Six+One’s Journey to Creating a Non-Profit

New York is a tale of two cities. Its glittering skyline and bustling streets epitomise prosperity, attracting global business, culture, tourism, and innovation. Yet within the shadows of towering skyscrapers lie the devastating realities of a homelessness crisis, where thousands endure the elements and uncertainty of life on the streets. 

The New York homelessness crisis is at its worst since the Great Depression. In a city of more than 8.3 million people, nearly one in 83 New Yorkers is homeless — that's more than 100,000 men, women, and children. About 27,000 people sleep on the street, in the subway system, or other public spaces every night. 

As a New York City-based creative agency with offices in the heart of Lower Manhattan, we’ve witnessed the worsening homelessness crisis firsthand. It’s heartbreaking – like many New Yorkers, scenes of families lined up outside shelters and individuals asleep in subway cars are normal parts of our daily commute. We’ve also witnessed the unfortunate desensitisation New Yorkers have developed as a result of their frequent encounters with the homeless population; now they almost blend into the cityscape. 

Deeply troubled by the crisis unfolding within our community, our agency team became fiercely motivated to act.

Like other for-profit companies committed to corporate social responsibility, we started, in 2018, by donating time and resources to organisations supporting the city’s homeless. We spent designated service days at soup kitchens, donation centres, and shelters around the tri-state area. These critical organisations, struggling to stay afloat themselves, serve a commendable purpose. However, as we immersed ourselves in the work of various charity organisations, we realised an unsettling truth: the absence of dignity. 

Homeless individuals waiting in long, public-facing lines for food and clothing experienced a degradation of their self-worth, perpetuating their marginalised status in society. Our conversations with homeless individuals and families reinforced the problem we’d observed; accessing necessary handouts and services came at a cost to self-image.

Unable to find an organisation that addressed this critical gap, we took matters into our own hands and created one.

We founded our non-profit, ‘For The Greater Hood’ in 2018. Grounded in a commitment to support and empower the city’s homeless, we came up with a simple yet innovative approach: to open boutique-style pop-up shops in low-income neighbourhoods, providing guests with a free and elevated shopping experience. Upon entry, each guest receives a "For The Greater Hood" gift card, empowering them to purchase new designer clothing, footwear, and toiletries at no cost. This deliberate approach contrasts the typical experience of receiving secondhand items as handouts. 

Leveraging our arsenal of agency talent, we built a brand that reflected For The Greater Hood’s mission, with a confident and stylish look and feel. Our intention was to market ourselves like a high-end retailer would, weaving dignity and luxury throughout all aspects of the experience. We launched OOH and digital creative campaigns to promote ourselves to tri-state area homeless communities and to encourage donations of time and resources. 

The first For The Greater Hood store opened in January of 2019. Located in a small vacant storefront in Downtown Manhattan, our agency team spent a week building the store and facilitating guests’ shopping experience. To meet demand, we paid for many articles of clothing out of pocket.

Five years later, on January 13, 2024, we proudly launched our 14th event at the Center City Mall in Paterson, NJ, where we aided over 550 homeless individuals and families. To ensure all guests could attend, we provided bus shuttles to and from eight shelter locations in Paterson. Our advertising efforts raised over $40k in donations and generated coverage from NBC, ABC, and Fox on the evening news. Corporate sponsors, including Centric Brands, Frye Shoes, Steve Madden, Buffalo Jeans, Caterpillar, Airwalk, Loreal, and others, generously donated over $500k worth of new retail clothing. 

To date, For the Greater Hood has served over 16,000 men women and children through 14 pop-up shops. At least 2,000 volunteers have donated time to provide each guest with a 45-minute personal shopping session. In total, over $2.5 million worth of new clothing has been distributed to tri-state area homeless individuals and families. 

These shops serve as more than just retail spaces; they have become symbols of hope and opportunity for the communities they serve. We know this from the KPIs of smiles, tears of joy, and words of gratitude.

We realise our pursuits in the non-profit sector are atypical for a creative agency, or any for-profit business. However, we’ve learned that we have the ability to create real, tangible change and are motivated to push even further. We’re not just providing clothing; we are fostering connections, restoring dignity, and uplifting communities one pop-up shop at a time. 

For us at Six+One, this has been an amazing and transformative opportunity. We’re excited to continue using our creative talents to further reshape culture and communities, and hope to inspire other agencies to follow suit.