It’s GivingTuesday! Meet Ariva: One of Our Fave NYC Nonprofits

Julie Fahnestock, our Founder & Creative Director with Marcela Ahumada, our Spanish Brand Strategy & Content Partner.

“Ariva is one of the best-kept secrets in NYC. Whether you need help getting your finances in order and understanding how the US financial system works, or need someone who is safe, trustworthy, empathetic, and really has your best interests in mind, Ariva is there for you. Not only that, but they’re a team that really loves working together. When you walk in their doors, you join their community.” – Julie Fahnestock, B Storytelling Founder & Creative Director

As a B Corp connoisseur, we really value generosity, so you can only imagine how much we rock with GivingTuesday. It’s a day that encourages selflessness and inspires millions around the world to give — what’s not to love? ❤️ 

This year marks the 10th anniversary of GivingTuesday and we’re celebrating by putting the spotlight on our longtime client Ariva. Headquartered in the Bronx, Ariva has been blessing New York City with their free tax prep and financial counseling services since 2003. 

Here’s what Ariva’s been doing to help New Yorkers combat economic uncertainty and become financially empowered (and with the way the economy’s looking, who couldn’t use a bit of financial empowerment? 😭):

Tax szn: *sigh* Tax season is nearly upon us. If you struggle during tax time, Ariva’s has your back via their free tax prep services. With 13 tax prep sites across NYC, their IRS-certified staff and volunteers help eligible NYC residents file their tax returns and claim key credits like the Child Tax Credit (CTC) and Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). This past year, Ariva helped more than 5,500 New Yorkers file their taxes. 🤩

Power to the Volunteers: One of the things we admire most about Ariva is how their volunteers stand ten toes down on the mission. They help prepare tax returns alongside 100+ other teammates, and some volunteers have been around for over a decade. The best part? ZERO accounting experience is required to become a volunteer. Ariva trains all of their volunteers and gives them access to free personal income tax prep, official IRS certification, and even college credit. 

Ready to Rent: Let’s be real — rent ain't cheap and applying for affordable housing can feel like an endless cycle. Fortunately, Ariva’s Ready to Rent program provides free one-on-one counseling and assistance with affordable housing applications. The program has no credit score requirement and it’s open to all New Yorkers, regardless of immigration status. 

ITIN applications: No SSN, no problem. Ariva helps individuals get an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) to file taxes and access numerous benefits across NYC. With an ITIN, you can open a bank account, build your credit, and so much more. Say hello to wealth-building. 🤑

To be honest, we’re amazed at just how much Ariva does for New Yorkers. The team’s generosity, dedication, and mission-driven attitude are exactly what we need to create a more equitable and prosperous NYC. It’s truly a blessing that we get to work with them and help amplify their impact!      

This GivingTuesday, pay it forward by supporting Ariva with a donation so that they can continue to empower New Yorkers with crucial financial tools and resources. Can’t give monetarily? No worries. Give the gift of time by becoming a volunteer. 🫶 

We're Back! Celebrating 10 Years of B Storytelling

Julie Fahnestock, our Founder & Creative Director with Demetris Giannoulias, CEO of Spring Bank, a longtime client of B Storytelling.

“We are proud to be storytellers. Because every day, we have the privilege of sharing stories of organizations who put their people first, support their communities, and center People of Color. It’s a gift for us to use our creative talents to amplify the voices of change makers in New York City and beyond.”

– Julie Fahnestock, Founder & Creative Director of B Storytelling

We’re back bbs. And guess what? It’s our anniversary! 🎉

It’s been a banner year (*checks notes*) – make that DECADE – for us here at B Storytelling, and we’ve been so busy with our incredible client work that we haven’t gotten around to sharing it all with you. 

Luckily, we’re here to fix that now. 😘

We’re celebrating 10 years of truth telling, culture shifting, and creative badassery. It’s been an incredibly powerful decade of helping B Corps and other social enterprises co-create their brands with both narrative and visual design, manage and execute their content strategies, and leverage their impact to create and engage loyal communities that support and benefit from their mission. 

What a lucky role we play, telling the stories of the dopest people, and the people they love doing cool shit with. We’ve supported the most innovative and community-focused social impact leaders and brands across the globe in finance, technology, fashion, travel, spirituality, climate, and education. Together, we’ve raised millions of dollars, launched new product suites, raised up provoking billboards, and produced in person, virtual, and hybrid gatherings for all kinds of occasions. 

We are especially thankful for our B Corp community, which has been at the crux of so much of what we’ve accomplished these last ten years. As partners, clients, and an international network of inspirational leaders and business people, we offer our sincere gratitude for the folks who have taken on the challenge to build an inclusive, equitable, and regenerative economy. 

We’d like to give a special shoutout to these folks in particular: Ariva, B Lab, Barbara Parshall, CoLab, Community Capital New York, Consciously, Daniella Dhana, First Live Studios, Global Round Table Leadership, Hella Social Impact, Hemmings House Pictures, Live Loud Studios, Mangrove, Marcela Ahumada Translations, Spring Bank, SunCommon, and WonderIN Group.

Thank you—your trust, friendship, and alliance do not go unnoticed. We know your mission is what fuels your hard work, and we LOVE that we get to amplify it.  

“For the people who help make all the magic happen, thank you too. In a world (and workplace) that’s forever changing, I’m beyond grateful to not only have creative partners, but friends. It’s a privilege to have an environment where people can be their authentic selves, collaborate harmoniously with both each other and our clients, and be human-centered. Especially in NYC, agency life can be demanding, nonstop, and boundaryless. The way B Storytelling operates makes us different from the other guys—our partners are committed to balance, beauty, and play,” says Julie Fahnestock, B Storytelling Founder & Creative Director. 

“Knowing I can bring a group of people together to accomplish our many goals is just one of the many reasons why I love what I do. Each of our partners brings their own level of creative expertise that helps us thrive as a collective. Whether we're contributing to our clients' success or the success of our own brand, we accomplish it together,” she adds.

It’s been incredibly powerful helping our clients fuse their business goals with their impact and culture goals, uncover their unique and authentic stories, and, finally, bring those stories to life as creative campaigns across all kinds of channels and mediums. 

As we look forward to our next decade, we’re turning our gaze inwards. Over the next few months, you can expect to go behind the scenes with us as we feature the talented and diverse collective of designers, writers, photographers, technologists, and more – all storytellers at the core – who make our brands beautiful, honest, humane, and fun. We’re also expanding as an agency, too, so you can expect a new look and feel around here as we build a new website to support how much we’ve grown. 

And finally, we’ll showcase some of the work we’ve done because who doesn’t love a good highlight reel 🤩 so you can see exactly what we’ve been up to, and get inspired by how we can help you and your organization grow, too. 

If you know us, you know we like to stay booked and busy, so if you’re ready to grow with us now, don’t hesitate to reach out. Still in the thinking-about-it phase? Subscribe to our newsletter so we can stay in touch. 

Here’s to what comes next! 🥂

Welcome, Geneva Global!

B Storytelling welcomes Geneva Global to the B Corp family

B Storytelling is thrilled to welcome our friends at Geneva Global to the B Corp family.  For Geneva Global, becoming a B Corp only made sense, as their business model revolves around maximizing the impact of charitable giving. They come alongside those who are already trying to do good, and help them do it better.  

Seeking to bring the standards and transparency of traditional investing into the world of philanthropy, Geneva Global’s positive social impact includes influencing over a billion dollars in giving.  To become a B Corporation, they subjected themselves to a higher level of transparency as well, completing the B Impact Assessment.  

Strong points leading to their exceptional score included: their imbedded mission to benefit the marginalized, commitment to a sustainable workplace (using 100% wind generated electricity!), generous employee benefits packages and their Corporate Social Responsibility program which engages their own employees in philanthropy.  

So to our friends, we say, welcome to the community.