Has there ever been a more important moment for firms that represent cause, issue and nonprofit clients? In our sideways political environment, it’s become even more brutally competitive to raise money; more importantly, it’s more challenging than ever to grab mindshare in an economy of fragmented attention spans. These firms fight the good fight, which makes them our choices for notable nonprofit and public affairs PR firms of the year (the top three also grace this year’s PR Power 50).
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Speaking of that, definitely spend some time with the PR Power 50, our yearly effort (which takes, pretty much, the entire year to put together) honoring the 50 PR firms that we feel have made the biggest, most exciting moves over the course of 2018.
BerlinRosen
Our No. 1 overall PR Power 50 agency of the year, Berlin Rosen’s nonprofit work includes huge assignments: The MacArthur Foundation, Elton John AIDS Foundation, GMHC, BendtheArc, Atlantic Philanthropies, Brooklyn Public Library, Southern Environmental Law Center, Coalition for the Homeless and many more. Read more about our top firm Berlin Rosen in this year’s PR Power 50
Global Strategy Group
You could write a book about Global Strategy Group’s 2018 election work, which included game-changing polling for the Democrats. But the firm’s work “at the intersection of business and politics” also includes a stellar campaign with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Oh, and GSG worked on the campaign to free Meek Mill. Read more about Global Strategy Group in this year’s PR Power 50
The TASC Group
Some of the decade’s highest-profile social activists trust Larry Kopp’s firm to leverage media wisely. Among them: Susan Bro, mother of slain Charlottesville activist Heather Heyer, and the family of murdered Florida teen Trayvon Martin. TASC Group’s regular client list also includes Big Apple stalwarts like United Way of New York City and Baruch College. Read more about The TASC Group in this year’s PR Power 50
SKDKnickerbocker
Just this month, news broke that Amazon retained this insider-y firm to happy-face its controversial Long Island City move. It wasn’t a terribly surprising hire, as Mike Morey, SKDKnickerbocker’s NYC managing director, worked on campaigns for Governor Andrew Cuomo and Senator Chuck Schumer, so presumably he’s got some juice with them. SKDKnickerbocker also boasts a roster that includes The Rockefeller Foundation, UnderArmour, Google and American Airlines.
Anat Gerstein Inc.
Two words: Yiddish Fiddler. Gerstein knocked it out of the park for the Joel Grey-directed National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene production, which just transferred off-Broadway. Other Gerstein clients are regulars in NYC media, from the NYT and WSJ to NY1 and even Today. Considering they’re mostly NYC-based nonprofits—including the Workmen’s Circle, Citizens Union, Project Renewal, Girl Scouts of Greater N.Y.—that’s quite a feat.
Momentum CG
Bethel Woods Center for the Arts (where Woodstock once happened), the N.Y. Society for Ethical Culture, Teaching Matters, Lavelle School for the Blind and Workforce Opportunity Services are among the noble-minded clients at Jim Miller’s compact, six-year-old firm.
Phil & Co.
Philanthropies & Companies doing good is what the name reflects, something Phil & Co. works on alongside clients like the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, the Cornell Tech Campus on Roosevelt Island, the Institute for Children, Poverty and Homelessness and small-business advocates SCORE.
Fenton
Founded in 1982, pioneering nonprofit PR partner Fenton rebooted this year, snagging Berlin Rosen’s Ben Wyskida as CEO and elevating SVP Jennifer Hahn to managing director. The firm also doubled its digital team, opened a Seattle office, and reeled in blue-chip clients like the MacArthur Foundation and Partnership for Youth Apprenticeship.
