Legacy Planning at Financial Empowerment Centers

COMMUNICATION CAMPAIGN CONSULTANT REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

RED SQUARED is an award-winning, Black-owned, full-service production and communications firm specializing in storytelling, cultural engagement, and community-driven messaging. We excel in translating complex ideas into compelling narratives that connect communities with critical resources. Through documentary filmmaking, strategic communications, digital storytelling, and multimedia campaigns, we make topics like estate planning and finances more accessible and relatable, ensuring that historically underserved communities can engage with these essential conversations in meaningful ways.

MEET THE TEAM

  • Roderick Red

    PROJECT CO-LEAD

    CEO at RED SQUARED and our strategic lead with expertise in multimedia storytelling and outreach campaigns for nonprofits and municipalities.

  • Jessica Simien Lofton

    PROJECT CO-LEAD

    Chief Communications Officer at RED SQUARED and our strategist with deep experience in public engagement and messaging for underserved communities.

  • Okyeame Haley Esq., LLM

    LEGAL

    Managing Attorney and Estate Planning expert specializing in Trusts and Legacy Planning, with over 20 years of experience in legal research, financial law, and wealth preservation.

WHY CHOOSE US

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WHY CHOOSE US ✱

Why This Team?

We offer a unique, fully integrated approach combining expert legal insights with high-impact storytelling and innovative video production. Our ability to craft culturally competent narratives through video, documentaries, and educational toolkits makes us uniquely positioned to create scalable, engaging, and impactful solutions for legacy planning messaging.

Relevant Experience

  • We have developed multimedia campaigns amplifying social equity narratives.

  • We have led storytelling initiatives focused on community empowerment adjacent to topics like Black wealth-building.

  • We have expertise in executing research-informed campaigns designed to shift behavior and increase service engagement.

  • We have provided legal and financial guidance on estate planning, trusts, and wealth transfer strategies.

  • We have supported national campaigns addressing financial literacy and asset-building for underserved communities.

  • We have led the successful COVID-19 "I Got It" campaign, a culturally relevant outreach initiative that engaged Black communities through compelling video storytelling and grassroots messaging that resulted in our work being recognized by the Biden Administration's White House Task Force for effectively increasing COVID-19 vaccination rates among Black communities and it contributed to Mississippi achieving a 49% COVID-19 vaccination rate among Black residents, surpassing the national average of 37%.

We propose a comprehensive four-phase approach to develop a research-backed strategic messaging framework for the CFE Fund’s legacy planning initiative, incorporating an anti-racist narrative strategy to counter harmful financial myths and uplift community-driven solutions. Our methodology uniquely integrates video production, documentary filmmaking, and educational toolkits as core vehicles for engagement and training. Additionally, we will leverage Okyeame Haley’s expertise as a Black estate planning attorney to deepen our research on legacy-building in Black communities, ensuring messaging is both legally sound and culturally relevant.

Our approach builds on insights from the CFE Fund’s multi-city legacy planning pilot, which demonstrated both the urgent need for legacy planning among Black families and the effectiveness of trusted messengers in increasing engagement. As the CFE Fund’s research shows, Black families often view wealth transfer as a lifelong process rather than a posthumous event. Our video storytelling and educational toolkit will frame legacy planning as a proactive, family-centered approach rather than a legal burden, ensuring messaging resonates with our audience.

2. Approach, Methodology & Deliverables

Phase 1:

Discovery & Legal Foundations (Months 1-2)

  • Engage in stakeholder interviews with CFE Fund staff, FEC partners, and existing clients to identify current messaging barriers.

  • Conduct legal research on estate planning communication guidelines to ensure compliance with advertising laws.

  • Analyze cultural considerations around messaging estate planning services to Black and underserved communities, applying anti-racist narrative research to deconstruct dominant narratives that discourage estate planning in these communities. Our approach aligns with the principles outlined in the Community Development Narrative Strategy Toolkit, which provides a framework for reshaping public understanding and engagement around historically marginalized communities. This strategy ensures that estate planning is framed as a tool for generational wealth-building, countering financial stereotypes and increasing accessibility to these vital services. For further reference, we can provide insights from this toolkit upon request.

✱ Deliverable: Summary Report of initial findings, including messaging barriers, legal insights, and audience segmentation.

Phase 2:

Communications Research & Message Testing (Months 2-4)

  • Organize focus groups, surveys, and interviews across select partner cities to test messaging approaches.

  • Evaluate effective narratives that resonate with Black communities and those unfamiliar with FEC services, ensuring these messages align with equity-centered storytelling principles.

  • Assess trusted messengers and communication channels for maximum impact, amplifying community-led narratives that have historically been concealed or underrepresented.

  • Produce short-form documentary content to test narrative effectiveness and audience engagement.

✱ Deliverables: Research findings and message validation report, plus prototype video materials for messaging refinement.

Phase 3:

Strategic Messaging Framework & Educational Tools (Months 4-6)

  • Develop a messaging framework that includes:

    • Core message themes and recommended language.

    • Audience segmentation and readiness-based messaging (stages of change model).

    • Channels and formats (traditional, digital, and grassroots).

  • Leverage RED SQUARED’s video production and documentary storytelling to create compelling narratives around legacy planning, with Okyeame Haley participating as a legal expert and cultural storyteller to ensure alignment with estate planning best practices. By providing accessible, legally sound storytelling and training materials, this initiative helps FECs equip clients with the knowledge and confidence to take tangible financial stability actions, such as estate planning, wealth transfer, and long-term financial decision-making.

  • Expand the training toolkit into a modular learning system, incorporating interactive workshops, digital content series, and multimedia storytelling components for deeper engagement.

✱ Deliverables: Comprehensive messaging framework, documentary-based campaign assets, and modular training tool-kits.

Phase 4:

Policy, Training & Quality Assurance (Months 6-9)

  • Work with FEC partners to create training modules for counselors on effective legacy planning messaging.

  • Develop a policy guide on compliance with financial and estate planning communication regulations.

  • Establish a quality assurance plan that includes ongoing assessment, research review, and best practices for engaging target communities through an equity-centered narrative approach. By integrating community insights and legal expertise, we aim to increase estate planning engagement among underserved populations while equipping financial counselors with the tools to guide clients through the process.

✱ Deliverables: Training toolkit, policy compliance guide, and final narrative video content pieces.

Potential Challenges & Solutions

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Potential Challenges & Solutions *

  • Solution: Leverage cultural storytelling through RED SQUARED’s video production and documentary services, integrating Okyeame Haley’s expertise as a Black estate planning attorney to provide legally informed yet accessible messaging that resonates with Black families and communities.

  • Solution: Highlight legacy planning through community-led financial empowerment stories, utilizing a participatory storytelling model that prioritizes voices from within the affected communities.

  • Solution: Okyeame Haley’s legal expertise ensures all messaging remains legally sound while simplifying legal concepts into relatable, story-driven educational materials.

  • Solution: Educational toolkits and video modules ensure the messaging framework can be applied across multiple FECs beyond the project timeline. The CFE Fund pilot found that breaking legacy planning into simple, achievable steps increased participation. Our educational toolkit will reflect this approach, using engaging video content and modular learning to help clients take action at their own pace.

  • Solution: RED SQUARED will implement a milestone-based project management approach using Asana for task tracking, biweekly check-ins, and phased deliverables to keep all components on schedule. Clear roles and accountability structures will ensure that messaging research, content creation, and implementation stay aligned with the proposed timeline.

  • Solution: We will maintain cross-discipline integration through structured collaboration, ensuring that legal insights inform messaging while storytelling remains engaging. Regular alignment meetings will be conducted between RED SQUARED, Okyeame Haley, and FEC partners to ensure consistency, gather feedback, and refine messaging based on real-time insights. These meetings will ensure that the messaging framework remains relevant and effectively supports FEC counselors in engaging their clients.

  • Solution: If initial message testing reveals low engagement, we will adjust storytelling approaches in real time, using qualitative feedback loops from focus groups and surveys. This iterative process ensures we develop messaging that resonates deeply with target audiences.

Internal Quality Assurance Plan

To ensure a seamless collaboration and uphold the quality of work, RED SQUARED will implement the following quality assurance measures for contracted legal expert Okyeame Haley:

    • Okyeame will provide estate planning legal research, narrative validation, and compliance oversight for all messaging strategies.

    • He will also co-lead qualitative research efforts, ensuring legal and cultural accuracy in the messaging framework.

    • A formal agreement will outline deliverables, timelines, and review expectations.

    • Okyeame will attend biweekly strategy meetings with RED SQUARED’s core team to align legal insights with communications and storytelling work.

    • All legal research will be cross-reviewed by the RED SQUARED team to ensure accessibility and alignment with narrative goals.

    • Any legal messaging or content related to trusts, estate planning, or financial security will go through a three-step review:

      • Initial drafting (collaborative between RED SQUARED and Okyeame)

      • Internal RED SQUARED review for clarity and storytelling alignment

      • Final legal verification by Okyeame before public release

    • Since this campaign prioritizes historically underserved communities, Okyeame’s contributions will be guided by an anti-racist narrative framework, ensuring that:

      • All messaging is legally sound yet accessible to everyday audiences.

      • The language used does not reinforce financial stereotypes but instead empowers communities to build generational wealth.

      • RED SQUARED maintains control over storytelling direction, while Okyeame ensures legal integrity.

    • Okyeame’s role will be evaluated based on:

      • Accuracy & compliance (messaging adheres to legal standards)

      • Clarity & accessibility (legal concepts are digestible for a general audience)

      • Engagement & effectiveness (how well legal messaging resonates in focus groups)

    • Feedback from FEC counselors, RED SQUARED’s team, and message testing participants will be used to refine legal messaging in real time.

BUDGET

We propose a budget of $210,000 to cover research, strategy development, and message testing, ensuring alignment with CFE Fund’s objectives while remaining cost-efficient.

Thank you for reading and considering our proposal.

RED SQUARED offers a one-of-a-kind combination of strategic storytelling, video production, educational toolkit development, and estate planning legal expertise to build a scalable, culturally competent, and legally sound legacy planning campaign. We are eager to collaborate and contribute to the successful expansion of FECs’ legacy planning initiatives.

We appreciate your consideration and look forward to the opportunity to contribute to this impactful initiative.

Roderick Red
CEO, RED SQUARED
roderick@redsquared.co | 601-953-6124 | www.redsquared.co