AI Buildathon for Marketers Challenge Brief
June 2, 2026 | New York City
ORGANIZATION INFORMATION
United Way of New York City is focused on improving the lives of low-income and working New Yorkers by investing in nonprofit partners, building community capacity, advocating for policy change, and addressing issues tied to economic mobility and affordability through it’s pillars of community impact - food and benefits access, health equity, justice & opportunity, and education equity. A new framework within their population focus is ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) — individuals and families who are working but still struggling to make ends meet.
The organization currently uses a mix of email marketing, content marketing (impact stories), web development, events, press, donor outreach, social media, and corporate partnerships to drive awareness and fundraising. Much of the current marketing execution is focused on producing campaigns and donor communications with a lean team structure. The team consists of approximately six people, including both full-time staff and interim/temporary support. External agencies and partners are also used for creative, pr/public affairs and marketing support.
Brand + Voice guidelines:
Other helpful content:
Meet Alice (data sources, calculators and tools)
Important data points:
56 percent of New Yorkers lack the means to afford the rising costs of living in their community. (UWNYC Annual Report 2025)
https://unitedwaynyc.org/impact/ (scroll to bottom to see UWNYC’s impact by the numbers)
TARGET AUDIENCE
Primary Audience:
Emerging and next-generation donors, including younger affluent professionals, startup employees, tech workers, finance professionals, media professionals, and socially conscious high earners who may become long-term supporters of United Way of NYC.
Digital natives, GenZ, GenAlpha
Geo: New York City Metro Area
Key Audience Insight:
Many younger New Yorkers personally relate to the affordability crisis and financial pressure, even when outward appearances suggest otherwise. Social media and modern work culture often mask the reality that many working professionals are living paycheck to paycheck despite being employed.
UWNYC is looking to modernize how it connects with younger audiences by building an emotionally relatable, culturally relevant, and authentic narrative around ALICE that breaks from traditional nonprofit messaging around poverty.
OVERVIEW OF THE CHALLENGE
United Way of New York City is an 88-year-old institution serving as a capacity-building intermediary for community-based organizations (CBOs) across New York City. Rather than providing direct services alone, UWNYC works across four pillars of community impact (food and benefits access, health equity, justice & opportunity, and education equity) to strengthen nonprofit ecosystems, advocate for systemic change, and support New Yorkers facing economic hardship.
The challenge: In a city of millions, how can United Way of NYC regain and sustain relevance, and ultimately revenue, with a new generation of donors?
Teams are tasked with helping UWNYC develop a modern, culturally relevant positioning and content strategy centered around ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) as the organization’s “north star” organizational framework within the broader affordability crisis. Solutions should explore how UWNYC can uniquely and credibly “own” this conversation and tell their story through various types of content in a way that resonates emotionally with younger and emerging affluent audiences while also increasing discoverability within AI-driven search and LLMs.
HISTORY AND PRIOR ATTEMPTS
United Way of NYC has historically relied on workplace giving and long-standing corporate donor relationships to sustain fundraising efforts. While these channels still exist, shifts in donor behavior, direct giving platforms, and changing workplace culture have reduced the effectiveness of traditional intermediary fundraising models.
The organization recognizes that many existing donors are aging, while younger audiences are discovering causes differently — through social content, creator-driven storytelling, peer influence, and increasingly through AI-powered search and LLMs.
Internally, the marketing team is lean and highly execution-focused, with much of the work centered around donor communications, events, and campaign production. Leadership is looking for fresh strategic thinking around positioning, audience engagement, storytelling, and discoverability that can help modernize the organization’s approach without requiring a full organizational rebrand.
AVAILABLE MARKETING CHANNELS
Current channels include:
Email marketing
Social media
LinkedIn
Instagram
Facebook
YouTube
Events and gala fundraising
Corporate partnerships
Website/content marketing
UWNYC is also interested in exploring:
More robust content marketing
AI/LLM discoverability and Answer Engine Optimization (AEO)
New digital engagement strategies for younger audiences
Positioning and storytelling that can translate across channels and platforms
Thought leadership events and media that promote our voice as a clear elevated (citywide/national) narrative (long or short form video, live discussion/panels)
PARAMETERS & CONSTRAINTS
Solutions should be realistic for a lean nonprofit marketing team to execute
Teams should focus on concepts, messaging, positioning, audience strategy, and campaign direction rather than fully built campaigns
Solutions should align with the organization’s mission and existing brand voice
Budget and internal resources are limited - leverage pro bono or barter/partnership ideas that enable broad or targeted distribution for free/low cost
Recommendations should prioritize channels and tactics that can realistically be implemented without major technology investments
Teams should avoid proposing overly broad rebrands or multi-year transformation plans
Ideas should be executable in phases and adaptable across existing marketing channels
DEFINITION OF SUCCESS
Make United Way of NYC feel more relevant and emotionally resonant to younger donors
Create a clearer connection between the affordability crisis/ALICE population and UWNYC’s role in addressing it
Deliver messaging or positioning that feels differentiated and “ownable”
Generate campaign concepts that could increase donor engagement and long-term donor pipeline growth - we gain a list of potential donors/funders and partners we can cultivate
Introduce approaches to how the organization shows up digitally, including within AI-driven search and discovery environments
UWNYC has garnered coverage from top tier outlets and or influencers - that positions our voice nationally
UWNYC receives more speaking engagements from well known events in national or city circles, and philanthropy
SOLUTION OUTPUT
Teams should aim to build solutions that include these 5 parts:
A positioning and messaging framework that explains:
Why UWNYC matters today
What makes its role unique and ownable
Why younger donors should care
How to make ALICE and the affordability crisis more relatable
A content strategy that outlines:
What stories, topics, and emotional narratives UWNYC should own online
What types of content should be created to engage younger audiences
Which formats best fit modern consumption habits (short-form video, creator-style storytelling, explainers, interactive content, thought leadership, AI-search-friendly educational content, etc.)
Content for AI discoverability / AEO using AirOps:
Produce 5 pieces of content using AirOps that help United Way improve online discoverability, communicate their mission and position UWNYC as a trusted authority around ALICE, affordability, and working New Yorkers
Suggest 5 pages on the UWNYC website for a content refresh & optimization and explain why you chose those pages.
An Interactive Prototype using Base44
As part of your solution, bring at least one idea to life as a working prototype. Your prototype should be an interactive tool or experience that brings your content strategy or positioning to life. Good candidates include:
An interactive quiz or calculator that makes your audience think or feel something
A content generator or idea tool that UWNYC's team could actually use
A data visualization or story experience that makes ALICE feel real and relatable
A messaging or campaign concept mockup that users can click through
An interactive way to house the content produced as part of your strategy
If you're not sure what to build, ask yourself: what's the one thing in our strategy that would land better if someone could interact with it rather than just read about it?
A video presentation of your proposed strategy and rationale using PlayPlay
A 2-3 minute video presentation explaining your solution to the audience and judges.
JUDGING CRITERIA
Teams will be judged by both the panel of judges and the audience. Each of the following criteria wil be rated on a scale of 1-10. The team with the highest score in the two categories will win:
Judges Vote
Audience Vote
Strategic Clarity — Does the solution clearly articulate why UWNYC matters to a younger audience and how ALICE serves as a compelling north star for the organization's messaging and positioning?
Emotional Resonance — Does the concept make ALICE feel real, relatable, and culturally relevant to younger New Yorkers in a way that feels authentic rather than traditional nonprofit messaging?
Feasibility — Is the solution realistic for a lean nonprofit team to execute? Are the recommended channels, tactics, and content formats practical given UWNYC's existing resources?
Creativity — Does the overall solution bring the UWNYC story to life in a way that is compelling, interactive, and stronger than what is currently being used?
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