Branding Robin Hood’s Fuel for 50 Initiative
Robin Hood is New York City’s largest poverty-fighting organization with more than three decades of work focused on finding and funding the most effective programs to lift New Yorkers out of poverty. In the summer of 2021, Robin Hood’s Fund for Early Learning (FUEL) launched FUEL for 50, a first-of-its-kind initiative to support and invest in promising, community-led programs from any nonprofit serving New York City families with children three-and-under.
For children who have seen the better part of their lives impacted by a pandemic, for parents and caregivers who have managed more demands and stress than ever before, and for the community organizations that have stepped up for families in need, FUEL for 50 was developed to strengthen early learning in every borough of New York City.
Over the course of a three-year journey and three rounds of selection, awardees received a total of close to $7 million in phased funding to expand their community initiatives and support for program development, capacity building, and fostering connections with other nonprofits and early childhood experts.
From the inception of the project, our team led the development of the FUEL for 50 branding and visual identity which then served as the foundation for the full communications effort which included a comprehensive system of marketing, collateral and communications materials. Our identity and messaging system was designed to capture the attention of a diverse pool of potential applicants, partner organizations, as well as media and the engaged public, and to demystify the underlying research and engage organizations outside of “traditional” child development.
Embodying the innovative, collaborative and bright spirit of the initiative and tested with several groups of community members, the FUEL for 50 brand identity and creative focus on bold, simple shapes and messages that stood out in bus shelters, libraries and other high-traffic public spaces. The campaign drove more than 25,000 website visitors after launch and yielded over 350 applications for the first phase of funding – the majority from organizations without an explicit early childhood focus.
The first round of 50 winning projects was announced in the Spring of 2022 each receiving $25,000 in unrestricted funding along with optional workshops and support. The second round of 10 awardees was selected in the Fall of 2022, and each received $250,000 in unrestricted funding as well as support from Robin Hood to refine their projects, measuring for long-term success and scalability. The final 3 awardees were selected in early 2024, each receiving nearly $1 million in funding to continue to scale their programs and deepen the long-term impact of their efforts within their community, and beyond.
At Robin Hood we really believe that it does take a village to raise the children of New York City, and we’re all a part of that village, so the more that village can work together, the stronger our future children will be.
– Kelly Escobar, Managing Director, Early Childhood, Robin Hood
