DOCUMENTARY AND DISCUSSION GUIDE
February 2008
Pursuit of the Dream: Cars & Jobs in America, a new documentary DVD produced for the Annie E. Casey Foundation, illustrates the importance of affordable, reliable transportation for building the economic success of low-income families. The Hatcher Group managed the production of the DVD and discussion guide and is executing a national dissemination strategy.
Read the press release
View clips of the documentary
Read the discussion guide

NEW REPORT
January 2008
Hatcher Group Senior Associate Tom Waldron is the author of a report published recently by The Abell Foundation in Baltimore analyzing issues related to firearms trafficking in the city. The study relied on interviews with police and other enforcement officials, prosecutors, researchers and experts in gun-control issues.
Read the report

REPORT RELEASE
November 2007
The Hatcher Group recently managed the release of a major new report, “Unlocking America: Why and How to Reduce America’s Prison Population.” As part of its outreach, The Hatcher Group organized a major event at the National Press Club on November 19 attended by more than 120 policymakers, advocates, and journalists. The event was covered live by C-Span and by CNN, CBS, Reuters, the New York Times and National Public Radio, among many others.
Read the report
Read the press release
Read the media coverage

INITIATIVE LAUNCH
September 2007
The National Fund for Workforce Solutions, a $50 million effort to strengthen and expand effective workforce initiatives around the country, was launched on Sept. 6. The Hatcher Group organized the National Press Club event, which drew close to 150 people, and developed a number of key materials. The Fund is a partnership of the Annie E. Casey, Hitachi, Ford and the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundations, the U.S. Department of Labor and other key funders.
Read the press release

MEDIA OUTREACH
Summer 2007
Center for Summer Learning
The Hatcher Group provided extensive media relations support to the Center for Summer Learning at Johns Hopkins University. In addition to securing national media coverage, The Hatcher Group assisted with coverage in key cities: Baltimore, New York, Pittsburgh, Chicago, White Plains and Albuquerque.

The Center was featured in more than 40 stories around the country, including in The Washington Post, National Public Radio, the Tavis Smiley Show, the Baltimore Sun, Hispanic Radio Network reaching 200 stations, the Miami Herald, the Denver Post, Education Week, WCBS-TV in New York City, among many others.

The Hatcher Group also helped place op-eds on the importance of summer learning opportunities in the Baltimore Sun, the Albuquerque Journal and the Pittsburgh Post Gazette.

Read highlights of the media coverage
Listen to the NPR shows:
- July 9, 2007 show
- July 1, 2007 show
Read the op-eds
Read the press releases

DATA BOOK RELEASE AND BRIEFING
July 2007
On July 25, the 18th Annual KIDS COUNT Data Book was released on Capitol Hill at a major policy briefing organized by The Hatcher Group. This dynamic event drew more than 100 Congressional staff and organizations, with this year’s essay focusing on the 726,000 children in foster care in the U.S and the need for the country to make lifelong family connections for children and youth a national priority.
Read the KIDS COUNT Data Book

CONGRESSIONAL BRIEFING
June 2007
The Hatcher Group organized a standing room only policy briefing on Capitol Hill. Sponsored by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, First Focus and Voices for America’s Children, the briefing reviewed the gaps in state level data on child well-being, and explored the ways in which state by state data on child indicators can be used to improve children’s lives. Visit: www.childindicators.com.

REPORT RELEASE AND BRIEFING
June 2007
The Hatcher Group managed the national release of a new report on fuel economy and safety, including briefings for Congressional staff, Capitol Hill visits for the report authors, and a major policy event for media and advocacy groups. The study provides critical insights at a time when Congress is considering changes in the nation’s motor vehicle fuel economy requirements, known as Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards. The report findings will help to inform legislation now under consideration in the House and Senate.
Read the press release
Read the report overview

The Hatcher Group and FRAC also worked with Reps. Jim McGovern (D-MA), Jo Ann Emerson (R-MO), and other members to organize and promote the Congressional Food Stamp Challenge. Members of Congress lived on an average food stamp budget -- $3 day -- for one week. A Challenge Toolkit was created to encourage additional Challenge participants.

Read the Toolkit
Read the Congressional Food Stamp Challenge Blog
View a Sample of the Media Coverage
Read the Faces of Food Stamps Fair Brochure

REPORT RELEASE
April 2007
The Hatcher Group wrote and published a report for the Annie E. Casey Foundation on the Earned Income Tax Credit and lessons learned through the work of free tax assistance sites around the country.
Read the report

PRESS CONFERENCE
March 2007
The Hatcher Group is working with the Newton Marasco Foundation and Maryland State Senator Brian Frosh to promote the Centennial Celebration of Rachel Carson's birth.
Read more

Project My Time
The Hatcher Group is providing communications support for Project My Time, a major new after-school initiative of the DC Children and Youth Investment Trust, supported by an $8 million grant from The Wallace Foundation. In addition to managing the June announcement, The Hatcher Group has developed the project name, logo, messages, website, e-newsletter, flyers and posters to enroll middle school students in pilot sites.
View the website
View the posters
Read the press release
Read the media clips

CONGRESSIONAL FOOD STAMP AWARENESS CAMPAIGN
May 2007
As part of a broad-based effort to educate Members of Congress about the Food Stamp Program and hunger in America, The Hatcher Group is working with U.S. Reps. James McGovern (D-MA), Jo Ann Emerson (R-MO), and other Members to organize and promote their involvement in the “Food Stamp Challenge.” Members of Congress and staff are living on an average food stamp benefit of $3 a day for one week.
Read the Congressional Food Stamp Challenge Blog
Read Media Coverage

PRESS CONFERENCE
January 2007
The Hatcher Group has been working with Maryland Citizens Against State Executions to advance legislation that would repeal the death penalty in the state. Repeal legislation was unveiled at a widely attended press conference in Annapolis on Jan. 25, 2007.
Read the Press Release
Read the Repeal Legislation
Read the Media Coverage

CONGRESSIONAL BRIEFING
November 2006
The Hatcher Group organized and moderated a policy briefing on Capitol Hill to educate legislators about food stamp outreach opportunities. The briefing, sponsored by the Annie E. Casey Foundation and the House and Senate Hunger Caucuses, was attended by more than 75 Congressional staff who learned how Members of Congress can help enroll their eligible constituents in the food stamp program.

MEDIA CAMPAIGN
September/October 2006
The Hatcher Group worked with Ways to Work™, a Milwaukee nonprofit that makes affordable loans to low-income families, on a national media campaign to announce the findings of an evaluation of the organization. The campaign produced widespread coverage in more than 150 media outlets including stories on National Pubilc Radio, the Geraldo at Large show and Associated Press.

MEDIA CAMPAIGN
September/October 2006
The Hatcher Group worked with the Baltimore Homeownership Preservation Coalition on a press conference to announce a new foreclosure prevention hotline and a forum to raise awareness about the growing threat of home foreclosures in the Baltimore area.
Read the media coverage.

FILM SCREENING AND POLICY FORUM
September 2006
On September 19, 2006, “Waging a Living: Opportunities for Action” was screened in downtown Baltimore for more than 200 people. An engaging and thought-provoking panel discussion around the issues of low-income working families followed the film. The Hatcher Group joined together with the Job Opportunities Task Force, Maryland Public Television and the Annie E. Casey Foundation to make the event possible.
Baltimore Sun Article
Press Release
Order the DVD, Policy Brief, and Policy Guide

FOOD STAMP OUTREACH TOOLKIT
August 2006
Feeding America’s Families:
How Elected Officials Can Help Families in Need Receive Nutrition Assistance
Working with the Annie E. Casey Foundation and the Food Research and Action Center, The Hatcher Group created a dynamic toolkit to help elected officials spread the word about the Food Stamp Program. Food stamps help low-income working families put food on the table, help children perform better in school, and foster economic growth.
Download the Toolkit (PDF)

FILM SCREENING AND PANEL DISCUSSION
July 2006
The Hatcher Group helped the Newton Marasco Foundation plan a screening of Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth. Following the screening, Ed Hatcher facilitated a panel discussion with Congressman Chris Van Hollen, Maryland Senator Brian Frosh, and environmental experts from the EPA, National Resources Defense Council, and SRA International.

PROGRAM MANAGEMENT
July 2006
The Hatcher Group helps manage the Family Strengthening Awards program for the Annie E. Casey Foundation. In July, program managers from the 11 partner organizations, including Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Catholic Charities USA, YMCA of the USA, and others, came to Baltimore for a two-day meeting planned and facilitated by the Hatcher Group.
Read about the Family Strengthening Awards

MEDIA LAUNCH
June 2006
The Hatcher Group is working with the DC Children and Youth Investment Trust on a major new after-school initiative, supported by an $8 million grant from The Wallace Foundation. The project was launched with a press conference on June 27 with DC School Superintendent Clifford Janney and others.
Read
Press Release
Media Clips

MEDIA OUTREACH
June 2006
The Hatcher Group worked with the Open Society Institute-Baltimore to publicize the conference “Cities on the Right Track: Building Public Drug Treatment Systems.” Philanthropist George Soros and mayors and public health experts from across the nation met in Baltimore to discuss successful drug addiction treatment strategies.
Read the media coverage

MEDIA OUTREACH
May 2006
The Hatcher Group managed the media outreach for a racial reconciliation pilgrimage to Farmville, Va., organized by The Faith & Politics Institute. The event received widespread coverage by national and state media.
Read the media coverage
Read a summary of the pilgrimage

POLICY BRIEFING
March 2006
The Hatcher Group planned and managed a policy briefing sponsored by The Annie E. Casey Foundation for over 100 Capitol Hill staffers, government agency employees and policy organizations. The briefing premiered the documentary Avoiding the Money Trap and a panel discussion on predatory financial practices.
Read the invitation flyer
Read the press release
Read the discussion guide

POLICY BRIEFING
March 2006
The Hatcher Group assisted The Annie E. Casey Foundation and the Center for Responsible Lending in planning and managing a policy briefing on Capitol Hill about mortgage lending discrimination and U.S. Latinos. The briefing featured a panel of researchers, policy experts and congressional committee staff who discussed current research and legislation focused on Latino homeownership.
Read the invitation flyer
Read a description of the issue

March 2006
The Hatcher Group is promoting a documentary, Avoiding the Money Trap, that highlights financial problems that often ensnare rural working families. Designed to be used as a financial education tool, as well as raise awareness amongst policymakers, service providers and advocates, the documentary is part of the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s approach to helping rural working families connect to the mainstream economy. The DVD contains the full documentary in English and Spanish, a shorter version in English, and printed materials including a discussion guide, background papers, resources and an order form.
Read the press release
Read the discussion guide
Order the DVD

MEDIA OUTREACH
December 2005
The Hatcher Group helped the Metropolitan Atlanta Youth Opportunities Initiative publicize a new program that helps former foster youth purchase homes. The story was picked up by local Atlanta radio and television and an Associated Press story ran in over 50 newspapers and websites.
Read the Press Release
Read the AP Story

CAMPAIGN LAUNCH
November 2005
The Hatcher Group helped the Eckerd Family Foundation launch a new program called Connected by 25. Connected by 25 of Hillsborough County is a new program designed to help young people who "age out" of foster care at age 18 make successful transitions to adulthood.
View Press Release
View Media Coverage
View One-pager
View Presentation about the Connected by 25 campaign

POLICY BRIEF
October 2005
The Hatcher Group edited and disseminated a Carsey Institute Policy Brief: Rural America Depends on the Food Stamp Program to Make Ends Meet. The policy brief provides a demographic picture of rural food stamp recipients, including information on income, race, age and family size.
Read the press release
Read the policy brief

SPEECH
October 2005
As part of the 2005 KIDS COUNT brown bag series, Ed Hatcher gave a speech on non-partisan advocacy strategies.
Read the speech

RESOURCE GUIDE
October 2005
The Hatcher Group has created a dynamic resource guide to provide elected officials and free tax campaigns with the tools they need to work together and spread the word about the benefits of the Earned Income Tax Credit and free tax assistance.
Download the Guide

POLICY BRIEFS
September 2005
The Hatcher Group has written, designed and disseminated a series of one-page briefs on critical strategies to build Family Economic Success (FES).
The strategies include the EITC, homeownership, workforce development and more.
Read the one-page policy briefs

POLICY BRIEFING
August 2005
The Hatcher Group organized a widely attended policy briefing to call attention to CFED's 2005 Assets and Opportunity Scorecard, which examines the effectiveness of state policies in supporting the financial well-being of American families.
View the Scorecard

MEDIA OUTREACH
July 2005
The Hatcher Group publicized the PBS documentary "Aging Out" and University of Chicago's study on foster youth aging out of the system. The outreach effort resulted in major national and local media coverage.
Read Media Coverage

BRIEFING
June 2005
The Hatcher Group recently organized a dynamic briefing for The Children’s Sentinel Nutrition Assessment Program -- C-SNAP -- to educate advocates and Capitol Hill staff about the impact of low-income housing assistance on children’s nutrition.
Read Report Abstract
Read Press Release

ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION
June 2005
On June 1, 2005, The Hatcher Group organized a roundtable discussion on behalf of the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies to examine their new report, which found that public workforce programs often do an inadequate job of assisting minority workers to enter the workplace.
Read Report
Read Press Release

PRESS CONFERENCE
May 2005
George Soros announces challenge grant for Open Society Institute-Baltimore
The Hatcher Group organized a major press conference with Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley and philanthropist George Soros, who is pledging a $10 million challenge grant to continue OSI's work in the city.
Read Press Release
Read Media Coverage

NEW REPORT
April 2005
The Hatcher Group Releases EITC-Military Report, Presses Congress to Protect Funding
Together with The Bell Policy Center, The Hatcher Group released a report on the importance of the Earned Income Tax Credit to members of the U.S. military. The study found that more than 150,000 members of the armed forces are eligible for this important credit that provides tax relief for low to moderate-income people.
Read Report
Read Press Release
Read Fact Sheet

MEDIA LAUNCH
March 2005
The Hatcher Group Manages Release of Jobs-Plus Report.
A new report by the Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation is covered by The Wall Street Journal, the Associated Press, Reuters, The Los Angeles Times, The Minneapolis Star-Tribune, the St. Paul Pioneer Press and the Dayton Daily News.
Read the report

LEGISLATIVE ACTION
March 2005
The Hatcher Group, working with the Annie E. Casey Foundation, is pressing Congress to pass legislation that would provide state and federal policy makers with timely, accurate, and reliable data about the state of America's children. This data will allow programs to more effectively address the needs of our nation's kids. Visit the Child Indicators website for more information.

INTERACTIVE CD-ROM
February 2005
The Hatcher Group has produced a new video showing how members of Congress can get involved in free tax assistance programs in their districts.
View CD and Video

NEW BROCHURE
November 2004
New Brochure Helps Communities Initiate Workforce Initiatives
On behalf of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, The Hatcher Group has produced an innovative "brochure wheel" on what communities should consider in developing a successful workforce initiative.
View the brochure wheel

MEDIA LAUNCH
October 2004
The Hatcher Group Manages Release of Working Poor Families Report
A new report by the Working Poor Families Project is covered by The New York Times, the Associated Press, ABC Nightly News and hundreds of national and local media outlets.
Read Report
Read Press Release
Read Media Coverage

NEW REPORT
August 2004
The Hatcher Group Releases a New Report
The Hatcher Group has released a new report about opportunities to enact or increase state Earned Income Tax Credits in 2005.
Read the Report

MEDIA AND POLICY BRIEFING
July 2004
Wider Opportunities for Women Releases a New Report
The Hatcher Group organized a national media and policy telephone briefing to launch Wider Opportunities for Women's new report, "Coming Up Short: A Comparison of Wages and Work Supports in 10 American Communities."
Read the Report

PRESS CONFERENCE
May 2004
Capitol Hill Press Conference Launches New Caucus
The National Commission Against Drunk Driving hired the Hatcher Group to help facilitate the launch of a new bi-partisan Congressional “Stop DUI Caucus” at a Capitol Hill news conference on May 19th.

PRESS CONFERENCE
March 2004
MADD Releases New Child Endangerment Report
The Hatcher Group helped organize a news conference at the National Press Club to release a new Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) report calling for stiffer penalties for adults who drive drunk with kids in their car. The report was covered by the New York Times, CNN, Associated Press, CBS Early Show and more.

MEDIA AND POLICY BRIEFING
February 2004
New EITC Research Released at Major Policy Briefing
The Hatcher Group helped to organize this successful media
and policy briefing in Springfield, Illinois, for the release of a national research report.
Read the press release

CONGRESSIONAL BRIEFINGS
December 2003 - February 2004
Members of Congress Encouraged to Maximize Use of Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) in Their Districts
The Hatcher Group partnered with Congressman Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and the Center for Economic Progress to present two briefings to House staff on EITC outreach to their constituents. The Hatcher Group also partnered with Senator Daniel Akaka (D-HI) and Senator Peter Fitzgerald (R-IL) to present EITC information to Senate Staff.
Read the Briefing Book. (PDF)

BROCHURE
February 2004
National Tax Assistance for Working Families Campaign
The Hatcher Group wrote, edited and produced a new brochure detailing the results of the national campaign's first year (2002-2003). This brochure follows an earlier brochure, which visited three free tax preparation campaign sites.
Read the Feb '04 Brochure (PDF)
Read the Oct '03 Brochure (PDF)
Read more about the Campaigns (PDF)

REPORT
November 2003
Supporting Working Families When State Coffers Are Empty
A new Hatcher Group publication highlights the successful Illinois effort to support a state EITC.
Read the Report (PDF)

FEATURE STORY
October 2003
Website Story Highlights Texas Homebuilding Program
The Hatcher Group researched and wrote a website story about a nationally recognized homebuilding program in South Texas.
Read the Story

POWERPOINT PRESENTATION
October 2003
Communicating to Congress on Immigration and Immigrant Rights
The Hatcher Group counseled Ford Foundation grantees about effective ways to convey their messages in the post-September 11 climate.
View the Presentation (PDF)

BROCHURE
October 2003
Report Profiles Three Free Tax Assistance Campaigns
The Hatcher Group wrote, edited and produced a brochure profiling successful free tax assistance campaigns in Boston, Louisville and North Carolina.
Read more about the Campaigns.
Read the Brochure. (PDF)

CAMPAIGN OUTREACH MATERIALS
September 2003
National Campaign Materials Reach Out to Low-Income Working Families
The Hatcher Group developed a broad range of materials and resources for local use in the Annie E. Casey Foundation's National Tax Assistance for Working Families Campaign.
Learn more about the Campaign Materials. (PDF)

POLICY BRIEF
May 2003
Policy Paper Addresses Workforce Education
The Hatcher Group wrote, edited and disseminated a policy brief which presents findings from the Jobs Initiative and their implications for public policy.
Read the Policy Brief. (PDF)

MEDIA AND POLICY BRIEFING
May 2003
Mayors Respond to Administration's
Welfare and Working Family Proposals
The Hatcher Group organized media outreach for a Brookings Institution policy event that was covered by C-Span and national reporters.
See Press Release. (PDF)

REPORT
March 2003
Maryland STEP Program Report Highlights Training Workers and Filling Critical Jobs
The Hatcher Group wrote, edited, designed and disseminated this report for the Maryland Governor's Workforce Investment Board.
Contact The Hatcher Group for a copy of the report