Client: Reconstructionist Rabbinical College (RRC)

Each year, as I sit down to create RRC’s annual report, I wonder how I will maintain the institution’s visual personality and yet, keep the report fresh. I take my cues from the content which always does a great job of storytelling, thereby offering opportunity for a variety of design treatments; high quality photographs and liberal doses of color help to bring each page to life.

We have determined that the horizontal orientation we began using a few years ago is ideal since it is an unexpected yet workable format for print and also well-suited for viewing on screen in the report’s online version.

This year, RRC gave supporters a chance to see a preview of the report online before the hard copy reached them. Using a template that I based upon the design of the report cover, an email newsletter was sent out with links to the report’s feature stories. Once within the online report, viewers can navigate through it, share a story on Facebook directly from the page, make a donation, click on a link to a video and on a tab to take a reader survey about the annual report. (The hard copy report included a paper insert of the same survey which could be mailed back to the college.)

There is a lot of discussion in the nonprofit world about the role of the annual report; in particular, print vs. digital presentations. The survey is intended to gather feedback from readers on exactly this: which content resonates most and which medium is preferred.

RRC takes an integrated approach to its communications. They are thoughtful and deliberate about insuring that print and online media are seamlessly intertwined so that stories, messages and visuals are consistent and recognizable across channels. And no matter what the medium, effective storytelling is at the heart of the report.

View a complete pdf of the print report: RRC 2012 Annual Report

For more information about nonprofit annual reports:

Telling Your Story Through Your Annual Report from Wild Apricot

Ten Tips for Writing a Great Annual Report by Kivi Leroux Miller

Make Your Annual Report Sing: 5 Ways to Choose and Use Stories by Kimberlee Roth of GettingAttention.org

Client: Moving Traditions

Moving Traditions, a Jenkintown (Philadelphia)-based nonprofit that focuses on the role that gender plays in contemporary Jewish life, co-curated an exhibit with the National Museum of American Jewish History called “Bat Mitzvah Comes of Age.” The exhibit traces the history of the bat mitzvah, a coming of age celebration that has become common since 1922 when Judith Kaplan, daughter of Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan (the founder of Reconstructionist Judaism) broke with tradition and had a bat mitzvah. The traveling exhibit made its debut at the JCC in Manhattan and is the setting for Moving Tradtions’ fundraiser this year.

My work on the project began with a save the date card and followed up with the invitation, email reminders and program design. The front of the invitation features one of the pieces in the exhibit: a telegram that was sent from one cousin to another (both honorees at the fundraiser) upon the occasion of her bat mitzvah in 1960. Both girls set milestones within their congregations; one was the first to have a bat mitzvah on a Friday night in her synagogue and the other was the first to have a Saturday morning bat mitzvah in her congregation.

The other design element in the invitation is “the blue dress” which became a Moving Traditions favorite after I used it in their 2007 invitation. That invitation introduced the concept of “Bat Mitzvah Firsts,” a collection of first person stories from women who pioneered bat mitzvahs within their communities.

In fact, the fundraiser will include “Bat Mitzvah Monologues,” featuring the stories of some of these bat mitzvah pioneers including Ruth Messinger, Letty Cottin Pogrebin and Rabbi Joy Levitt.

There is a thorough look at “Bat Mitzvah Comes of Age” in the March 28, 2012 issue of The Philadelphia Inquirer.

For information about the exhibit at the National Museum of American Jewish History, click here.

View a complete pdf of the invitation:  Bat Mitzvah Comes of Age Invitation

Client: Bikkurim, An Incubator for New Jewish Ideas

Bikkurim supports innovative, NYC-based, Jewish, non-profit projects that are in early stages of formation and organizational growth. To celebrate its tenth anniversary, the organization planned to release a report that identifies characteristics of successful start-up organizations and highlights the unique needs and challenges that Jewish “post-start-ups” face. The document, which contained loads of information including an executive summary, key findings, recommendations and close to 25 charts and diagrams, needed to be presented in a professional, organized and conceptually cohesive manner. While data-dense and serious in content, the report was to look “approachable and accessible.”

The first step in designing the report, entitled “From First Fruits to Abundant Harvest: Maximizing the Potential of Innovative Jewish Start-Ups,” was to develop a visual concept that conveyed the proper tone and message. We explored a host of images and decided to use one that showed one shiny red apple among many golden apples. Fruit was implicit in the notion of harvest and bounty, but equally significant in this picture, was that one apple stands out from among the rest; that is, among many start-ups, only some will stand out and thrive. Additionally, the picture needed to have a pleasing color palette and components that could be extracted to use as design elements within the body of the report.

The page layout of the report is purposefully clean and flexible so that the charts and diagrams can be prominently featured. Chart colors enhance the reader’s understanding of the data, as in the chart below; the yellow and blue from the chart at the top is repeated in the bottom chart to reinforce the information.

The final report was unveiled on Slingshot Day, March 14, 2012. It was featured on the ejewishphilanthropy blog and covered in The Jewish Week.

View the entire Bikkurim Report here.

Client: Brandywine Health Foundation

We have been working with the Brandywine Health Foundation since 2002 and created its first community report in 2005. Over the years, we have told many stories about the work that the foundation does to improve access to health care in the greater Coatesville area of Chester County, Pa. We have watched the foundation’s endowment climb from $19 million in 2001 to $26 million. Since its inception, it has awarded $10 million in direct grants and scholarships. Incredible accomplishments.

The challenge this 10th anniversary year was to present these achievements – along with the stories of the grantee organizations, those who they assist and the donors and volunteers who help to make it all happen – in a distinctive, succinct community report. We had just eight pages and two covers to do it all.

We had already created a 10th anniversary logo. At about the same time as the release of the report, the foundation was to unveil its new web site (created by Neptune Moon Design.) We decided that since storytelling is at the core of all nonprofit messaging, we would tell the story of the foundation by utilizing: photos (by Rick Davis) of the faces of those connected to the foundation; brief, inviting text that primarily focused on the highly personal, moving stories of the end-user beneficiaries of services the foundation suppports; a timeline depicting milestone accomplishments; and extended flaps on the covers with nuggets of impressive data.

Since the stories had to be brief due to space limitations, we invited readers to not only read expanded stories on each of the service beneficiaries on the new web site, but to also view video interviews (by Springhouse Films) of them— interviews that were based on the written stories we developed first through extensive reporting. The web site’s home page also features photos from the report and multiple links that help the visitor make the connection between the printed report and its electronic partner. To tie the package together even further,  the report—mailed in late November to coincide with end-of-year charitable giving—arrived in an envelope that begins to tell the story using the same enticing sentence printed on the community report’s cover:

“Ten years ago, if you were under- or uninsured and you were sick or your teeth hurt…”

To integrate the theme even more, the foundation used the same prose as the initial sentence in the donation-request letter that accompanied the mailed community report.

Thank you to Gary Zenker, a member of the foundation’s marketing committee and marketing director at Rouse Chamberlin Homes who remarks “Neat, balanced, impactful. Amy’s work is among the best I have ever seen. Her ability to transparently communicate strong messages and themes graphically to the reader is the mark of a true professional. Whatever the volume of text she’s handed, she has the ability to make sure it all gets communicated in a way where the basic message sticks, and the reader finds it easy to seek out the details.”

In early December, the foundation hosted a party for those stakeholders deeply engaged with the organization–donors, grantees, board members, volunteers, school board members, government officials—the community report was displayed and distributed and the logo made some prominent (and playful!) appearances. (See photos below.)

How has your organization used various marketing channels to promote its message?

To see a pdf of the full report, click here: BHF 10 year report

Related post: Invitation to the foundation’s garden party celebrating the 10th anniversary

Thomas J. Belmont, Jr, Immediate Past Chairman of the Board and current Treasurer, addresses guests at a 10th anniversary party as Harry Lewis, Chairman of the Board, looks on.

In the world of synagogues, new members are the key to sustainability and growth. And every year, the High Holiday season presents the best opportunity to reach those who may be “shul shopping.” Attracting these folks is the challenge.

Traditionally, Congregation Ohev Shalom has prepared newspaper ads that run in various local papers during the weeks leading up to the holidays. Newspaper space is expensive, however, and the synagogue now has an award-winning web site; so this year, it was decided to take a more integrated approach to the publicity and add a QR code to the ad. QR codes are two dimensional bar codes that are readable by smartphones. They are free.

The headline in the ad “Word of Mouth Says it All” speaks directly to the synagogue’s own anecdotal as well as data-proven experience – a congregation’s members are its best spokespeople and ambassadors within the community. People listen to what their friends and neighbors have to say.

The QR code capitalizes on this strategy. By utilizing the code, readers can “hear and see more” as the code takes them to a page on the web site that contains videos of members of various ages and backgrounds who speak about the role the synagogue plays in their lives. Coincidentally, at the time that we were assembling the campaign, there was a synagogue trip to Israel so we even got the rabbi to prepare his video from Israel. The page also includes information about open houses being offered prior to the holidays and a link to a simple contact form.

For those who have a smartphone but never used a QR code, we included simple instructions about downloading a QR code reader. And of course, we also included alternative modes of contact: the phone, e-mail and Facebook.

It was our feeling that even if readers did not have a smartphone or choose to utilize the code, its presence sent a valuable message that this synagogue is “on the ball,” “with it” and technologically savvy— all of which are positive perceptions that might not have been associated with this congregation in the past.

And while we are still figuring out how pertinent the QR code is to our potential audience—that is how many folks reading the local newspapers use smartphones and are interested in joining a synagogue—it was an easy thing to try.

The video page of the web site received lots of visits and proved to be a welcoming gateway even for those who did not access it via the QR code. Once on the site, visitors stayed. And yes, new folks came to services and many chose to join the community.

By Bruce E. Beans, Editorial Director

The College of Education is one of the largest of Temple University’s colleges and schools. For the past five years I have written nearly all of the copy for the college’s 36-page Educator magazine, which is distributed annually to alumni, faculty and other key constituencies to heighten the college’s profile and generate financial support.

Several weeks after the most recent issue was mailed, Valerie Gay, the college’s assistant dean for institutional advancement, received a call from an alumna interested in donating to the college. She had never read a magazine, she explained, whose stories had moved her so much.

Her reaction was shared by a proofreader and graphic designer, both of whom were reduced to tears by the story of Ed Hoffman, an alum who several years ago was the nation’s only middle school principal to receive the U.S. Department of Education’s Terrell H. Bell Award for outstanding school leadership. Hoffman until recently was the principal who led the Russell H. Conwell Middle Magnet School in Kensington, one of Philadelphia’s worst neighborhoods, to stunning academic excellence. Adding to the story’s richness, the school is named for Temple’s founder and, previously, was Hoffman’s own grade school.

We pride ourselves in helping our clients to:

• identify their best stories, and
• determine how to best tell these tales.

In this case, a brief alumni award summary that I read led to my suggestion that Hoffman would make an excellent day-in-the-life cover story. My reporting, interviewing and writing assignments also included the two other features: a story on the college’s Summer Autism Institute and a doctoral graduate who is now a Harvard psychologist researching Latino mental health issues.

I also interviewed subjects and wrote the copy for the interim dean’s message, first-person student profiles and all but one of the news briefs. To improve readability, comply with the university’s style and to make necessary trims, I edited/rewrote much of the rest of the copy, including faculty and alumni notes. Finally, I handled such project management duties as managing copy approvals, scheduling photography and collaborating with one of Temple’s graphic designers.

Click below to see a pdf of the entire Fall 2011 Educator magazine.

http://www.temple.edu/education/pdfs/Educator-Fall2011.pdf

Client: United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism (USCJ)

For almost 20 years, United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism (USCJ) has been training new and incoming synagogue presidents through its highly successful Sulam program. The goal of Sulam, which means ladder in Hebrew, is to address issues critical to leading a synagogue and to create a network among alumni for the ongoing sharing of best practices.

Recent extensive research that led to a new strategic plan identified leadership development as a critical need within synagogues. Training presidents alone was no longer sufficient. It became clear that cultivating a cadre of leaders who could learn, grow and ultimately progress into the presidency or other synagogue leadership roles was key for many synagogues which struggle to fill these positions.

“Our goal is to create a continuum of leadership experiences so that kehillot not only can plan for succession, but that by the time someone is ready to become president of a kehilla, he or she will have the knowledge, skills, network, and inspiration to lead it into the most compelling place of Jewish meaning and purpose imaginable. More than that, he or she will have a critical mass of partners within the kehilla, lay and professional, who share a common vision and are prepared to work together in partnership to achieve it.”

This is the original Sulam logo that has a light, playful almost juvenile personality.

With the emphasis on leadership, I decided to incorporate the word “leadership” directly into the new logo (thus eliminating the need for a tag line) along with the suggestion of a ladder that climbs upward from the “E” in that word. I created an “umbrella” logo which identifies the Sulam family of leadership programs in general, and then, by using color, created subsets for each of the 3 Sulam audiences – emerging leaders, current leaders and presidents. The colors used suggest solidity; each is strong and bold in contrast to the whimsical colors previously used. Below are the new Sulam logos; the “umbrella” logo appears first, followed by the other 3:

The new logos will appear consistently on all training materials, curricula, workbooks, correspondence, publicity, web and electronic communications. The colors work to distinguish one from another; ultimately, with familiarity, each color will become easily identified with its cohort.

Designing effective logos involves a great deal of strategic thinking. To achieve successful outcomes, it is critical to:

• Define goals
• Identify the audience
• Know the mission
• Understand usage and
• Determine brand personality…

BEFORE beginning the creative process; and the process of asking and answering questions is best accomplished when the client and the designer work together as a team, each adding their own perspective on the product or service.

Client: Princeton University

The Coast to Coast College Tour program is a collaborative undergraduate admissions initiative among Princeton University, Northwestern University, Vanderbilt University, Dartmouth College and University of California-Berkeley. The admissions officers from these highly selective schools join forces to visit certain areas of the nation together. Traveling together not only helps them share costs, but makes it easier and more efficient for prospective students and school guidance counselors to plan their calendars since on a given date, they can hear presentations from five schools instead of only one.

My first task was to create a logo for this new brand. Sometimes I get asked where my ideas come from so I thought I would share my first quick sketch, done on a piece of scrap paper:

You can see that I immediately zeroed in on the double “C’s” for Coast. I played around with how they could relate to one another, either fitting into one another, like spoons facing the same direction or back-to-back in a more playful and abstract fashion. I thought briefly about a U.S. map, trying to determine if the logo needed a direct image of the nation to explain itself. You can also see that I began to play with the letters intersecting one another, creating a transparent new shape at the points of intersection.

Ultimately, I found that I could represent the sense of 2 coasts by using 2 “coastal” colors, pale blue and pale green. These colors were also good choices because I did not want to use colors that competed with or favored any of the schools’ official colors. None of the schools use these 2 shades. Transparency did make it in to the final rendering of the “C’s.”

I decided that it was not necessary to depict a map of the U.S. What I did determine was key to the brand was the concept of “college admissions.” Thus, I incorporated the mortar board which is immediately recognizable to this audience.

With the logo established, I went on to design a letterhead, envelope, flyers, postcards and a pocket folder (below) for the Coast to Coast program. The logo was also incorporated into a Coast to Coast web site.

As a postscript, I have noticed that sometimes (in e-mails) the Coast to Coast program uses the shorthand “C2C,” so the use of the double “C’s” has proven to be memorable.

Client: Temple Beth Sholom, Cherry Hill, New Jersey

We prepared this full page, full color ad to announce that, thanks to the success of its ongoing capital campaign, Temple Beth Sholom’s new sanctuary will be ready for Rosh Hashanah. Conceptually, the ad carries through the theme we developed in the campaign brochure, “Why it Matters.”

The photographs are of actual congregants and the display text highlights the benefits of the new facilities: comfortable, inspiring, energy-efficient, inviting, accessible and uplifting.

While the headline references both the construction and the anticipation it brings, the body text mentions some of TBS’s other facilities and programs. The copy ends with information about membership that is targeted for families with young children.

Click here to see the campaign thermometer, another aspect of the capital campaign materials that we created for TBS.

Client: USY (United Synagogue Youth)

USY is the youth group affiliated with USCJ, United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism. For 60 years, USY has provided young people with social, community service, spiritual, travel, leadership and educational opportunities. As a teenager, I participated in an exceptional USY-sponsored summer trip to eastern Europe and Israel – a trip that truly changed my life.

This year, to celebrate its 60th anniversary, USY is sponsoring several events around the country. Each event will honor an individual who has had a significant impact on the organization. The first event, to be held in September, honors Jules Gutin who has spent his entire professional career within the Conservative movement and has been USY and Kadima’s International Director for more than 20 years.

The committee working on the events posed an interesting challenge. They wanted all of the invitations to have a cohesive look and yet, be distinct from one another. And they liked the idea of using stained glass as a design motif. I gave that concept some thought. With its transparency, luminosity, robust color and unique textures, stained glass does convey creativity; additionally, each shard, with its particular shape and identity, contributes to the beauty of the whole. An interesting visual metaphor for the members and leaders of USY.

To address the continuity issue, I decided to create a logo to represent these USY at 60 events. The warm, golden orb which has already earned the nickname “the sunshine” is like a beacon, representing the leadership demonstrated by all of the honorees. Over the course of the year, the logo will become a recognizable USY60 brand. Each invitation will use the logo and the stained glass concept but different colors will be highlighted and additional touches may be added to personalize the design.

The brand is already expanding; these and related images are featured on a web site that USY created for the anniversary and on the USY60 Facebook page.

Click below to see a pdf of the entire invitation to the Jules Gutin event.

USY at 60 Jules Gutin Invitation