to them by writing their definition of what home means to them on a sticky note.

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For more information about Home Matters visit www.homemattersamerica.com.

Join the Movement!“Home is not just about

the four walls around us, it’s about the environment that affects the choices we make in life and who we

become.”

www.facebook.com/reconstrucinghome

www.twitter.com/NDSUreconstruct

#sharehomeis

Did You Know? Home Matters® is a national movement designed to ensure that every American lives in a safe, nurturing environment with access to education, healthcare, public spaces and community ser-vices. It shines a much-needed spotlight on the larger power of Home: supporting people’s iden-tities, protecting and nurturing families, provid-ing essential links to communities, and serving as the base for a stronger America.

Partnered With:

• Each night there are roughly 760 people affected by homelessness in Fargo-Moorhead.

• More than half a million people in the United States do not have a home.

• As college enrollment grows, more students rely on loans to pay for post-secondary education.

• Likely due to their big debt obliga-tions, 56% of the Millennials say they are living paycheck-to-paycheck and are unable to save for the future.

• Millennials are less likely to be homeowners than young adults in previous generations.

Mission:

» Decrease Homelessness » Increase Affordable Rent

» Increase Homeownership Sustainability » Increase Quality of Homes & Communities

Help Make a Difference Locally

What’s the Big Deal? Helpful Resources

Education

Personal Success

Health

Economic Development

Public Safety

Quality of Life

Volunteer: • Churches United for the Homeless• Rebuilding Together Fargo - Moorhead Area • Habitat for Humanity • YWCA • Great Plains Food Bank• Big Brothers Big Sisters Program of the

Village Family Service Center Donate: Change lives by the transformative power of a home. To make a donation to Home Matters visit www.homemattersamerica.com

Our campaign, “Reconstructing ’Home’: More Than Just a Roof ”, is designated to raise awareness towards future concerns Millennials will face. By partnering up with Home Matters, our campaign focuses primarily on health, education, individual success, public safety, economic development, and stable housing. Studies show that:

• About four-in-ten Millennials report that they are overwhelmed by debt obligations, primarily paying off credit card, mortgage, and student loan debt.

• Millennials report that having a career and having a family is important, but at this stage, they may be focusing on establishing a career.

• Millennials are less likely to be homeowners than young adults in previous generations.

Adult Education & Family Literacy Unit The North Dakota Department of Public Instruction promotes and supports free programs that help adults obtain basic academic and educational skills to be productive workers, family members, and citizens. Go to https://dpi.state.nd.us/adulted/index.shtm for more information. Homebuyer Education Program Attend The Village’s FREE Homebuyer Education Program to learn about purchasing and owning a home and work one-on-one with a Village financial counselor. Go to www.helpwithmoney.org for information about upcoming classes. Tenant Education The Village’s Tenant Education program is designed to give new renters essential skills to help them find and keep decent, safe, and affordable place to live. Go to www.helpwithmoney.org for more information. Money Management ClassesThe Village provides financial education through workshops, presentations in the workplace, and one-on-one. Go to www.helpwithmoney.org for information about upcoming classes. Bankruptcy EducationThe Village offers both classroom and online bankruptcy debtor education classes. Go to www.helpwithmoney.org for information about upcoming classes.

Home Matters Fact Sheet

www.HomeMattersAmerica.com info@HomeMattersAmerica.com

Appendix J: Home Matters Flyer

What Is Home Matters?

Home Matters® is a national movement designed to ensure that every American lives in a safe, nurturing environment with access to education, healthcare, public spaces and community services. It shines a much-needed spotlight on the larger power of Home: supporting people’s identities, protecting and nurturing families, providing essential links to communities, and serving as the base for a stronger America.

Our mission is to make Home a reality for all.

We exist to raise funds and build awareness of the need for more affordable homes and better communities across the country. We’re a national coalition with hundreds of nonprofit, government and corporate partners working hard over the next 10 years to affect the following change:

» Decrease Homelessness » Increase Affordable Rent » Increase Homeownership Sustainability » Increase Quality of Homes & Communities

What does Home Matters do?

Collaborate We bring disparate organizations and industries together under one banner

Engage We rally local leaders and mobilize the public

Support We raise funds and increase investments to sustain the work that makes Home a reality for more Americans

Celebrate We promote and honor the incredible impact of Home

Why now?

There’s a housing crisis in America. More than half a million people in the United States do not have a home – a quarter of whom are children – and over half of all American adults (52%) have had to make at least one sacrifice in order to pay their rent or mortgage.

The traditional American Dream has lost its relevancy. Today, the pursuit of the American Dream is broader than ever and reflects new and changing American values. Having a physical shelter does not mean that its residents feel safe, that their children get a solid education, that the economy is improving or that individuals and families have the support necessary to thrive. People need more from Home.

We need to redefine Home and create the New American Dream. We need to change the way people think about where they live. Home is not just about the four walls around us, it’s about the environment that affects the choices we make in life and who we become.

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Home Matters Fact Sheet

www.HomeMattersAmerica.com info@HomeMattersAmerica.com

Appendix J: Home Matters Flyer

Home Matters goes beyond housing and animates the connections between stable housing and other important facets of American life such as:

Health Healthy habits take root more easily in stable affordable homes.

Education Children in stable homes learn and achieve more in school.

Individual Success Home recharges us for the day ahead.

Public Safety Stable homes make communities safer.

A Strong Economy Homes that are afford- able are crucial to a vibrant job-generating economy.

Who’s behind Home Matters:

The Home Matters movement was launched in 2013 by a group of visionary housing professionals and leaders that identified a gap in public discourse. Fundamental social challenges in our nation – from health to education, to public safety, the economy and individual success – all have a common denominator: their connection to Home. With a high-level, holistic approach to housing, Home Matters underlines the link between Home and these core societal issues such as health, education, safety, individual success and the economy.

For more information: More information is available at www.HomeMattersAmerica.com Share your stories, tell your colleagues and friends about the initiative, and connect with us through Facebook www.facebook.com/HomeMattersAmerica and Twitter www.twitter.com/HomeMattersUSA.

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Appendix K: Finances  

36  

Budget

 

Itemized Expenses

Poster board and candy $4.82

T-shirts $9.68

T-shirt printing $64.46

Pizza $32.25

Booklet printing and binding $75.00

Mailing $40.00

Total Expenses $226.21

Itemized In-kind Donations Radio advertisements $48.00

Printing $25.00

Total In-kind Donations $73.00