OVERVIEW

The Nellie Mae Education Foundation (“Nellie Mae”) works to champion community organizations that challenge racial inequities and advance excellent, student-centered public education for all New England Youth. We were proud to work with Nellie Mae as its strategic communications partner for nine years, generating visibility for its student-centered public education mission while also supporting its strategic shift in 2019 and 2020 to focus its grantmaking on advancing racial equity.

OUR STRATEGY

Our work has showcased the impact of learning that is personalized, engaging and competency-based, and more recently the power of centering student, family and community voice in school decision-making to address systemic inequities in education. We helped position former Nellie Mae President & CEO Nicholas Donohue, the foundation, and its community partners as leading voices on education transformation and philanthropy through an equity lens.

To amplify Nellie Mae’s message, in 2015 we led the development, implementation and management of the Nellie Mae Speakers Bureau on Education Innovation, which annually deploys experts to speak at conferences across the country such as TEDxBeaconStreet, SXSWedu, the iNACOL Symposium and the Education Writers Association National Seminar.

OUR RESULTS

As a result of our efforts, commentaries from Nellie Mae leaders have been published by Newsweek, The New York Times, The Boston Globe Magazine, The Huffington Post, U.S. News & World Report, Education Week, The Hechinger Report, Inside Philanthropy, Nonprofit Quarterly, WBUR Edify, CommonWealth Magazine, New England Public Radio and Boston Business Journal. The Foundation’s thought leadership has centered on issues affecting education including equity, school funding, the importance of student voices, innovation for 21st century learners. We have also secured media coverage for Nellie Mae’s work to advance racial equity in K-12 education, results of education trend surveys the Foundation commissioned, the Foundation’s grantmaking, and other Nellie Mae news to raise visibility for the Foundation and its mission.

Through more than 100 speaking engagements, the Speakers Bureau raised awareness for Nellie Mae’s work and its grantees, and for the Foundation’s mission to advance excellent, student-centered public education by transforming teaching and learning.

SUMMARY STATEMENT

As a result of our efforts, commentaries from Nellie Mae leaders have been published by Newsweek, The New York Times, The Boston Globe Magazine, The Huffington Post, U.S. News & World Report, Education Week, The Hechinger Report, Inside Philanthropy, Nonprofit Quarterly, WBUR Edify, CommonWealth Magazine, New England Public Radio and Boston Business Journal.