Menokin Foundation
Michael Beller served as Director of Digital Initiatives and Communications at the Menokin Foundation from 2021 to 2024. In this role, he managed all digital activities, including website management, social media, video production, photography, UI/UX design, branding, email marketing, and press relations.
Beller also collaborated closely with the Development team, contributing to donor revenue growth by authoring grants and implementing strategic fundraising tools.
During his tenure, Beller’s work helped grow digital metrics and brand awareness by over 300%, while driving triple-digit revenue growth from donors and grants.
Below are curated examples of his contributions to Menokin’s digital and development success.
Menokin.com
The Menokin website features an interactive timeline of the Glass House Project, combining stories, video, and visual elements to create a truly immersive experience. Michael Beller, in collaboration with staff and vendors, oversaw all aspects of web development, design, UI, and UX.
He developed custom animated integrations showcasing real-time project progress of the Glass House Project, programming updates, before-and-after visuals, and a dedicated donor recruitment area.
As a result, site traffic, engagement metrics, and content discovery all grew by triple digits. This led to improved search rankings, stronger audience recall, longer time spent on the site, and increased real-time donations through the website’s development engine.
The Menokin Descendant Collective
The Menokin Descendant Collective is a vibrant community of individuals descended from the enslaved people at Menokin. The First Menokin Descendants' Day marked a pivotal moment in both the Collective’s and Menokin’s ongoing evolution.
Michael Beller collaborated closely with the Collective on numerous digital and video initiatives. These included creating public and private website sections featuring family trees, photo archives, and research resources.
Beller also led production teams to capture still photography and video at descendants’ events, which were edited into short- and long-form videos to support recruitment efforts for new members descended from those enslaved at Menokin.
Additionally, Beller partnered with the Collective on early documentary production efforts detailing the Collective’s origins, mission, and work. This included fundraising, recruiting a renowned director, and grant writing.
Menokin Social Media
Menokin maintains vibrant social media channels on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Vimeo, fostering real-time conversations and content sharing with its community.
Michael Beller designed numerous campaigns and developed a strategic plan outlining best practices across all platforms—focusing on strong visuals, posting frequency, audience engagement, and more. This approach resulted in a 600% increase in social media engagement from 2022 to 2024.
Fundraising campaigns for the Glass House Project featured a live timeline series across all platforms, as well as targeted initiatives like Giving Tuesday and other key fundraising windows. The revenue generated from these efforts exceeded expectations and goals.
Menokin Video Series
Michael Beller produced and directed several notable video projects for Menokin, including the acclaimed "In the Glass" video series, as well as the popular "Elements" and "Research and Relevance" webinar series.
In the Glass with Menokin was inspired by the award-winning Iconoclasts television series on the Sundance Channel. Each "In the Glass" episode pairs two individuals connected to Menokin—often meeting for the first time—to engage in meaningful conversations, inspiration, and exploration of the site’s physical and cultural significance. The series highlights how lasting human connections are formed through dialogue and discovery.
These videos continue to generate strong viewership and are regularly used to support Menokin’s fundraising initiatives.