Agency News

We are excited to announce our newest clients: Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago, Resurrection University and Illinois Humanities. Each began working with us in Fall 2018, and our assignments with them will run through Spring 2019.

For NHS of Chicago, we are supporting the development of a spring marketing campaign to introduce more Chicagoans to the benefits of working with a nonprofit mortgage provider. We also are managing social media and developing newsletter content for the organization.

For Resurrection University, we are working to raise awareness of the growth of this university, and its success with attracting, retaining and graduating a diverse, adult student body.

For Illinois Humanities, we are developing story and social content for its Envisioning Justice initiative. Envisioning Justice explores the ways art and the humanities can be used to demonstrate the impact of mass incarceration on five Chicago neighborhoods and within two systems (Cook County Jail and the Cook County Juvenile Detention Center). 

We appreciate the trust these organizations have placed in us to handle their communications needs, and we look forward to sharing updates on this page. 

In Fall 2018, The Chicago Community Trust adopted new strategic priorities that seek to impact the long-standing and inexcusable racial inequities that exist in Chicago – inequities that have left communities of color disinvested and affected by shorter life-expectancy rates, higher crime rates, fewer jobs and other disparities.  Dr. Helene Gayle, president and CEO of the Trust, published this letter on the priorities in December. 

To support this new strategy, the Trust named Rudd Resources its public relations agency-of-record in October 2018.  We had been working with the Trust since Fall 2016 on several community-facing initiatives, including On the Table, a citywide initiative that connects thousands of people working together toward a thriving metropolis. We are thrilled to enter this new phase with the Trust, and we're excited about the work to come. 

The term “eTOD” means equitable transit-oriented development -- and eTOD has been the core of the work of Elevated Chicago since 2017, when it was formed to spark investments in communities of color in ways that could strategically, thoughtfully and responsibly address inequities facing residents. The questions are: Can the creation of new businesses, buildings and jobs near convenient public transit lines be done in ways that make a community more stable for its existing residents and less susceptible to gentrification that forces out residents? Can equitable development also increase residents’ access to affordable housing, positively impact public health, increase climate resiliency and inspire more arts and cultural activities? 

Elevated Chicago, as a collaborative of organizations, is working tenaciously to answer these questions. The Elevated Chicago Workplan was released in August 2018, and an eTOD symposium will be held in March 2019.

We are honored to be Elevated Chicago’s partner in this important work, and we are thrilled to help bring information to the public through news stories that cover this topic, such as this recent front-page Chicago Tribune story. Learn more about the City of Chicago’s expansion of TOD and adoption of an equitable TOD ordinance here.  

• Congratulations to Chicago United on its recent, successful 50th anniversary gala. Rudd Resources supported Chicago United's member communications initiatives in 2018. (Pictured above: David Rudd with Gloria Castillo, president and CEO of Chicago United)
• In December, consultant Sonya Moore Lewis traveled to Los Angeles with the Elevated Chicago team to attend a convening of SPARCC-funded cities; she enjoyed learning more deeply about equity and TOD.
• Our agency hosted the National Association of Black Journalists, Chicago Chapter, for a community meet-up in December; Phil Thompson, an NABJ-CC leader and a journalist with the Chicago Tribune, shared tips on accessing media and being media-ready with participants representing six nonprofit organizations.
• In October, Kimberley Rudd presented a communications and messaging session at the Partnership for Resilient Communities' Peer Learning conference. The event was attended by organizers and leaders working on environmental and community development programs in six cities.