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Press Release

Major Gift Enables JFF to Launch First-of-its-kind “Brand Studio”

WorkingNation founder, Art Bilger, gifts national media outlet to create The Studio at JFF, which will enable education and workforce organizations to tell powerful stories and reach decision makers nationwide

BOSTON, November 13, 2025 – Jobs for the Future (JFF) today announced a major gift from media entrepreneur Art Bilger, who has donated the entirety of WorkingNation’s content and digital properties to JFF. Brand studios, such as Axios’ Smart Brevity Studio and the New York Time’s T Brand Studio, partner with studio clients to create original white papers, long form articles, video and editorial content to reach target audiences. The Studio at JFF represents the first impact-oriented brand studio dedicated to elevating ideas and innovations for the education and workforce sectors.

“Storytelling is foundational to creating change. WorkingNation and its founder Art Bilger have created an invaluable media platform with a reputation for not only spotlighting workforce challenges, but elevating innovations in the field,” said Maria Flynn, JFF CEO and President. “We’re honored to take this legacy forward by helping organizations expand their storytelling capacity and reach broader audiences.”

By combining the broad reach and vast content library of WorkingNation with the national network, research, and creative capacity of JFF, The Studio aims to expand the reach and visibility of tech startups, innovative nonprofits, and others that often face financial and capacity barriers to amplifying awareness, reach, and influence. Together, JFF and clients of The Studio will drive narrative change and mobilize education, business leaders, and policy leaders toward JFFs North Star of increasing the number of Americans who work in quality jobs.

The Studio’s first campaign in collaboration with the award-winning producers at Nation of Artists, “Quality Jobs,” won five Anthem Awards, including National Awareness Campaign and Non-Profit Campaign. The campaign has also been nominated for a Shorty Impact Award and named a finalist by PR News for Nonprofit Campaign of the Year.

“America’s workforce sector is at a critical inflection point,” said Aaron Pickering, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer at JFF. “This is about enhancing the capacity of our field to shape public discourse, create new opportunities for audience engagement, and drive business and organizational impact.”

The Studio will give clients access to professional storytelling and exposure on an established platform. Services will include written articles, standalone videos, or multi-format series, each with organic, paid, and earned amplification strategies. The Studio will also offer pioneering AI video and digital content creation through production partners such as JFF Ventures portfolio company, CreatorUp. CEO Michael Tringe shared that “The Studio is an unprecedented opportunity to combine the power of human creative work and the best AI technology to help organizations transform their communications capabilities with new media solutions, powered by creative workers trained on new skills using these new tools.”

“The media landscape is in constant flux. Adapting through creative and innovative ways to reach the right audiences with content that conveys an urgency for change and what’s at stake, is essential for any non-profit,” said Art Bilger, founder of WorkingNation, who joined the JFF Board of Directors this summer. “JFF’s commitment to transforming our education and workforce systems to help people, businesses and communities thrive aligns deeply with the vision behind WorkingNation. We’re honored to see this platform continue to serve that mission and help amplify the work of many valuable organizations in this sector.”

To learn more about The Studio at JFF or explore partnership opportunities, please reach out to Kristina Rosario, Associate Vice President and Head of Content at JFF, at krosario@jff.org.

 

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About Jobs for the Future (JFF)
JFF is building a future that works for everyone by transforming U.S. education and workforce systems to drive economic success for people, businesses, and communities. www.jff.org.