The St. Louis Community Foundation has stood for charitable giving in St. Louis since 1915. As donor goals and community needs evolved, the Foundation felt a pull to clarify its message and identity to ensure another century of impact.
Objective
While working with the St. Louis Community Foundation on various initiatives and events, Almanac began to uncover the truth--that the Foundation's vision for the future had outgrown its existing brand. Conversations with leadership led to agreement that an organization poised to provide a new kind of philanthropic leadership needed a modern, flexible, positive brand. We were thrilled to take them through our Brand Identity Development process.
Strategy
We began by gathering insights from the Foundation's staff and their three primary target audiences: donors, financial advisors and nonprofit organizations. Combining their input with the Foundation's plan for investing more directly in the St. Louis region, we developed a positioning and messaging framework to guide all of their communications. From there we created a new visual identity that firmly places them as visionaries for the region.
Making Their Mark
Foundation leadership was initially reluctant to change the logo. However, as our discussions charted a course for their new brand that was both inclusive and visionary, they agreed that they wanted a new mark, one that stood for the future of St. Louis. While we didn’t plan to create yet another Arch logo, the end result is simple and clear, easy to use digitally and brought energy to their communications, exactly what the St. Louis Community Foundation needed.
Words Matter
The messaging we developed as the backbone of the new brand shows the transformation that the St. Louis Community Foundation is working to create. Building on solid work and community assets that have been decades in the making, the Foundation is leading to a future that is stronger, cleaner, and more vibrant. The transformation comes through strategic investment in key initiatives in addition to the donor-advised funds that the Foundation manages.
Fueling Impact Through Initiatives
The Foundation is known for founding, incubating and supporting some of St. Louis’ most well-known and respected nonprofit organizations. The new mark easily show the relationship between the Foundation and initiatives which can become stand-alone organizations in the future.
A Brand for the Future
A critical point in the brand development process is introducing a new brand to stakeholders. The Community Foundation had a ready-made debut party in its annual Open House. The new brand came to life through signage and interactive displays inviting attendees to dream about the future of our St. Louis.
