project: non-profit makeover - UPDATE YOUR LOOK!

Do you just groan when you look at your organization’s website, logo, and letterhead? Are you tired of clip art and outdated design depicting the serious work your group does?

If your website, logo, letterhead, and business cards are out of date, not in sync with your mission, or you just need a new look – this is for you!

do good Consulting has teamed up with the Champaign-Urbana Design Org (CUDO) to sponsor project: non-profit makeover, a one-day design-a-thon to create a new logo, website, business cards, and letterhead for one Illinois non-profit organization – an incredible opportunity for over $10,000 worth of FREE professional graphic design services.

Like it or not, the look of your website, logo, letterhead, and business cards speaks volumes about your organization. Well-designed, sleek aesthetic web and printed materials communicate to your audience that you are well-managed, fiscally responsible, and effective.

Too many groups struggle with outdated materials or materials designed in incompatible formats ages ago by volunteers. Today more than ever, it is critical that your materials accurately and clearly communicate your message to the public. After all, you only have one chance to make a first impression.

So, how does project: non-profit makeover work?

First, head to www.dogoodconsulting.org/projectnonprofitmakeover where you’ll find an official contest application and the requirements your group must meet to qualify. The application process is easy: use the application to provide us with a brief summary of your organization’s principal activities, a description of your primary audience(s), and a cover letter by Friday, May 7.

From applications received, do good and CUDO will select applicants for brief, in-person interviews in May. We’ll announce the winner by June 1. The one-day design-a-thon must be attended by one organizational representative the full day of Saturday, July 10, in Champaign-Urbana.

The estimated value of this free “makeover” opportunity is over $10,000. Hurry: the deadline for project: non-profit makeover is Friday, May 7! Apply now!

Design: Is It Worth the Cost to Hire a Professional?

by Jennifer Green, Champaign-Urbana Design Organization

One of the questions I hear most often, especially when quoting the cost of a web design, is “why does it cost so much?” Everyone knows someone who knows how to create a website, or knows that their neighbor’s/cousin’s/best friend’s kid can create one. So why is my price so high?, they ask.

The short answer – you get what you pay for. That kid may know how to post a webpage, but that doesn’t mean he knows how to design one. Just as an architect learns how to create plans for the houses we live in, a graphic designer studies how to use imagery and type to communicate to a specific audience. Graphic designers don’t just make your site look pretty—although they do that as well—they craft, and often help create, a targeted message to send to your audience. And they can significantly impact how well that message is received.

Let’s look at the steps a designer follows to design a piece. You’re hiring the designer to step into your organization, figure out who your audience is and what will appeal to them, then craft a design aimed directly at them. So a successful design begins with research. The designer then looks at other organizations' designs that effectively reach your audience, evaluating common elements, language, and tone. This ensures that your message is unique and stands out from the crowd, which is especially valuable when approaching something like a fundraising campaign.

At this point, most designers will test their conclusions on you, the client/expert, in the form of a written project brief. The brief protects both client and designer by outlining the intentions and expectations for the project. Changes are easily made at this stage, either in expectations (client’s or designer’s) or project scope.

Next, designers begin the ideation stage. They brainstorm, sketch, and test possible concepts for your project. They’ll decide on the most appropriate tone for the graphics and copy to take, and then further develop their most promising ideas, evaluating each of their ideas against the goals you agreed upon at the outset.

By the time you see the first set of concepts, the designer has done much of the work the project will require. Just as you wouldn’t expect an attorney to begin a trial without preparing, a graphic designer must do her/his due diligence to be able to offer you effective design solutions. This is followed by a back-and-forth with you, the client, to ensure that every detail of the design is on target.

The expertise is worth the price, because when your message reaches your audience, difference in results will be striking.

Q&A: Getting buy-in for a new logo

Dear do good:

When I became Executive Director a few months ago, I was determined that the first thing I would do is redesign our organization’s logo. It looks like a child’s doodle, and doesn’t communicate what we actually do. But my board doesn’t want to bother with it – not that they love the logo, but they don’t think it’s worth the time and money. How can I convince them that redesigning the logo will be worth the effort?

– Bump on a Logo, Woodridge

Dear Bump on a Logo,

There’s no question that having a snazzy logo instead of a mediocre logo will increase your organization’s fundraising and visibility. The trick is to give your board information that will convince them of this. This is a good opportunity for you to find out what motivates your board to make decisions. Do they respond to people’s opinions? Numbers? Planning?

Here are some techniques you can use to present your board with compelling reasons to devote resources to your logo redesign:

Tell them the plan: Plan out the steps that it will take to develop the new logo, and what you plan to do with it once you have it. (For example, do a virtual “grand re-opening” by re-introducing your organization to the community with your new logo.) If the plan seems simple, resistance will weaken.

Cost-benefit analysis: Estimate how much money and time it will take to create a new logo. (It’s really not that much.) Then make a realistic estimate as to how much money you’re likely to raise using your new logo. It’s hard to argue with an investment that has a big payoff.

Focus group: Gather a small group of your volunteers and other members of the community. Ask them some questions about the logo and the organization’s image. Compile the feedback into a brief report and present the results to your board.

Opinions from experts: Ask someone the board knows and trusts, particularly someone they respect for their marketing or graphic design expertise, to give the board an opinion on the logo. Ask that person to share what he/she might do differently if given the opportunity.

Let us know how it goes, and let us know if there’s any way we can help!

– Jenn Raley Miller, Management & Communications Specialist, do good Consulting

ONE SIMPLE ACT

In each month’s Doing Good, you’ll find one great tip to implement over the next month. By taking this one small, achievable action each month, you can make big changes in your organization’s and employee's performance, increase donations and volunteerism, and expand your group’s visibility. Give it a try!

This month's ONE SIMPLE ACT focuses on project: non-profit makeover.

April's ONE SIMPLE ACT is:

Go to www.dogoodconsulting.org/projectnonprofitmakeover and fill out an application for your organiation to appy for do good Consulting's and CUDO's project: non-profit makeover to win a free makeover of your group's website, logo, letterhead, and business cards. Then forward this e-newsletter to five other people involved in non-profit work in Illinois to share project: non-profit makeover with them.

GROUP PROFILE: Wesley Evening Food Pantry

In August 2009, the Champaign-Urbana Design Organization (CUDO) held its first ever design charette. Members of CUDO wanted to give creative professionals the opportunity to offer their design talents as a volunteer service for a local non-profit organization in Champaign-Urbana. The event – originally dubbed CUDO Gives and now renamed project: non-profit makeover in partnership with do good Consulting – is a philanthropic charette, an intense, one-day design-a-thon where multiple deliverables are created for one single cause. Last year through CUDO Gives, the Champaign-Urbana Design Organization worked with the Wesley Evening Food Pantry . A group of designers, copywriters, Web developers, and advertisers came together for the inaugural event.

Before opening their doors, Donna Camp, Director of Wesley Evening Food Pantry, along with the Pantry’s other founders, spent time researching the best way to meet local needs. Throughout their research, they learned that few local food pantries offered regular evening hours for those who worked during the day. The Wesley Evening Food Pantry serves clients from 5-8PM one Thursday each month, when visitors can shop the pantry and personally select the items they need. Set up like a marketplace, additional services are also offered each month, including financial education, health information, and children’s activities.

Many hours of work from over 100 volunteers ensure its smooth success each month. From registration to set-up to shopping with clients, volunteers have the opportunity to see how their efforts can have an immediate and local positive impact. As one volunteer said, “I value the personal relationships with food pantry visitors. While patrons wait in line, you hear life stories about current circumstances; while shopping, you learn about their favorite meals and cooking methods; loading up their cars or helping them to the bus stop, you hear gratitude and exchange sincere goodbyes.”

When last year's charette took place, participants arrived promptly at 9AM for breakfast, a client presentation, quick introductions and the beginning of the creative process. After a 30-minute brainstorming session, the overall tone of the campaign was set, and the groups split up and went to work. Most design team members had never met before the day began, yet by the end of the day all of the materials were finished and ready for final proofing from the client. Throughout the day, five teams of roughly six individuals worked to create and design, from conception to end product, a new logo, brochures, letterhead, envelopes, business cards, t-shirts, a rubber stamp, and a fully functional website for the Food Pantry. These materials, valued at nearly $10,000, have proved to be essential at elevating their presence in the area and assisting in reaching broader audiences and raising much-needed funds.

“The new website and brochure CUDO created for the Food Pantry have been very effective in recruiting volunteers and explaining who we are," says Camp. "The professional look has been a huge benefit when communicating with potential funders and volunteers.”

For more information about the Wesley Evening Food Pantry, see http://wesleypantry.org/. For details on 2010's project: non-profit makeover, see www.dogoodconsulting.org/projectnonprofitmakeover.

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