American Advertising Federation Launches Mosaic Center Expansion Fund

First major initiative under leadership of New Board Chair Tiffany R. Warren and Vice Chair Carter Murray. Goal is to raise $2 million by year-end 2022 to help support Mosaic Center programs. 

WASHINGTON DC, JULY 2, 2021—The American Advertising Federation (AAF) today announced plans to launch an aggressive fund-raising campaign in support of its Mosaic Center. It is the first major initiative under the leadership of new Board Chair Tiffany R. Warren and Vice Chair Carter Murray and has, as its goal, to raise $2 million by year-end 2022 to help fund these efforts.

“I have spent my entire 25-year career working to make sure inclusion is an intentional, tangible act,” said Ms. Warren, Executive Vice President, Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer at Sony Music Group. “Today’s announcement continues that effort. As a member of the inaugural class of AAF’s Most Promising Multicultural Students, I know first-hand what’s possible through the leadership opportunities the AAF offers. The organization has championed for the best in the industry and consistently stands up for diversity, equity and inclusion. We want to keep the same energy moving forward, which means we must lean on our corporate partners, potential partners, members and others in the community for support as we look to expand the programming, content, technology and human resources we provide.”

The AAF Mosaic Center was launched over two decades ago and serves as a resource and advocate for the value of diversity, equity and inclusion—hallmarks of the association’s efforts to promote and advance multiculturalism within the advertising industry. Among the programs supported by the Mosaic Center are the Mosaic Awards, which recognize companies, agencies and individuals whose commitment to diversity is evident through their creative work and organization-wide initiatives; Most Promising Multicultural Students program, which connects the advertising industry with the nation’s top multicultural college students; and HBCUs for Advertising, which helps to fund AAF college chapters at Historically Black Colleges & Universities as an incubator for Black success stories and untapped Black talent.

“2020 was the busiest year ever for AAF’s Mosaic Center,” noted Carter Murray, CEO of FCB Global and AAF Board Vice Chair. “Supporting the Center isn’t just the right thing to do, it’s a business imperative if we want to ensure that our industry continues to attract and retain the most diverse and inclusive talent on the planet."

Added Steve Pacheco, President and CEO of the AAF, “Creating an inclusive industry has been a top priority of AAF by way of our Mosaic Center. It’s just one of the many ways the AAF delivers on our mission to be ‘The Unifying Voice of Advertising.’”

Additional coverage of the Mosaic Center Expansion Fund can be found in today's issue of Campaign US.