Who We Help / Case Study

Washington-based nonprofit Wider Opportunities for Women (WOW) sought MAKE WAVES’ assistance to promote the launch of their new program, the Elder Economic Security Initiative (EESI), a multi-year advocacy project to promote the economic well-being of elders. 

The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center (The Center) is a nonprofit that is dedicated to serving the needs of the LGBT community in and around Manhattan.  2008 marks the Center’s 25th Anniversary, and to commemorate the occasion the Center enlisted MAKE WAVES to produce their Annual Report.

SmartTransportation.org, a coalition of nonprofits dedicated to increasing awareness and availability of green transportation in the U.S., retained MAKE WAVES to help garner media attention for the coalition’s role in securing Mayor Bloomberg’s new mandate for New York City’s ‘black cars’ to transition to low-emissions vehicles.  (Black cars are hired, private limos.) MAKE WAVES was asked to create a comprehensive outreach plan to include all New York City media and national progressive outlets.

The Jack D. Hidary Foundation and Friends of Animals, an animal rights activist group, sought MAKE WAVES’ assistance in garnering media attention for a Valentine’s Day protest against the use of horse-drawn carriages in Central Park.  In order to facilitate that effort, MAKE WAVES was asked to create a comprehensive New York City media list, draft a media advisory and a post-event press release, and coordinate the press at the protest itself.

In April 2008, Neighborhood Coalition for Shelter (NCS) requested MAKE WAVES’ help to draw attention to the City’s Department of Homeless Services’ plan to terminate funding for NCS’ drop-in center, the Neighborhood Center for Homeless People (NCHP), located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. 

Funders for Lesbian and Gay Issues (FLGI), a national philanthropic group based in New York City, requested MAKE WAVES’ assistance in garnering media attention for its Racial Equity Campaign, which kicked off with the release of two reports on racial equity in philanthropy. 

Funders for Lesbian and Gay Issues (FLGI), the only organization of its kind dedicated exclusively to increasing institutional giving to LGBTQ communities, sought Make Waves’ assistance in assessing current media coverage of LGBTQ communities of color.  Based on that assessment, Make Waves was asked to create a strategy for marketing FLGI’s new LGBTQ Racial Equity Campaign, a program designed to improve funding for LGBTQ communities of color.