Company: United Way of the National Capital Area, Washington, DC
Nomination Submitted by: JR Communications
Company Description: United Way of the National Capital Area improves the health, education and economic opportunity of every person in the National Capital Area community. United Way NCA has been improving lives by creating measurable impact in the District of Columbia, Northern Virginia and Montgomery and Prince George’s counties for more than 45 years.
Nomination Category: Communications & Marketing Awards Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Communications or PR Campaign of the Year - Non-Profit / Charity
 Nomination Title: When None Are Ignored, All Will Thrive
- Which will you submit for your nomination in this category, a video of up to five (5) minutes, explaining the nominated campaign or program - its genesis,development, planning, commission, and performance to date - OR written answers to the questions? (Choose one):
Written answers to the questions
- If you are submitting a video of up to five (5) minutes in length, provide the URL of the video here, OR attach it to your entry via the "Add Attachments, Videos, or Links to This Entry" link above, through which you may also upload a copy of your video. If you are submitting written answers to the questions, provide them in the appropriate spaces below:
- Describe the genesis of the nominated campaign or program: the reasons it was initiated, the challenges it was created to address, the problems it was developed to solve, etc. (up to 250 words):
Total 149 words used.
United Way of the National Capital Area (United Way NCA) champions collaboration, community connections and critical conversations that advance its journey toward equity for all people across the greater Washington, DC metro area. Our mission is to improve the health, education and economic opportunity of every person in our community, regardless of race, gender, income or ability. Each year, United Way NCA champions programs that help create equity for the communities we serve. To promote those programs, United Way NCA leverages a communications program that uses storytelling through earned media, video, blog posts and more. To help communicate the impact of our work, we keep our messaging consistent, always uplifting our strength in convening the community in all aspects of our work. As agents of change, we believe that “When None Are Ignored, All Will Thrive” and encourage everyone to join our journey in creating a more equitable society.
- Specify the date on which this campaign or program was launched:
February 2021 - October 2021
- Describe the development of the campaign or program: the planning process, the goal setting, the creative and media development, the scheduling, etc. (up to 250 words):
Total 219 words used.
We leverage storytelling throughout our communications campaign, which is shaped by the work we and our partners do in the community, the research and data that inform how we meet the needs of our community members, and the people who receive our services.
Throughout the year, we create communications campaigns that promote United Way NCA’s annual programs. Consistently we target and place earned media with local and regional community media outlets, to build the brand and stay top-of-mind in the communities we serve. We leverage our partnerships with local broadcast networks annually. We also create op-ed articles, blog posts and videos that illustrate our strength in championing collaboration, community connections and critical conversations that advance our journey toward equity for all people across the greater Washington, DC metro area.
Our goals are to:
1. Promote our strength in championing collaboration, community connections and critical conversations that advance our journey toward equity for all people across the greater Washington, DC metro area.
2. Share our mission to improve every person's health, education, and economic opportunity in our community, regardless of race, gender, income, or ability.
3. “Call-in” community and corporate members and partners to join us as we create equity for all in the communities we serve by promoting our message that “When None Are Ignored, All Will Thrive.”
- Reference any attachments of supporting materials throughout this nomination and how they provide evidence of the claims you have made in this nomination (up to 250 words):
Total 250 words used.
As a result of United Way NCA’s communications campaign for “When None Are Ignored, All Will Thrive,” the organization has continued to receive support from individual, community and corporate donors and volunteers. From 2013 - 2021, United Way NCA’s Do More 24 day of giving has supported more than 1,200 nonprofit organizations raising more than $13.7M for the region’s heroes and the nonprofits that support the community daily. In October 2021, through the generous support and contributions from local partners, 192 volunteers who gave 576 volunteer hours, 6,531 kits were distributed across 23 sites throughout the DC region during the week of Project Community Connect. The kits included 4,718 hygiene, 1,006 healthy snacks and 1,007 warm clothing kits. In addition, a total of 18 virtual workshops were held during the week of PCC’s 2021 event to provide community members with information on topics like housing laws, online child safety, legal services, budgeting, sexual health, stress management, and more.
United Way NCA’s earned media campaign for the three programs illustrated above--Project Community Connect, Do More 24 and ALICE--has garnered an audience reach of approximately 71.2 million.
Our communications strategy has been successful and was proven so when in 2020, United Way NCA was among 384 organizations in the U.S. to receive a transformational investment from venture philanthropist MacKenzie Scott. Scott’s team recognized United Way NCA's work to promote and create equity through the public-facing multimedia storytelling campaigns we create throughout the year.
- Outline the activities and concrete results of this campaign or program since the beginning of July 2020. Even if your initiative started before July 2020, limit your response to activities and results since the beginning of July 2020 only (up to 250 words):
Total 249 words used.
United Way NCA programs that exemplify our storytelling:
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May 2021 - Do More 24 is a 24-hour day of giving, where members of the community are encouraged to think about what they care most about and learn what others are doing to solve our region’s most pressing social problems (e.g. food insecurity, inequities in education and resources for students, mental health challenges, the digital divide, or the emergence out of this current health crisis).
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Oct. 2021 - Project Community Connect (PCC) focuses on achieving equity for all community members. PCC allows community members, partners, volunteers, and individual supporters to practice equity and become equity advocates tackling food insecurity, homelessness, and systemic racism. PCC provides essential services and resources to those at risk of or experiencing homelessness, female neighbors without access to feminine hygiene products in the community, as well as the region’s Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed (ALICE) population. ALICE represents the growing number of individuals and families who are working but cannot afford basic necessities.
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(2021) United Way NCA raises awareness for the region’s ALICE households.
To promote the stories and impact from Do More 24, PCC, and highlight the needs of ALICE households, we create video highlight reels illustrating our partnerships and community work; blog articles, infographics, and op-ed stories published in community newspapers. For our earned media campaign (online/print features), we invite the media to interview President and CEO, Rosie Allen Herring, and coordinate broadcast media interviews aired throughout the week to promote the events.
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