In late September 2024, Hurricane Helene caused widespread catastrophic damage and numerous fatalities across the Southeastern United States. Less than two weeks later, the same region was hit by Hurricane Milton. This initiative was created to support all the communities impacted by those back-to-back hurricanes.
The United Way Benefit for Hurricane Relief, a star-studded concert aired as a one-hour televised special on November 2 in Nashville. It brought together top entertainers to raise funds for recovery following Hurricanes Helene and Milton, which caused an estimated $50 billion in damage.
Proceeds from the special supported the hurricane relief and long-term recovery efforts and benefited individuals and families across southeastern U.S.
The Idea: The United Way Benefit for Hurricane Relief was created as a moment of reflection and hope to tap into the cultural collectivism to help rebuild for those that have lost everything. A nationally televised benefit engaged a wider consumer network and developed additional streams of funding for response relief and long-term recovery.
The Activation: We worked with Paramount and United Way Worldwide to develop The United Way Benefit for Hurricane Relief, a one-hour special that brought together some of the biggest names across music, television and entertainment to mobilize communities and raise critical funds for relief and recovery following Hurricanes Helene and Milton, which caused an estimated $50 billion in damage. Performers, partners, and celebrities, particularly those from the impacted areas, came together with music, words of encouragement and hope to help raise funds for those impacted. It included performances from Brittney Spencer, Chris Janson, Clay Aiken, Jonathan McReynolds and Tyler Hubbard with special messages and appearances by Backstreet Boys, Billy Bob Thornton, Billy Burke, Blake Shelton, Carly Pearce, Cedric The Entertainer, Cody Alan, Jackson Dean, JB SMOOVE, Kelsea Ballerini, Max Thieriot, Nate Burleson, Stephen Colbert, Taye Diggs, Zac Brown Band, alongside real life heroes from radio station WWNC, Mark Starling and Tank Spencer and more. The benefit was nationally televised to engage a wider consumer network and create additional streams of funding that were distributed back to the local United Way for use in response relief and long-term recovery. Proceeds from the special, which aired on November 2 from Nashville, supported the hurricane relief and long-term recovery efforts and benefited individuals and families across southeastern U.S.
The Benefit helped to build the United Way Worldwide donor pipeline by driving more than 6,700 new and re-engaged donors, primarily through SMS Text to Give and use of an on-screen QR code during the live televised event. Altogether, gifts to the United Way Worldwide Disaster Relief Fund – which include donations made immediately after the impacts of Hurricanes Helene and Milton, through the televised benefit – total more than $11 million to date.
