United Way of New York City (UWNYC)

As the agency on record for legacy nonprofit United Way of New York City (UWNYC), Wakeman implemented a robust public relations campaign. We focused on reinforcing the organization’s mission, by providing strategic guidance, garnering media coverage, creating messaging, providing fundraising strategy and other efforts aimed at elevating UWNYC’s role as a powerful advocate and convener working to create economic stability for New Yorkers at the lowest income levels.

Our public relations efforts centered around raising visibility for the organization’s programs focused on a variety of issue areas, from housing and health equity to criminal justice reform. With the Bronx having the highest rate of poverty across the five boroughs, we placed an emphasis on media placements that would reach Bronx residents to educate them about the programs being offered by UWNYC, in order to provide intersectional support as it relates to education, food security and other issues. We also worked closely with the CEO’s office, helping to craft messaging, perform media training and deliver strategic guidance that leverages communications that build thought leadership.

Wakeman played a pivotal role in advancing these key initiatives:

• Spotlight the launch of the True Cost of Living Report, which documented the COVID-19 pandemic’s profound economic impact on New York City households. The Wakeman team garnered over 35 high profile press hits in 30 days around the April 2023 report launch, including The New York Times, CBS Radio 880 AM, WNYC/Gothamist, Crain’s New York, ABC-7 TV, FOX 5 TV, BBC News, Politico, WPIX TV, Forbes, Fast Company, Washington Examiner and many more. We also crafted talking points and an outreach strategy in support of the elections ballot initiative that educated and empowered voters about the true cost of living in the New York City region, with hyperlocal focus on the Bronx and Brooklyn.
• Elevate UWNYC’s commitment to literacy through gaining media exposure for its ReadNYC program, that helps to improve literacy skills for school children in New York City. Wakeman’s media relations efforts helped to draw attention to the program in the Bronx, which initially started in the Mott Haven.  
• Announced and developed a communications strategy for the Emergency Assistance and Community Needs Fund (EACN). EACN Supports community based organizations working with newly arrived asylum seekers. We announced the formation of the fund and have helped shift the conversation toward a better understanding of how local organizations mobilize and support immigrants within sanctuary cities. Key press coverage has included The New York Times, Gothamist, WPIX-TV and more. Due to the fluid nature of the crisis, our work on EACN required us to create and execute a communications plan with few details or advance notice.
• Raising visibility for Black-owned businesses through Together We Thrive (TWT). TWT is a coalition that provides access to capital, social networks and technical assistance to support the survival, success and sustainability of Black-owned businesses in New York. Tapping into relevant news topics, we monitored and pitched TWT stories on an ongoing basis, as news trends allowed for relevant story ideas. Highlights included a CBS New York story on a trio of HBCU graduates sharing their story of perseverance and relevance to the community as Black business owners and highlighting the ways in which the TWT program has assisted their efforts and a New York Times placement profiling Sudsy Waters founder and budding entrepreneur, LaChena Clark, who founded a laundromat and dry cleaning business in Harlem after losing her job.
• Creation of thought leadership visibility within the food justice conversation through the Feed NYC Food & Benefits Advocacy initiative. Our team provided recommendations to UWNYC that would establish the organization as a leader in the conversation regarding food security for New Yorkers, showcasing input from local partner organizations throughout the five boroughs. To highlight the concerns felt by New Yorkers who are food insecure, we contributed to the development of a questionnaire related to food access.

Our team was also integral in establishing the strategic communications foundation for the organization’s new President and CEO, Grace Bonilla, by building a messaging strategy that positioned her as an expert in human rights advocacy, working to provide equitable access to critical services for all New Yorkers. We directed media relations for the CEO’s office and garnered high profile coverage for Grace, including an appearance on CNBC, a cover story in City & State New York, coverage in the Chronicle of Philanthropy, NY1 and an interview with Fox 5’s Street Talk public affairs show that demonstrated the passion, vision and depth of consideration held by UWNYC’s leadership toward the welfare of all New Yorkers.

Our work with UWNYC is a strong example of Wakeman’s ability to seamlessly juggle an urgent agenda of competing priorities that call for a nuanced understanding of New York City, the weaving of messaging architecture, media prowess and creative conceptualization of ways to garner visibility that continually feels dynamic and relevant, that advances progress on the issues the organization champions.