NAACP #KeepAdvancing Campaign Calls On Past Donors To Renew Support In Racial Justice Fight

The NAACP's newest #KeepAdvancing ad campaign is unlike any other and the organization is calling on allies to uphold or renew their support.

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) has embarked on its transformative and largest ad campaign to date, #KeepAdvancing. The civil rights organization is calling on new and former donors to support it as it continues to tackle racial injustices.

The NAACP launched the campaign in October to attract audiences of all backgrounds and reform relationships with donors and allies who previously supported the organization during the Blackout Tuesday collective protest against systemic racism in 2020. Following the surge of donors in 2020, the NAACP witnessed a decline in financial support, with only 1 in 3 donors returning to back the organization in 2024, AdAge reported.

Now, the NAACP is urging those same donors and new allies to lend their support as they “reignite the spark” behind its mission to fight for social justice and Black equity on the heels of companies retracting DEI initiatives. The historic “Keep Advancing” campaign calls on individual donors like athletes, celebrities, and influencers who participated in the protest that silenced social media on June 2, 2020, when over 20 million Americans posted the “black square.” To avoid going back to “square one,” the organization also encourages companies and corporations to take action and financially back the human rights organization. “One corporation’s move can shift the whole conversation,” said NAACP’s Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, Ada Blankson. “Those corporations committed to progress, those corporations that can give a little bit more to support advocacy action, we encourage them to do so, to double down. You have to double down because we need you now more than ever.”

The visual, conceived by Edelman, produced by the first and only Black woman-owned production company in the U.S. and U.K., Eleanor, and directed by Candice Vernon, recreates the 2020 Blackout Tuesday protest. The ad gives viewers a glimpse into the present and future work of the NAACP as it invites allies to join the organization’s continued fight for affordable healthcare, gun control, substance abuse programs, clean drinking water, and more.

NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson said in the Oct. 3 announcement that he’s honored to lead the organization into its next era. “To stay at the forefront of the fight, we must widen the margin of inclusivity and invite all to participate in progress because advancement is a right that benefits everyone,” said Johnson. “This is only the beginning.”

Blankson stated that the movement allows the organization to expand as it welcomes other allies to join and exercise their power and voice.

To donate or become a member of the Association, visit the NAACP’s website for more information.