Capitol Communicator: Adam Shapiro, who leads Adam Shapiro Public Relations in D.C., attended a White House Pride Month Celebration in the East Room on June 15. As an equality advocate and professional communicator, he shared his perspective about how the Biden administration put together the event:
1. Build an early vision
First Lady Jill Biden said that she and Second Gentlemen Doug Emhoff decided in October 2020 that if their spouses were elected, they would want to hold a Pride celebration at the White House. In other words, they had a vision even before they had the keys to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. With any kind of complex event, early strategic thinking and buy-in are needed.
2. Gather the allies
COVID is hitting its two-and-a-half anniversary and, more than ever, people are hungry for in-person events that allow for face-to-face conversations. The Biden team instinctively knew how to tap into this interest by inviting national LGBT leaders, LGBT advocates it has known through the years from Delaware and other locations, and additional friends and supporters.
3. Create opportunities for surprises
Any invitation to the White House is an honor for even the most hardened PR professional, but the Biden team added to the excitement by not explaining all its plans at once. It was only on the day of the event that the administration publicly stated that the president would sign an executive order that would take a number of actions designed to ensure equality for LGBTQ Americans. The attendees then realized they were going to more than just a reception — they were going to witness history.
4. Tap into tested messages
Before President Biden signed the executive order, he gave brief remarks. He explained that the executive order was needed because “We’re in a battle for the very soul of this nation.” This message about the soul of the nation is one Biden successfully used in his primary campaign and then the general election. He effectively used his remarks to connect his actions with his long-time message and linked LGBT rights to American values.
5. Real person
The other star of the event was Javier Gomez, an 18-year-old Floridian who helped to organize the statewide student walkouts over the “Don’t Say Gay” bill that bans teachers from discussing LGBTQI+ people and families. The White House understood a real person would be able to bring these issues to life, even if that meant all the elected officials in the room didn’t get a chance at the mic.
Shapiro says these five points all led to an important occasion that received favorable media attention and, for Shapiro, his chance to witness history.
ASPR’s powerful strategic approach focused on helping reporters uncover the story of a new Alzheimer’s diagnostic tool resulted in a front page story with a photo in USA Today as well as coverage in PARADE magazine; both stories also appeared online.
Philanthropist Bert Berkley wishes to share the following endowment agreement so others inclined to arrange one can benefit from this knowledge and resource.
ENDOWMENT AGREEMENT
Mr. E. Bertram Berkley (“Berkley”) and the Joan and Bert Berkley Blue Heron Foundation (“Blue Heron” and together, with Berkley, the “Donors”) have previously made gifts to the University of Missouri – Kansas City (the “University”) for the purpose of funding a gift to support the University’s Teach Live virtual reality program at the School of Education (“Prior Gift”), which purpose of the Prior Gift is no longer viable. Donors and the University now desire to transfer the remainder and residue of the Prior Gift, and interest thereon, in the approximate amount of $XXXXX, and to transfer the remainder and residue of a separate approximate $XXXX gift, and interest thereon, to the UMKC Foundation (“UMKC Foundation Gift”), together with an additional pledge of gift by Berkley, in the amount of $XXXXX, for a total sum of at least $XXXXX, to the University for the purpose of establishing a permanently endowed Fund (the “Fund”) at the University. This Fund will provide awards to individuals and/or institutions in the field of childhood literacy at the School of Education’s annual Urban Education Forum, or any similar (community oriented) event (“Event”), within the School of Education at the University (the “Primary Purpose”), and for scholarship awards to students of the School of Education (“Secondary Purpose” and together with the Primary Purpose, the “Purpose”).
It is, therefore, agreed that the Fund be established on the records of the University, to reflect the terms of this Endowment Agreement (the “Endowment Agreement”), and to be held and administered under the following terms and conditions:
I. ENDOWMENT PRINCIPAL
A. The name of the Fund shall be the Bert Berkley Award for Excellence in Early Childhood Literacy.
B. The principal sum tendered herewith, and any other funds hereinafter contributed from any source, shall be added to the Corpus Account of the Fund (the “Corpus Account”). However, a donor may request that a particular gift be added to the Distribution Account of the Fund (the “Distribution Account”) in order to provide increased or additional awards.
C. Investment of the Fund’s assets shall be in accordance with the policy of the University in effect from time to time. The distributions from the Corpus Account shall be reinvested into the Corpus Account, until the Corpus Account reaches $XXXXX, the current endowment minimum.
i. The remainder of the Prior Gift, together with interest thereon previously contributed to the School of Education by Donors in the amount of $XXXXX will be transferred to the Corpus Account.
ii. Berkley shall request the UMKC Foundation to transfer approximately $XXXX previously contributed to the UMKC Foundation on December 31, 2019 for the benefit of the School of Education, together with interest thereon, to the Corpus Account.
iii. No later than December 31, 2022, Berkley shall fund the difference between the sum of amounts transferred under Sections I.C.(i) and (ii), above, and $XXXXX by a contribution to the University.
D. In the event that the Donor has not completed payment of the entire amount pledged within five years’ time after the date of this Endowment Agreement, the University may use the amount contributed in any manner and for any purpose that the University in its sole discretion, may deem appropriate, keeping in mind, the original Purpose of the Fund.
II. ENDOWMENT DISTRIBUTION
A. Distributions from the Fund shall be made at such times and in such amounts as are in accordance with the policy of the University in effect from time to time and credited to the Distribution Account under the following terms and conditions:
i. Funds in the Distribution Account shall be used to provide (i) first, for the cost of the call for nominations and selection process contemplated in Section II.B, (ii) second, for the cost of attendance and related expenses (including trophy or plaque and the recipient’s travel, if any), for recipients of non-monetary annual awards for excellence in the field of childhood literacy to a professional or institution in the field of education from the greater Kansas City region (“Professional Awards”), at the Event, and (iii) third, at the discretion of the Dean of the UMKC School of Education, and subject to availability of funds, for scholarship awards to students studying early childhood education (“Scholarship Awards”), which scholarship awardees shall be invited to the next successive Events.
B. Selection of recipients, expenditures, amounts, and administrative details shall be made by a committee of UMKC School of Education personnel, including the Dean if she or he chooses to be involved, selected by the Dean and authorized to act on behalf of the Dean (“Dean’s Committee”). For the Professional Awards, only, the Dean’s Committee shall, prior to making the award, collaborate with the President of the Family Committee, hereafter defined.
i. The Dean’s Committee will have a minimum of three members, a majority of whom will have experience with and/or knowledge of early childhood literacy.
ii. The call for nominations for this award will be made on a widespread basis which targets all educational institutions and professional educators in the Greater Kansas City region using the prevailing and most effective communication method then in use by the School of Education at the time.
iii. The initial president of the Bert Berkley Family Committee, a perpetual committee to be organized and maintained by Berkley (“Family Committee”) shall be Bert Berkley, at the following address: XXX, XXX, XXXX, XX. The then-current president of the Family Committee shall be responsible for providing, annually after the date hereof, the name, addresses, and telephone contact information of the current president of the Family Committee to the Dean at the following address: Dean, School of Education, Room 347 615 E. 52d Street, Kansas City, Missouri 64110. In the event that such contact information is not provided, or, in the event that no response is received from the last known president of the Family Committee on file with the Dean within ten (10) business days of inquiry from the Dean’s Committee with respect to any Professional Award, the Dean’s Committee may proceed with making Professional Awards without input from the Family Committee.
C. At the conclusion of the fiscal year, any funds remaining in the Distribution Account shall be returned to the Corpus Account on an annual basis.
III. FEES
A. Future contributions to the Fund shall be subject to the University gift assessment policies in effect at the time.
B. In accordance with the policies of the University in effect from time to time, and as permitted by Missouri law, the University may distribute a percentage of the fair market value of the Fund’s assets each year to support internal endowment administration and campus development functions. The annual fee may be changed from time to time as established in the policy of the University.
IV. GENERAL
A. Realizing that the human mind cannot predict the circumstances of the future, the University is hereby authorized to change the terms and conditions for the handling of this Fund, if in its judgment, it becomes advisable to do so, keeping in mind the original Purpose of the Fund.
B. The University shall provide the Bert Berkley Family Committee an annual report on the status of this Fund, and an invitation to the Event with opportunity to assist in presenting the award, in perpetuity, so long as the Bert Berkley Family Committee identifies itself in writing to the University and maintains its current address on file with the University.
C. Announcement of this Fund and pertinent details shall be made in the usual University publications provided for this purpose.
D. This Endowment Agreement shall be manually signed by the Donors, but may be electronically signed by the Curators of the University of Missouri, and may be delivered by facsimile or other electronic transmission in multiple counterparts, each of which shall constitute an original, and all of which shall constitute one and the same instrument.
E. Each party has had opportunity to consult their own legal and tax advisors regarding this Endowment Agreement, and neither party has relied upon the other party except as expressly set forth in this Endowment Agreement.
F. This Endowment Agreement shall be governed by the internal laws of the State of Missouri without regard to conflict of law principles.
G. This Endowment Agreement constitutes the entire agreement between the Parties with respect to the subject matter hereof.
H. In the event that any provision of this Endowment Agreement or portion thereof is determined to be invalid, unlawful, void, or unenforceable, such portion shall be deemed to be amended and removed, with all remaining portions of the Endowment Agreement to remain in force and unaffected thereby.
I. Except as provided herein, or as otherwise provided for by law, this Endowment Agreement may not be amended or assigned without written agreement of the University and Donors.
ASPR is proud to have helped uncover the following story: A wife shared with KSDK-TV (NBC) in St. Louis why her husband decided to take the PrecivityAD™ blood test after his doctor recommended it. He’s dealing with memory loss and other cognitive issues; they feared he had Alzheimer’s disease. Ultimately, his doctor diagnosed him with a cognitive issue other than Alzheimer’s disease. Now they have the answers they need to better plan for his care. Watch the story about their experience: https://lnkd.in/dVS32HhT
Higher education has been dealing with many COVID-related hurdles, including an enrollment drop. Operation ReEngage organized an event for the National Digital Roundtable about successful strategies for reaching adults who’ve earned some college credits but never graduated. Adam Shapiro was proud to serve as the program moderator.
