Immigrant Legal Resource Center Case Study: Digital Transformation & Multicultural Engagement for National Nonprofit Network
The Challenge: Reaching Multicultural Audiences Through an Outdated Digital Infrastructure
Our client, the Immigrant Legal Resource Center — a national nonprofit resource center working with immigrants, community organizations, and the legal sector around immigration and the naturalization process — needed to modernize their digital presence and capabilities. Their existing tools and channels were not built to reach and engage the multicultural, multilingual, and socially vulnerable audiences they serve. To increase naturalization rates year over year and connect more people with the path to American citizenship, the organization needed a digital strategy grounded in the realities of how these audiences actually discover, engage with, and act on information online.
Our Approach: Scalable Digital Toolset Designed for Multicultural Engagement
18 Coffees designed a scalable digital toolset for the Immigrant Legal Resource Center and a broader coalition of philanthropic organizations collectively investing in efforts to increase naturalization. Our team used deep expertise in digital strategy and market activation to build a system that could flex across cultures, languages, and digital platforms.
What We Delivered:
Multicultural Customer Journey Development — We mapped the full digital journey across several cultures and languages, identifying where prospective applicants were dropping off and where targeted outreach could close the gap.
Digital Test-and-Learn Transformation — We built a data-driven test-and-learn environment, using real-time performance data to drive participation, website signups, and program retention. This gave the team the ability to iterate quickly and allocate budget toward what was actually working.
Marketing Activation — We launched creative advertising, paid social media campaigns, and email segmentation strategies designed to reach audiences where they were and move them toward action.
The Results: 170% Increase in Online Applications and 500% Growth in Email Reach
The scalable digital toolset produced measurable outcomes across the full campaign. Online applications increased 170%. The New Americans Campaign email list grew by 500%, adding more than 12,000 people to the pool of future applicants over three years. These results gave the coalition a compounding asset — a growing, engaged audience that could be activated for future naturalization drives and civic engagement efforts.
"18 Coffees is a terrific team with a data-rich approach that has allowed us to test audience targeting, platforms, and messages so we can adjust in real time. It's a treat to work with a thought partner who has a collaborative spirit that defines how we work together."
— Director of Programs, Immigrant Legal Resource Center
Project Details:
Project Length: 24+ Months
Client Location: San Francisco, CA
Industry: Nonprofit (Immigration & Civic Engagement)
Client Type: Medium Enterprise
Looking for a digital strategy partner who understands multicultural audiences? Contact us to discuss how our Strategic Communications & Marketing expertise can help your organization reach the communities you serve.
AT A GLANCE
Project Length: 24+ Months
Client Location: San Francisco, CA
Industry: Nonprofit (Immigration & Civic Engagement)
Client Type: Medium Enterprise
Services Delivered: Digital Strategy, Multicultural Customer Journey Development, Paid Social & Email Marketing, Data-Driven Test-and-Learn, Project Management
