Mayor Zohran Mamdani is putting out a call for bidders as the city plans a “massive” marketing campaign for the expanded rollout of early childhood programs, The Post has learned.
The Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City is seeking proposals from companies to conduct “family focus groups” to guide the administration’s “branding and messaging” for the expansion of 2-K and 3-K classes — a top priority of the new mayor.
The feedback from the focus groups will help “develop a massive marketing campaign to bring families into the City’s early childhood system,” the Mayor’s Fund said in its public notice to potential bidders.
NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani hopes to expand universal preschool in NYC. Robert Miller for NY PostThe Request for Proposal informs bidders that the initial contract will be “no more than $250,000.”
The vendor must conduct a minimum of eight to 10 focus groups with a diverse mix of families, and in multiple languages including at least Spanish as well as English. It also must conduct five to seven focus groups with a diverse set of early childhood providers and educators.
The contract will be awarded in April and work must be completed in the fall to be utilized in marketing campaigns for the 2027-28 school year.
“The City requires a compelling, unified brand that encompasses all publicly-funded early care and education programs for children under five,” states the proposal.
Mamdani’s campaign promise was universal child care for kids as young as 6 weeks old. Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty ImagesThe Mayor’s Fund is the not-for-profit fundraising arm for City Hall that pools money from both private and public sources for Hizzoner’s pet programs.
According to the most recent tax filing available for 2023, the fund had $14.2 million in cash on hand.
Mamdani’s office said the marketing campaign was a top priority.
“As this administration works to make universal child care a reality for every family, we have to be clear about what success actually looks like,” a Mamdani spokesperson said.
“That means staying focused on delivery. Making sure resources aren’t just allocated, but are reaching families in a real, tangible way—especially those who have too often been left out or overlooked.”
The Mayor’s Office of Child Care and Early Childhood Education (MOCCECE) is leading the early child care initiative, which includes coordinating efforts with New York City Public Schools and other agencies.
Many residents of Staten Island lambasted Mamdani for not including the borough in his administration’s universal 2-K childcare program trial. Luiz C. Ribeiro for NY PostThe RFP notes that parents must navigate a bewildering array of early childhood programs that go by different names — 3-K, Pre-K, EarlyLearn, Bright Starts, CCAP, Head Start and 2-K.
“It is not necessarily clear to families what these different programs mean or how they fit together,” the notice said.
“As the City works toward a fully universal child care system, it is critical that the City streamlines its branding and messaging to clarify the types of early care and education programming available to families in a manner that is easily identifiable and accessible, and with language and values that speak to family priorities,” it said.
“Effective family outreach and engagement will encourage more children and families to access and benefit from the City’s early childhood programs and services.”
Mayor Zohran Mamdani before the start of the 265th Annual New York City St. Patrick’s Day Parade. Jess Stiles/ZUMA / SplashNews.comDuring his campaign for City Hall last year, Mamdani proposed publicly funded universal child care for kids starting at 6 weeks to 5 years old.
Taxpayers will shell out more than $36,000 per tot for the mayor’s free 2-K pilot program – roughly $13,000 more than the average cost of private child care, it was recently revealed.
Gov. Kathy Hochul earmarked $73 million in state funding for the 2,000-seat launch of the 2-K program in the city for the fall — helping the pair move toward fulfilling Mandani’s campaign promise.
Experts estimated that statewide universal child care could cost between $12 billion and $15 billion.
Founded in 1994, the Mayor’s Fund works 50 different city agencies and offices, 300 institutional funders and 100 community-based partners.
The Mayor’s Fund’s major initiatives include creating the Twin Towers Fund, which raised $107 million to support the families of rescue workers killed or severely injured during the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, and setting up the COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund to support health care workers and small businesses during the deadly pandemic.
In addition, the fund has help raise funds for anti-poverty and mental health programs and support emergency services for asylum seekers under the prior mayoralties of Mike Bloomberg, Bill de Blasio and Eric Adams.
