MAFWA Small Game Diversity and Inclusion Outreach Toolkit: Phase 2
Strategic Priority
Recruitment, Retention, Reactivation (R3) - Engaging Participants
Project Documents
Project Description
Although more diverse constituents are on the landscape than ever, agencies lack access to inclusive and tested outreach materials. Without those culturally sensitive resources, the efforts to reach diverse audiences to increase participation in small game hunting and other outdoor recreation activities are often hollow, racially skewed, gender-biased, and linguistically inaccessible. This project will assist states with the implementation of the MAFWA Small Game Diversity and Inclusion Outreach Toolkit and evaluate its efficacy. Evaluation results will identify best practices that every State can follow to increase the meaningful representation of women and people of color in agency resources while building agency relevance for the future.
Project Facts
- Federal Award Number: F22AP00747
- Organization Name: Midwest Association of Fish And Wildlife Agencies
- Organization Status: NGO classified as 501(c)(6)
- State: Wisconsin
- Obligation: $217,500
- Start Date: 01-01-2022
- End Date: 12-31-2022
Results
The project evaluated and implemented the Midwest Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (MAFWA) Small Game Hunting Diversity and Inclusion Outreach Toolkit, supporting five states—Iowa, Kentucky, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wisconsin—in developing and testing advertising campaigns using newly created images depicting women and people of color in hunting scenarios. Combined, these campaigns reached 19,574,150 individuals and generated 46,579 clicks to learn more about small game hunting, with results showing that women and people of color respond positively to seeing themselves represented in hunting imagery, and that Hispanic audiences engage more with Spanish‑language messages. Across states, social media proved cost‑effective for engagement, while display advertising delivered broad reach, and negative feedback was minimal except in some instances involving images featuring people of color. Key findings emphasized the importance of culturally relevant imagery, clear calls to action, and sufficient time for new audiences to progress from awareness to participation, while lessons learned highlighted the need for greater consistency in campaign variables to enable stronger cross‑state comparisons.
