ASG is pleased to work with a variety of clients across industries, social impact categories, corporate and nonprofit.
ASG serves as the CSR advisory agency of record for Novo Nordisk’s US-based Giving and Social Impact Group. In this capacity, we are deeply involved in a range of strategic initiatives, including community needs assessments, stakeholder engagement, program design, and research. We are also leading the evaluation for their Community Health Collaborative initiative, which focuses on urban health and wellness and which we helped design.
We are effectively the Giving and Social Impact Group’s adjunct communications shop, developing and helping shape content for internal and external audiences.
ASG led The Provident Bank Foundation board and staff through a strategic review process that included examination of their funding priorities and operations. We interviewed stakeholders, reviewed peer and admired companies, and developed design requirements for the Foundation’s programming.
The result was a simplified and refined set of funding categories that align better with their parent company and provide additional clarity to community and nonprofit partners. We also helped them design a new signature community investment program that took into account new geographies acquired through an acquisition.
We were brought in to support the global food & beverage giant’s philanthropic and employee engagement strategic refresh, with a risk analysis of social impact categories, peer benchmarking, financial modeling, and staffing design.
ASG spearheaded the development of a multi-year strategic plan for Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield’s CSR department and foundation. This major engagement featured the five key phases of ASG’s planning process: immersion, research, concepting, refinement & feedback, and final design. The plan was informed by community research and stakeholder input and includes new funding pillars, updated positioning and branding protocols, operational enhancements, and a new evaluation and ROI platform, among many other elements.
This was just the latest in a series of projects we’ve led for Horizon over the years, including impact assessment for several grant programs (including the Health Center Initiative and Breath Easier with Asthma Management) and in-depth research on healthcare access, health literacy, and oral health.
For Cargill-sponsored study of Feeding America’s disaster preparedness and resiliency program, ASG conducted risk assessments of the major food in Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota. This work involved an extensive review of disaster types, history, and prevalence in the region; food bank capacity audits; SWOT and peer analyses; and potential areas of mutual aid, among other considerations. After in-depth document reviews, broad stakeholder engagement, and informative site visits to locations in each state, ASG developed a disaster preparedness brief and risk profile for each of the food banks. We also developed for the Cargill Foundation a list of detailed recommendations on how the food banks can work together to respond to crises in each other’s states and the timelines within which to prepare that work. As is typical of these engagements, our work has been extended in order to develop the processes and materials needed for this work to get done.
The Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai’s Arnhold Insitute for Public Health asked ASG to catalogue, map, and conduct an analysis of their global health impacts. Through an immersive research process and interviews with Mt. Sinai leadership and faculty, we were able to ascertain where and what specifically their global health activities are, which had previously been unknown, and the nature of their impact. Further, based on these findings and after a benchmark review of best-in-class academic global health institutes, we developed a series of go-forward recommendations which were adopted and resulted in a clearer-focused, more accountable global health footprint.
Forbes Marshall is consistently ranked as one of India’s most admired companies and best places to work. The large Pune-based manufacturer's storied tradition of generosity and corporate citizenship certainly have something to do with it. Nevertheless, Forbes Marshall was eager to adopt best practices for their CR process and protocols to ensure even greater impact. They engaged ASG to develop a platform for their CR approach and giving, including development of grantmaking workflow and approvals protocols, grant application scoring rubrics, RFPs to solicit thoughtful proposals, interim and final grantee reporting templates, award and declination letters, and grant seekers toolkits, among other items.
The introduction of a new funding priority for Verizon’s corporate foundation that combined environmental sustainability and higher education necessitated a quick understanding of the environmental nonprofit landscape for the company’s New Jersey team. After conducting desktop research and interviews with informed stakeholders, ASG developed a vetted list of viable nonprofit programs within or in partnership with the state’s higher education institutions. The information was presented in a summary analysis that included descriptions of the institutions and programs, existing partnerships, and strategic promise.
ASG serves as consulting program manager for the Foundation’s ZAC Camp program, a national partnership with the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, that provides water safety instruction to underserved youth. We provide comprehensive oversight including program officership, planning, and day-to-day management.
When the New York-based Wilson Foundation wanted to share important new findings from a study it sponsored, showing for the first time that trauma symptoms are the greatest predictors of residential instability, they turned to ASG Advisors for an on-the-ground media and advocacy campaign. After a good deal of strategy and message development, we kicked things off with an opinion piece in their target publication, handled pre-tour media coverage, and then managed well-attended (and professionally-branded) roundtable events across New York State. For each event, we
lined up co-hosts (including several universities and nonprofits)
developed an agenda, talking points, and key questions to keep the conversation moving
professionally designed and printed a series of supporting documents, plus a neat little thumb drive with the study
created pop-ups and branded “walls” to properly set the room for photography
managed the invitation process, resulting in more than 150 participants
handled the “little things” like audio/visual equipment, table tents, check-in, and refreshments
secured quite a lot of television, radio, and print media coverage (often all three at a time)
From the 43 media clips — across TV, radio and print — totaling nearly 800,000 media impressions to the branded thumb drive and folder placed in just the right spot on every roundtable seat, we’re proud of every aspect of this successful tour.
The Council of New Jersey Grantmakers (CNJG) wanted to better understand – empirically – the value they bring to their membership and then communicate that back to them. So we dove deep into the elements of membership that grantmakers of different stripes value. Interviews with a representative sample of members, focus groups with board leadership, and a detailed survey to get insights from the entire community of donors gave us the full story. We then reimagined that information as concise data points, compelling messaging, and revealing case studies that underscored CNJG’s value. We now serve as faculty members on evaluation and analytics for their Maximizing Corporate Community Investments series.
ASG manages the full communications portfolio for one of the country’s most dynamic community foundations, simultaneously bringing focus to its disparate outreach strategies.
We immerse ourselves in the policy issues important to their fundholders – from human trafficking and juvenile justice to natural disaster recovery and school-based wellness programs – and write compelling content to track progress. We developed and manage their new interactive website, craft marketing materials for varied audiences, and leverage their social media platforms for maximum effect.
We began our long-term communications work with the Community Foundation following an initial collaboration around a Boston College study showing the movement of wealth out of New Jersey and its impact on philanthropy.
ASG served as the executive directorate of the Egyptian American Community Foundation handling administration, board relations, grantmaking, communications, and strategic initiatives. Our work took us to a health fair in Jersey City, a Habitat for Humanity site south of Cairo, and many points in between. We even gave the Foundation a New York office.
During and after Egypt’s 2013 political upheaval, the subject mattered became more urgent and we helped the Foundation tap its membership to reach broader audiences. We guided the Foundation through increased press attention and secured numerous high levels meeting at the White House, the Capitol, the UN, and the Egyptian Embassy.
ASG associates have managed three successful Congressional campaigns, utilizing innovative, grassroots technologies and delivering large margins of victory. We’ve also managed political action committees ranging from national organizations to the individual Leadership PAC of a Member of Congress – in both cases, planning and executing on large budgets.
Early in our founding, we developed all communications materials and handled strategic partnerships for the Mayors Wellness Campaign, a statewide effort to enact active-living programs at the municipal level. We also coordinated the media roll-out and national book tour for Rutgers University Press’s Governor Tom Kean: From the New Jersey Statehouse to the 9-11 Commission.
We even worked with the gentleman who foiled the 2007 terror plot at Fort Dix, rolling out his story in a careful and deliberate way, and preparing him for an intense week of media interviews.
ASG tapped its love of the slopes to help Rossignol put together a plan to boost local nonprofits. The twist was that we focused on leveraging the company’s experience and expertise above its dollars. Rossignol already had a reputation as a reliable in-kind donor of its award-winning ski equipment, so we showed them a way to offer a fuller compliment of resources, from office space to executive experience.
We provided AVIS | Budget with an advisory opinion on revenue share incentive programs with non-profit partners.
We served as general consultant to the Prudential Foundation, the grantmaking arm of the financial giant. What started with grant and program-related research evolved to include communications for global initiatives on education and high-level strategic support.
We advised Xerox on corporate philanthropic trends in the Middle East and Africa for their developing markets operation.