CASE STUDY
MEDIA RELATIONS & THOUGHT LEADERSHIP: BRONX RISING INITIATIVE
The Challenge
Oyate Group is a nonprofit organization with the mission to alleviate poverty and empower underserved communities across New York City. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Oyate Group worked to increase ICU bed capacity, provide grants for small businesses, fight food insecurity and offer scholarships for local youth. Despite this, the organization was working in anonymity, with no media coverage, little notoriety or trust among the communities it served and no organizational messaging. As it looked to expand its work and take on issues around vaccine confidence and inequity with its Bronx Rising Initiative, Oyate Group approached The TASC Group for help to get the word out about its mission and services and establish the organization as a well-known and trusted nonprofit.
The Challenge
Oyate Group is a nonprofit organization with the mission to alleviate poverty and empower underserved communities across New York City. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Oyate Group worked to increase ICU bed capacity, provide grants for small businesses, fight food insecurity and offer scholarships for local youth. Despite this, the organization was working in anonymity, with no media coverage, little notoriety or trust among the communities it served and no organizational messaging. As it looked to expand its work and take on issues around vaccine confidence and inequity with its Bronx Rising Initiative, Oyate Group approached The TASC Group for help to get the word out about its mission and services and establish the organization as a well-known and trusted nonprofit.
The Strategy
TASC’s strategy was to reach the community Oyate Group served to build awareness, position the organization’s leadership as thought leaders in New York’s nonprofit community and build out a communications infrastructure to convey its legitimacy and impact. TASC worked to generate media coverage for the organization’s Bronx Rising Initiative (BRI), which conducted door-to-door outreach, vaccine pop-ups at public housing facilities and a homebound initiative. Further, TASC worked to position the organization’s leadership as subject matter experts to comment on city, state and national vaccine initiatives and how they could be optimized to reach more people who were in need. TASC developed the organization’s website, submitted leadership for awards and secured the organization’s nonprofit navigator seals of transparency.
The Results
TASC’s efforts generated over 700 media placements across major print, online and broadcast outlets in just one year. These included The New York Times, Vox, ABC News, Telemundo and Univision. TASC also secured coverage for Oyate Group on The Economist’s “The Jab” podcast and BBC World Radio. TASC supported the organization’s growth, leading to increased donations from individuals, staff expansion, the creation of a volunteer program and additional partnerships. Most importantly, TASC reached BRI’s target audience of underserved and marginalized New Yorkers, increasing their trust in the organization and, critically, the vaccine, allowing the organization to inoculate over 40,000 New Yorkers in one year. Oyate Group has since been established as one of the leading and most trusted nonprofits serving marginalized communities in New York City
MEDIA COVERAGE
