Here to Listen,

Here to Help
Case Study
Catalina Mac Laughlin, Tessa Diserafino,
Connor Silva

Information available in audio.

 Overview
In the past two years, America has begun to face a long overdue
reckoning for the systemic racism that has created measurable socio-
economic disparities between white communities and communities of
color. The Papitto Opportunity Connection was established to change
that narrative and empower Black, Indigenous and People of Color in
education, skills-training and entrepreneurship in Rhode Island.

The Problem
In 2007, Ralph Papitto, while chairman of the board of trustees at Roger
Williams University in Bristol, RI, used an offensive word in a meeting.
Due to this mistake the organization was unsure if Rhode Island’s BIPOC
communities would accept money from the foundation, especially
because it is associated with the Papitto name. For this reason the Perry
Group created a comprehensive community relations campaign to
overcome significant trust hurdles and encourage BIPOC nonprofits to
apply for grants.
Campaign Goals and Objectives
Overall goal was to introduce POC and
its 11-member all BIPOC board of
advisors; communicate its mission to
Rhode Island’s communities of color;
and begin to earn their trust and
encourage them to seek funding.
GOAL 2
Encourage non-profits serving BIPOC communities to
apply for funding
Objective 2
Fund 10 organizations for $2 million in 2021.
GOAL 1
Raise awareness of POC among people of color,
BIPOC influencers and non-profit leaders
Objective 1
Engage 25 BIPOC influencers and non-profit leaders, and
at least 125 BIPOC individuals over six months.
GOAL 3
Create excitement surrounding POC’s Transform RI
Scholarship (TRIS) and encourage BIPOC high school
students to apply.
Objective 3
At least 75 students of color to apply for the TRIS
scholarship.
Campaign Strategies

Use owned and earned media to create

awareness, familiarity, and favorability of
POC.

Leverage iconic cultural event to introduce

POC to public.

Develop sub-campaign to create awareness of

TRIS and encourage high school students of
color to apply.
Implementation

Board of advisors is made up entirely of POC

Demonstrated impact through methods of storytelling
instead of financial investment
Focus groups, one-on-one interviews, meeting with youth
in the community before engaging with earned media
Earned media launch included podcast, Spanish-speaking
media
WaterFire sponsor
All photos from Stories and Insights and Impacts pages of https://pocfoundation.com/
Results

34 (+26%) BIPOC influencers and non-profit leaders

along with 156 (+20%) BIPOC individuals were directly
engaged
50 nonprofits requested and received $50 million in
multi-year commitments for funding
A total of 97 BIPOC high school students applied for
the TRIS scholarship exceeding the goal by 23%
All goals were met and exceeded
Evaluating Here to Listen, Here to Help
Generating earned media with “WLNE-TV, WJAR-TV, WPRI-TV, Boston Globe, Providence
Journal, Providence Business News, Rhode Island Monthly, Providence Monthly, Brown
Daily Herald, Newport Daily News, Cranston Herald, Rhode Island Patch, RI News Today”

Went to the heart of their community by putting together a robust and detailed event at
WaterFire in Providence, RI. This allowed them to access the individuals that they are trying
to reach and change their mindset about POC.

Built trust within their community with their focus on students through the Transform RI
Scholarship (TRIS). Showed that they were able to build trust over time.
Recommendations
Adding some longer term goals and objectives in the hopes to continually build trust
between the community and the organization.

Continue with the focus on students and younger generation and encourage
feedback from them. Consistency even after this campaign is over will prevent
performance activism.

Monitor the relationship and trust between POC and the Rhode Island
community. Consider reevaluating leadership if it shows that is where the lack
of trust holds.
Discussion Questions

1. How do you feel about the activism that was involved

in the creation and implementation of this campaign?
2. What are some important steps to take when building
a campaign where the target publics have been
harmed by your organization?
3. Would it have been better for POC to rebrand without
the name "Papitto?"
Sources
About Us. Papitto Opportunity Connection. (n.d.). Retrieved February 26, 2023, from https://pocfoundation.com/about-us/
Blankenship, T. (2022, May 9). Exploring WaterFire. WaterFire Providence. Retrieved February 26, 2023, from https://waterfire.org/plan-
your-visit/exploring-waterfire/
Corwin, T. (2021, August 2). A conversation. Papitto Opportunity Connection. Retrieved February 27, 2023, from
https://pocfoundation.com/videos/a-conversation/
Founders. Papitto Opportunity Connection. (n.d.). Retrieved February 26, 2023, from https://pocfoundation.com/founders/
Google. (n.d.). Google search. Retrieved February 27, 2023, from https://www.google.com/search?
q=papitto%2Bopportunity%2Bconnection&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjLj7j5_rT9AhUBj4kEHdApDZoQ_AUoAnoECAEQ
BA&biw=1005&bih=738&dpr=2#imgrc=aeRVu6nhEZWFKM:~:text=Twitter-,Papitto%20Opportunity%20Connection%20RI%20(%40POCF
oundationRI)%20/%20Twitter,-Visit
How we work. Papitto Opportunity Connection. (n.d.). Retrieved February 26, 2023, from https://pocfoundation.com/how-we-work/
Papitto Opportunity Connection with The Perry Group, New Flavor Media, Figmints, and Ian Travis Barnard. Silver Anvil Awards: Here to
Listen, Here to Help. (2022). Public Relations Society of America, Inc.
Scholarships. Papitto Opportunity Connection. (n.d.). Retrieved February 26, 2023, from https://pocfoundation.com/how-we-
work/scholarships/
Stories. Papitto Opportunity Connection. (n.d.). Retrieved February 26, 2023, from https://pocfoundation.com/about-us/stories/