RSF Social Finance

Earned Media & Positioning

Background

RSF came to us with a powerful story: more than 40 years of experience financing organizations building a more just and regenerative economy. That history gave them deep expertise, a network of borrowers whose stories carry the heartbeat of the organization, and a genuinely different point of view.

They wanted to strengthen their PR beyond impact-investing outlets and align everyone around the same brand messaging. The opportunity: translate that expertise into a PR strategy that reaches past the traditional impact-investing audience and connects RSF to the bigger, more mainstream conversations shaping finance, investing, business and the economy.

Goal

Build visibility for RSF as a credible voice on mission-driven finance and position it inside the national conversation on finance and investing, not just the impact-investing world, reaching new audiences including high-net-worth investors most likely to engage with and invest in RSF.

Strategy

We built a comprehensive, six-month multichannel communications plan designed to:

Map the audiences RSF already reaches, the audiences it wants to reach, and the people who could become part of that audience over time
Find openings for RSF to weigh in on conversations already capturing attention, from finance and investing to education, agriculture, housing and climate
Split coverage between trade and financial publications, which build credibility with the impact-investing world, and mainstream and regional outlets, which reach people who've never heard the term
Position RSF's leaders as the expert voice in stories about where investing and philanthropy are headed next

Our Approach

Audience & Message Strategy

Before pitching a single story, we mapped the audiences RSF already reaches, the ones it wants to reach, and the people who could become part of that audience over time. That research shaped every angle that followed, from donor-advised funds and private credit to the Great Wealth Transfer, ESG, regenerative agriculture, housing and the evolving purpose of capital.

Trade & Financial Media

We positioned RSF's leaders as the expert voice on where investing and philanthropy are headed next, landing coverage in outlets built for a financial and impact-investing readership:

Bloomberg TV
The Wall Street Journal
Sustainable Views
Private Wealth Management

Mainstream & Regional Media

To reach people who'd never open a finance trade publication, we pitched the human side of RSF's work instead of the technical one. That angle landed a Kansas City Star feature on regenerative ranching, aimed at a high-net-worth prospect far outside the impact-investing world.

Together, these placements gave RSF a foothold in both worlds: credibility with the financial press it needs to be taken seriously, and visibility with the mainstream audience it needs to grow.