Category: Uncategorized

Addressing rising child care costs is essential for fostering a more inclusive and representative democracy

Rising childcare costs in Ohio – comparable to college tuition – are straining the state’s system, leading to economic challenges, with parents facing work disruptions or leaving jobs due to high expenses. This article from Crain’s Cleveland Business examines the challenges faced by childcare providers include staffing shortages and financial constraints; the importance of treating childcare as essential infrastructure; and how companies, like The J.M. Smucker Co., are showing the positive impact of prioritizing childcare benefits and the need for government to address the underlying challenges in the childcare system.

ACS is celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2024! For 20 years we’ve helped our clients in nonprofits, for-profits, government agencies, and philanthropic organizations large and small all over the country successfully advance their missions through communication, advocacy, capacity building, and community engagement strategies. From early learning to K-12 education, Medicaid, workforce, and a host of health and human services matters – the breadth and depth of these partnerships are worth a year of celebration with you. So stay close for more exciting news!

 

Advocacy & Communication Solutions, LLC Recognized in International Business Awards

For the sixth year in a row, Advocacy & Communication Solutions, LLC (ACS) was selected out of more than 3,700 nominations to receive a Stevie® Award, earning a Bronze in the Company of the Year in Small Business or Professional Services in The 20th Annual International Business Awards®.

The International Business Awards are the world’s premier business awards program. All individuals and organizations worldwide – public and private, for-profit and non-profit, large and small – are eligible to submit nominations. The 2023 IBAs received entries from organizations in 61 nations and territories.

The judges noted that “ACS is a leader in transformational services for consultancy and advocacy. They have a fantastic track record demonstrating their social impact and long-term milestones. Their work is needed and appreciated for early education and their dedication to a prosperous future. ACS investment in time and services result in resiliency in communities.”

ACS, an Ohio-based minority and women-owned firm that has been in business for almost 20 years, received the award for its work in helping non-profit organizations, government agencies, philanthropic organizations and for-profit companies advocate for policy change and communicate effectively with audiences who have the power to effect change. ACS previously won the Bronze Company of the Year Stevie® Women in Business Award in 2018, 2019, and 2020 and the Silver Stevie® Award in the Company of the Year in Small Business or Professional Services in 2021 and 2022.

Advocacy & Communication Solutions, LLC Recognized Internationally for Communication Strategy

Advocacy & Communication Solutions, LLC recently earned two recognitions for its communication strategy from the Hermes Creative Awards, one of the oldest and largest creative competitions in the world. Winners range in size from small creative firms to Fortune 500 companies.

For its year-long “Voting Matters” email campaign, ACS was named a Gold Winner in the Electronic Media/Social Media category. The educational series spanned 2022 and brought attention to important local, state, and federal voting policies and tips and tricks to make sure individuals understood their right to cast their ballots without intimidation or coercion.

ACS earned an Honorable Mention for its Public Awareness Campaign for the City of Columbus. The effort shined a light on the city’s 311 information line and how it serves city residents.

Now in its 17^th year, the Hermes Creative Awards is sponsored by the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals. Hermes Creative Awards honors the messengers and creators of the information revolution. Armed with their imaginations and computers, Hermes winners bring their ideas to life through traditional and digital platforms. Each year, competition judges evaluate the creative industry’s best publications, branding collateral, websites, videos, and advertising, marketing, and communication programs.

You can view ACS’ gold-winning entry here.

Children’s Defense Fund – Ohio Survey Shows Parents are Confident in Teachers, Despite Lawmaker Efforts to Control Content in the Classroom

A 71-question survey conducted by Baldwin Wallace University for the The Children’s Defense Fund – Ohio—an organization that advocates for high-quality, stable education and policies to lift kids out of poverty and protect kids from abuse and neglect—shows that Ohio parents overwhelmingly trust their children’s teachers, despite lawmakers trying to enact stricter controls over content in the classroom.

Some of those stricter controls include the introduction of bills by lawmakers that would ban the teaching of “divisive concepts” around racism, sexism, critical race theory, and sexual orientation and gender, and requiring teachers to post curricula and instructional materials online for each classroom course by July 1, so parents can review the materials.

Contrary to what these lawmakers believe, Ohio parents already feel as though their teachers are on the right track with what is being taught in the classroom. In short, parents trust teachers to do their jobs.

Read the article from Cleveland.com to learn more about the survey and how Ohio parents feel about how their children are being taught as the 2021-2022 school year kicks off.

ACS has deep experience in the K-12 education sector across the country, including policy, advocacy and communication strategy and implementation. We can help. Contact one of our team members at 1-877-372-0166 to learn more.

Advocacy & Communication Solutions, LLC Recognized in Two International Business Awards

For the second year in a row, Advocacy & Communication Solutions, LLC (ACS) was selected out of more than 3,700 nominations in The 19th Annual International Business Awards®

to receive a Silver Stevie® Award in the category: Company of the Year in Small Business or Professional Services

Additionally this year, ACS was honored with a Bronze Stevie® Award in Communications or PR Campaign of the Year for its five-year engagement with The Arras Foundation. ACS guided Arras through a name change and a new strategic direction based on community input and engagement.

ACS, an Ohio-based minority and women-owned firm that has been in business for almost 20 years, received the Company of the Year award for its work in helping non-profit organizations, government agencies, philanthropic organizations and for-profit companies advocate for policy change and communicate effectively with audiences who have the power to effect change. ACS previously won the Bronze Company of the Year Stevie® Women in Business Award in 2018, 2019, and 2020 and the Silver Stevie® Award in the Company of the Year in Small Business or Professional Services in 2021.

“ACS is an exceptional organization with critical-needs expertise for some of our nation’s most vulnerable sectors,” one judge commented. “As the ‘champions for social and policy change,’ their strategies will have positive impact for future generations. Their laser focus on policy change and advocacy for organizations nationwide provide the support and platforms for community catalyst organizations to sustain and build capacity for their future success.”

Of ACS’ five-year engagement campaign with Arras, one judge noted it was “a good solid strategy that led to the transformation of the organization that if it had not been handled in a sensitive and community-led way could have had severe negative corporate reputation ramifications. This shows how philanthropic organizations that have a negative history can be turned around through community engagement to create a ‘force for good’ with their financial contributions.”

The International Business Awards are the world’s premier business awards program. All individuals and organizations worldwide – public and private, for-profit and non-profit, large and small – are eligible to submit nominations. The 2022 IBAs received entries from organizations in 67 nations and territories.

ACS Launches New Website

You’ve heard the adage “try something new?”

At Advocacy & Communication Solutions, LLC (ACS), we embrace this motto and are always looking for new ways to improve upon who we are, what we do, and how we present ourselves to the world.

And what better way to “try something new” than by launching a new website? We’ve taken everything you know and love from our previous website, reexamined and refined our existing material, and added in some new content that can help you discover the many ways ACS can help your organization.

It’s the same expertise you’ve come to expect from ACS—communication, strategy development, and advocacy—just with a new look.

NE Ohio Education, Civic and Business Communities Celebrate Greater Cleveland Career Consortium Launch

Northeast Ohio education, civic and business leaders have launched the Greater Cleveland Career Consortium (GCCC), a collaborative cross-sector effort to help every student in the region graduate from high school with a career vision and a plan to achieve it.

The GCCC builds on the Linking Students to Career Pathways and Living Wage Jobs initiative, a collaboration between the Cleveland Metropolitan School District and The Cleveland Foundation. ACS has been deeply involved in the Linking Students work since its 2019 inception.

The GCCC comprises employers, industry, K-12 education, higher education, public sector, philanthropy, workforce, and youth-serving nonprofits committed to ensuring that every student leaves school with the confidence, knowledge, skills, and relationships they need to follow a path to fulfillment. The region benefits as talented graduates take the next step in their careers, including pursuing post-secondary education, joining the workforce, and/or starting businesses.

Social media post: The Greater Cleveland Career Consortium will help every student graduate from high school with a career vision and a plan to achieve it.

Ohio Department of Education Releases 2020-2021 Student Wellness and Success Fund Survey Data Report

The Ohio Department of Education released its 2020-2021 Student Wellness and Success Funds Report. The report summarizes how funds help eligible districts and schools and community partners implement physical, mental and behavioral health care services.  A $675-million state investment in student support initiatives from October 2019 through June 2021 has served more than 1 million Ohio students through 2,000 student support initiatives. Several school districts represented by The Ohio 8, an ACS client, participated in the study, including Cincinnati, Dayton and Youngstown public schools. Highlights of the survey include:

• 80% of eligible schools and districts used Student Wellness and Success Funds to provide mental health programs and services.
• Schools and districts increased community partnerships by 491 additional community partners from the previous year.
• Of the reported initiatives, 22% were new.

Social Media post: Ohio’s $675-million investment in student wellness supports has increased the number of programs by 22% and has served more than 1-milion students. Learn more about the impact of this important program.