The Importance of Nonprofit Branding - Print Suite for CHCR
A non-profit's branding and design can be key to its long-term
success. Why? Because branding gives voice to an organization and design visually expresses that voice. Speaking with one voice lets others easily identify your organization, understand your principels and identify with your cause. Your brand and your design should work together to convey the history, the essence, and the goals of your organization.
As the Community Health Center of Richmond embarks on a major branding campaign, the organization is carefully incorporating design elements that will help to articulate its cause.
Design for Social GOOD created the new CHCR logo and in Phase II of the project, we've created an initial print suite which includes their nonprofit business cards, letterhead and envelope design. In Phase III we'll design a brochure, newsletter and e-blast.
Donors, vol
unteers, advocates and supporters want to be a part of a non-profit organization that does great work but they also want their non-profit to also look professional.
Below are a few items every non-profit should have.
LOGO: An image or drawing that represents your nonprofit.
BROCHURE: It doesn't matter if it's three panels, four panels or a single page, every non-profit needs a brochure that tells their story. It's the "who we are, how we work, and why get involved" that everyone wants to know.
PRINT SUITE: This is your personal identity that offers all your contact information. A business card, letterhead, envelopes and thank you cards are essential branding materials.
WEBSITE: As technology continues to change the way we do business, a Web presence is an essential tool that every nonprofit has to have its arsenal.
Developing a Non-Profit Website: Custom Icons, Style Frames for VA Project Life
Project LIFE (Living Independently, Focusing on Empowerment) is a partnership with the Virginia Department of Social Services (VDSS) and United Methodist Family Services (UMFS). Its goal is to promote permanent family connections for older youth while coordinating and enhancing life skills development for older youth in and transitioning out of foster care.
Design for Social GOOD has years of experience in the foster care field as founders of The Heart Gallery of New Jersey and Do1Thing to aid foster youth so this project was close to our hearts. United Methodist Family Services needed a design firm that understood its cause, its audience and what the organization hoped to accomplish. UMFS chose us. We designed custom icons throughout the site, produces style frames for their web developer to use as a blueprint to code the site, and provided photography.
Design Solutions for Social Causes - A New Logo for CHCR
Community Health Center of Richmond is committed to providing services for the poor and uninsured in Staten Island, New York. Whether it is providing services for day laborers who are unable to find work or for the poor who can't afford basic care, the Community Health Center of Richmond opens its doors and aids the needy.
As the health center closes in on its fifth year, the center turned to Design for Social GOOD to create a new logo that speaks to its cause. We created an artist rendering of a lighthouse using clean, bold lines to contrast an inviting hand drawn sun. Yellow, red and orange represent the strength and comfort of the warm glow of the sun.
Design for Social GOOD starts every logo design by asking our clients to fill out a website questionnaire so that we can clearly understand their needs and their design guidelines and learn about their voice and goals.
We're pleased to help the Community Health Center of Richmond shine a light on its organization by designing its new logo.
Check back as we design a new print suite with the lighthouse logo as the centerpiece in the design.
Non-Profit Fundraising Event - Night of Broadway Stars
©2010 Najlah Feanny/Design for Social GOOD
Broadway star Stephanie Block performed a memorable rendition of "Defying Gravity" from "Wicked" at the Covenant House International Night of Broadway Stars Gala Concert. With her was Connie, a homeless teenager who defied a lifetime of abuse. Watch her inspiring, emotional performance.
The Night of Broadway Stars gala featured a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for homeless youth at Covenant House to perform for former First Lady Laura Bush and with some of Broadway’s greatest stars.
The Night of Broadway Stars was hosted by renowned composer and lyricist Neil Berg, whose credits include The Prince and The Pauper, Grumpy Old Men and 100 Years of Broadway, now the number one Broadway touring concert in the United States.
©2010 Najlah Feanny/Design for Social GOOD
Joining Berg were six young people currently living at Covenant House, 40 members of the world-renowned Newark School of Performing Arts, and Broadway stars Rita Harvey, Capathia Jenkins, Darius deHaas, Craig Schuman, Stephanie Block, Sophia Ramos, and Bev and Kirby Ward.
©2010 Najlah Feanny/Design for Social GOOD
View the video of these homeless youth joined by the Newark School of Performing Arts choir as they perform at Lincoln Center.
The event raised more than $1 million dollars for Covenant House International and Design for Social GOOD was proud to be hired to document the night.
WORDPRESS TUTORIAL: Adding a Post
This is our second tutorial in our series: "Tutuorials to Help Non-Profits Use New Technologies".
In this tutorial we'll teach you how to use the admin panel on your Wordpress website including how to make a post on your blog, how to edit your pages, how to send your post to Twitter and additional information on using widgets and plugins.
http://www.designforsocialgood.com/blog
Website for Non-Profit: ACE, Empowering the Homeless - Improving Communities - Launches Today
Design for Social GOOD launches nonprofit website build for ACE, Empowering the Homeless - Improving Communities, today. The website design and build culminates a six-month project with ACE that started with a massive branding report, logo design, photo and video shoots and website build.
The website showcases a clean and modern design with consistent navigation and bold graphics and images. In order to clearly articulate your cause to supporters, your team and the world, it's important to keep a few key points in mind when moving forward with your non-profit website design.
Non-profit website design best practices:
- Clearly describe your non-profit's mission
- Provide information about your organization's history
- Introduce your staff
- Provide information for your volunteers
- Use photographs to connect supporters with the people you're serving
- Include contact information
- Offer an email and/or newsletter signup
- Don't forget: If you don't "ask," people can't give. Provide a clear path to a donate button
Take a look at a great resource for more indepth information on non-profit website design at Smashing Magazine.
Photography for Non-Profit Website
When the leadership of the Association of Community Employment Programs for the Homeless decided to build a new non-profit website, they knew photography would be a powerful way for them to show the important work they're doing. They hired Design for Social GOOD and our team of renowned photojournalists to spend two days with the clients they serve to put a face on their organization. Photographers Carmine Galasso and Danielle Richards shot portraits, classroom and counseling sessions and casual images, offering a variety of photographs to use on their new website build. Great photography, a new logo and website equals a fresh face for this nonprofit. ©2010 Photographs by Carmine Galasso/Design for Social GOOD.
FTP TUTORIAL - Emailing Large Files
Design for Social GOOD is pleased to annouce our newest initiative, "NonProfit Resources: Tutuorials to Help NonProfits Use New Technologies".
New technologies are rolling out at lightning speeds and it's hard to keep abreast of them all. Design for Social GOOD and our GOOD Technology Team has created free non-profit tutorials we believe will help your organization.
Our first tutorial is entitled: How Do I Send Large Files?
Digital cameras, videos, documents, huge files, they all present their own problems when you try to electronically transfer them from one computer to another or from your organization to a third party. Below are the easiest and most efficient ways for transferring large files.
FREE FILE TRANSFERS
Option 1: If your files are less than 100 mb, we recommend you use senduit:
senduit It's free, easy to use and transfers your files immediately. The interface is
simple. With three clicks, you've sent your file.
Step 1: Click on the browse button and it will take you to the hard drive on your computer. Find your file and double click on it.
Step 2: Decide how long you want the url link to be live. You can choose from 30 minutes to one week.
Step 3: Click on upload and senduit will upload your files. In a few minutes it will provide you with a url which will be a direct link to the file you just uploaded. Send anyone you want that url. Once they click on it your file will begin to download. It's as simple as that.
Your link is private so no one can steal your files.
Option 2: If your files are BIGGER than 100mb but LESS than 300 mb, we recommend you use sendspace. Again, the interface is very simple.
Click on the browse button and it will take you to the hard drive on your computer. Double click on the file you want and it will upload it to sendspace.
You can see 
in the image below that we've uploaded a file, filled out the description, receipient's and our email field's.
Click on the upload file button and sendspace will upload your attached file. The url is private, your file is secure and it's FREE!
Once your file has finished uploading sendspace will send both you and the recipient an email with a url link to download the file. See image below.
With sendspace you have the ability to upload files up to 1 terabyte but it's a paid service. You can view the pricing structure here.
Option 3: Transferring large files including video and images we recommend using FTP.
FTP is short for file - transfer - protocol. It's the standard method used to send large and/or multiple files. In order to ftp files you need to download software onto your computer.
For Mac users, the free ftp software we recommend is called Cyberduck. Below is a video tutorial on how to use Cyberduck ftp software.
If you're using a Windows machine, check out cuteftp. Both Cyberduck for Mac and Cuteftp for Windows have a similiar interface.
Hopefully you'll find these resources as valuable as we do.
Print Identity Suite for Non-Profit Organization
Design for Social GOOD design team creates an entire print suite for non-profit working to aid formerly homeless adults.
From the intiial logo design we embraced the iterative design process. It's a design methodology based on a cyclic process of prototyping, testing, analyzing, and refining until we get to the point where both the designer and the client embrace the logo and identity. Our goal was to put a fresh face on their non-profit by incorporating bold design aesthetics with a clean look. From logo to letterhead and envelopes to business cards, the continuity in the design was consistant and the message was clear.
Design for Social GOOD's design team designed an entire print suite to accompany a new branding campaign for the Association of Community Employment Programs for the Homeless in New York City.
For the past six months we've worked with ACE on an entire branding campaign, logo and design suite, photo and video shoots and in the coming week's we'll unveil a newly designed and coded website with a wordpress contentent management system.
Working with experts in nonprofit management from Milano The New School for Management and Urban Policy, Design for Social GOOD put together a 100+ page branding report to jump start the entire process.
We're giving ACE the tools they'll need to put a face on their organization. A face that represents the thousands of formerly homeless adults they've help to transition into the work force. Check back in the coming weeks as we launch ACENewyork.
ACE "Empowering the Homeless, Improving Communities" Non-Profit Video
ACE is a unique non-profit serving New York City. Their goal is to help formerly homeless adults transition to full time employment and their record speaks for itself. 73% of their Project Stay participants remain employed for at least two years after graduating from the ACE program.
Their goal for this video is to use it to communicate with supporters about their cause. Video offers them the opportunity to make a one to one connection between the people they serve and those who support them.
They chose Design for Social GOOD and our award winning team led by Emmy nominated videographer John O'Boyle to tell their story.
Here are a few ways your non-profit can use videos to help your cause.
• Create a YouTube channel for your nonprofit
• Keep your total video length under 3 minutes
• Highlight individuals who have a compelling story
• End with a call-to-action and list a URL shortcut to a page with additional information
