Latest / We Are For Good Podcast - The Podcast for Nonprofits / 110. How to Put the Spark into Your Nonprofit Brand - Lauren Atherton

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110. How to Put the Spark into Your Nonprofit Brand - Lauren Atherton · We Are For Good Podcast - The Podcast for Nonprofits

• 0:02
  Jonathan McCoy: Hey, I'm john.
• 0:03
  Becky Endicott: And I'm Becky.
• 0:04
  Jonathan McCoy: And this is the we are for good podcast.
• 0:07
  Becky Endicott: nonprofits are faced with more challenges to accomplish their missions and the growing pressure to do more, raise more and be more for the causes that improve our world.
• 0:16
  Jonathan McCoy: We're here to learn with you from some of the best in the industry, bringing the most innovative ideas, inspirational stories, all to create an impact uprising.
• 0:24
  Becky Endicott: So welcome to the good community, where nonprofit professionals, philanthropist world changers and rabid fans who are striving to bring a little more goodness into the world.
• 0:35
  Jonathan McCoy: So let's get started.
• 0:38
  Unknown: Hey, Becky, welcome, everybody.
• 0:41
  Jonathan McCoy: We are gonna geek out guys. I'm just gonna apologize in advance. I feel like I need to put that out on the table.
• 0:46
  Becky Endicott: Yeah, I think that's a good way to just kind of tee up this conversation today. Because we do we have so many great conversations, so many great guests, we are always interested in the topics otherwise we would not have them on the show. But this is like going to our favorite space and having our favorite conversations because we're talking about branding and marketing today. for nonprofits.
• 1:08
  Jonathan McCoy: It's basically our passion project. And so sorry if we talk about typography, but we're gonna bring you along and get you excited about typography today, I can't. So I'm so excited to actually talk in real life. We have known Lauren Atherton for months on Instagram. And if you're not following her, you've got to just stay inspired by seeing the design work that they put together. But Lauren just has this amazing story. She really does. What I wanted to do when I was in college doing graphic design was to start my own design agency to serve nonprofits. And that's really kind of what we do today with we are for good. But Lauren has this amazing story that I want her to tell and not me spill all the beans, but just this really kind of confirming place of how she decided to actually do this full time and walk us through that. But her pedigree is what you would want in somebody that is in charge of your brand, somebody that's worked with some of the biggest brands across the country. I'm talking chick fil a, I'm talking Henry Ford health system, Dish Network, right. So Lauren knows her stuff. She's an expert strategist in the design space, but she has made the pivot to just serve wholeheartedly nonprofits with her expertise and the team that she has built. So they do everything print to online to across the board. But she's an expert in this space we've gotten to meet to through just different conferences in our industry. She loves sharing her wisdom with the world. So this is going to be an amazing conversation. We are so delighted to talk to Lauren Atherton of heart spark designed today. So Lauren, welcome to the podcast.
• 2:35
  Unknown: Thank you. Thanks for having me. It's such an honor.
• 2:37
  Jonathan McCoy: Well, it's an honor for us to would you kind of give us a little bit of your story. What you know, was the tipping point for you really launching heart spark?
• 2:46
  Unknown: Yeah. So I stepping back a little bit, went to school and studied fine art at Spring Arbor University in Michigan, started my career in advertising and worked as a lowly intern on paid two days a week and worked my way up to graphic designer, Junior director and art director. And then I moved out to Colorado about eight years ago to help start a church, which is really awesome. Love Colorado, I'm here for life and met my husband out here. And in 2017, we got married. And six months later, I had emergency open heart surgery. And that was no history of any heart disease in my family, no history of anything.
• 3:23
  Unknown: And that really set the stage of like, Okay, I think my work needs to mean more than just me doing freelance work for anybody and everybody. I really wanted it to mean something. And for years, I had this dream of having an agency for nonprofits.
• 3:38
  Unknown: But when you're young, it's like, oh, yeah, I could do this someday. And then you kind of hit adult hood, and you're like, but okay, like, Can you make money doing that? Like, okay, so this, my open heart surgery actually really realized that dream, and yeah, just really made me excited about helping the world and helping nonprofits who are so underserved and really need help with design, making it count.
• 4:06
  Jonathan McCoy: I love that. I mean, I think each of us, you know, feel called to want to plug in and to serve nonprofits.
• 4:12
  Jonathan McCoy: And you describe it exactly.
• 4:12
  Jonathan McCoy: Right. And this is what our friends tell us. How do you make money with nonprofits? Why would you want to put your career in that. And we're torchbearers to say, hey, you can build careers and nonprofits can make investment in hiring the right kind of talent because it pays dividends and you don't want to get started on that topic for a different day. But I love that you just committed your life in that way. Because truly, the nonprofit sector is so underserved in a lot of different ways. And so we need creative people to plug in, we need passionate people to come and share their gifts. And so I love that you're just doing that.
• 4:47
  Becky Endicott: And I'm just curious if the name of your I mean, we're talking about branding, but I mean, how did you come up with that name? And was it connected to this personal experience that you had?
• 4:57
  Unknown: Yeah, absolutely. So I actually worked with a naming A company out of Minneapolis called pollywog, who helped me kind of get to this insight because I'm a designer. I'm not really a writer like you Becky gifted in that. And so they helped me come to that insight.
• 5:09
  Unknown: But as soon as they like presented that idea, I was like, That's it. That's it, because it speaks to that passion and compassion and drive and all these things that were about, well,
• 5:20
  Becky Endicott: I want to give you a compliment, because the greatest designer I've ever known in my entire life is sitting across from me right now. And this always makes john feel uncomfortable. I love this.
• 5:28
  Becky Endicott: No, I just, that's why I do it.
• 5:31
  Jonathan McCoy: That's why world's too small.
• 5:33
  Becky Endicott: Now john is to me, the greatest designer I've ever seen. And he just can bring things to life. And anyone who's ever seen any of our stuff would actually see that. But Lauren is one of the first people I've seen john say, Oh my gosh, like, she is my person. She is the female john, because her stuff is so smart. And it's so beautiful. And it's simple, except it's so poignant, even in its simplicity. And so I really want to talk to you about building strong brands that multiply impact. So can you kind of walk our listeners through some of those key steps to begin building your nonprofit brands?
• 6:14
  Becky Endicott: And just suggestions for how they can stand out?
• 6:17
  Unknown: Yeah, absolutely. Well, first, there are a couple of myths around branding that I want to address. One is that brand is just a logo and colors and fonts. And all these like little things that designers geek out about the like aren't really that important. And really branding is so much more than that. Branding is everything from you know, the strategy, your differentiator, going into like your core values, it's really strategy, then your visual identity, which is logo, colors, fonts is everything on top of that, that expresses that core brand. So think of it like a person, you have personality, and these different values and things that make you you and then your clothing is kind of like the visual identity on top of that.
• 6:59
  Unknown: So that's how I like to explain.
• 7:03
  Unknown: And if I can hop
• 7:04
  Jonathan McCoy: in here, just I mean, because I think this is something that nonprofits like they're gonna just glaze over and be like, okay, they're talking about fonts. Again, we're not talking about fonts.
• 7:10
  Jonathan McCoy: Like we're literally saying, How do you bake your brand into every experience? You know, like, I think if chick fil a, because I
• 7:18
  Becky Endicott: literally was almost going to say this, because yeah, just talking about it. I
• 7:22
  Jonathan McCoy: know, because I it's not just the chicken logo.
• 7:25
  Becky Endicott: Yeah, we can all see that logo. But it's so much more than that.
• 7:29
  Unknown: Exactly. And that's the whole thing with branding is everyone thinks, oh, that's just the designers job. And oh, we can't have it, we don't have a designer on our teams like, okay, we just have these colors, we just use them over and over and over and over again. And that's our brand, when really, there's so much more to that.
• 7:42
  Unknown: And every piece of your company, every person in your company needs to be, you know, depositing or helping that brand grow more than just like, oh, that's somebody else's job. It's a woman, every part of the brand, because brand is really just the reputation or the connection that someone has with your nonprofit. That's it. And so you can build a brand by being intentional, or you can build it by accident. And you really, it's one or the other.
• 8:13
  Unknown: And I would rather have a brand that's intentional, where you're really directing that conversation where it needs to go.
• 8:53
  Jonathan McCoy: I love this. And I love that you said everybody can put a deposit in because, again, so many nonprofits don't have a designer on staff. So I know, we've both spent part of our life freelancing. And so we've seen it all, you know, in terms of what people come to the table with, but changing the mindset right off the gate that everybody's involved in this.
• 9:14
  Jonathan McCoy: It's the way we talk. It's the way we treat people. It's It's everything and so loving where this conversation is going.
• 9:21
  Jonathan McCoy: Lauren, when you sit down with a nonprofit, where do you begin with them trying to understand their brand? And how do they need to take the first baby steps?
• 9:31
  Unknown: Yeah, so we always begin with strategy. And typically we start with serving the team volunteers. You know, even some donors, if they're open to that, and really trying to understand the organization from the inside out. Pre COVID, we would actually go to events, or you know, we would actually like sit down and talk with people or volunteer, get our hands dirty, and really feel the organization, you know, from the inside out. So that way we know, okay, here are some opportunities, and your people have the best insights. And so you have to start there, because they know I mean, and people aren't afraid to share their opinion if if they're being asked. So typically, we start there, and then we boil down, you know, your key differentiator, your values, all those pieces of the brand and then translate that into Visual Design and so and messaging, and so really, it's a matter of getting the strategy, right because if you don't get the strategy, right, you just keep circling. You'll be back here again and again. And again and again. But if you have a sound strategy, then when you actually build design on top of it, it's not just what you like, like or don't like, or what you feel or Oh, yeah.
• 10:46
  Unknown: Yeah, or trends, yeah, or based on trends, because trends come and go. But if you know, your brand, what you stand for what you don't stand for, then that makes everything else so much easier.
• 10:58
  Becky Endicott: I think the voice is really an important conversation with this. And I and I love that you talked about values. Because if you don't have a clear connection point to who you are and what you stand for, and it's going to be really hard to understand what your brand represents. And so I like the conversation about the voice, because you can have the most beautiful designer, create the most incredible graphics for you videos, photos, whatever it is. And if you don't have a voice that is human that is in that space, responding engaging, then the brand is going to be nothing more than what you just said, the myth was, it's just a picture. It's just a logo. And so the way to to have a brand to bring it to life is really about getting to the heart of who you are finding I think I you say you're not a storyteller, but the fact that you go in and you talk about those messages and those key differentiators and finding the the way that staff interpret who they are and how they sell the mission. I think that is such a an integral part of branding and storytelling. So you know, where would what would a nonprofit start? When you go through strategy, you boil it down? You know, how can I'm thinking about people that are not on the communications team or not your graphic designer?
• 12:22
  Becky Endicott: How do people pour into the brand? You know, I think about major gift officers annual giving team, how do you pull them into this conversation?
• 12:31
  Unknown: Yeah, so I really think about branding. If someone's getting started, then the most important thing is your experience. Like you could have a subpar logo and like your website is okay. But it's not great. But if you're giving someone a great experience, and you need to experience the experience, what is it like to donate? What is it like to volunteer? What is it like to you know, is your team prepared to actually, you know, ask for gifts? What does that presentation look like? And really, it's a matter of getting those things, right. And really just understanding, you know, from somebody else's perspective, what does that look like. And one thing that I always think about with with branding as it's so when my husband and I got married, one thing that was, you know, brought up to us with like this idea of a love tank, that everyone has a love tank, and you're either depositing or withdrawing from that tank. And so with your brand, you can have, you know, minimal effort and a lot of your design, let's just say, or your you know, we messaging needs to be right. But with that love tank, you need to be making deposits, more than you're withdrawing more than you're like asking for someone to do something for you provide value to them, you know, make your website easy to navigate, make donating easy, there's a bunch of different ways that don't require a ton of effort that you can deposit and build that relationship over time. And then, you know, once you hit to get to the point that your nonprofit is growing, maybe you're, you know, got a little bit more funds a little more stable, then you can really invest in branding, and just continue to build on that experience. But that's what makes your nonprofit remarkable is that experience and connecting, you know that donor story with your beneficiaries and bringing these two things together. So it's really this like beautiful mix of experience, understanding who you're talking to, and knowing who you are.
• 14:22
  Jonathan McCoy: Okay, super geeking out on all these things.
• 14:26
  Jonathan McCoy: And just thinking, you know, Lauren, is an excellent communicator, just how to boil this down to a simple way that everybody can get involved. But I think you also within the industry, and again, if you follow her on Instagram, I think you should do this. But you also are teaching of how to nonprofits play in the same sandbox that our corporate, you know, I wouldn't want us to even use the word competitors. But in the marketplace, our websites are in front of the same people who are going to all the best websites with the hugest budgets and the biggest marketing plans and all the tech. So I know you really are passionate about teaching our sector about trends and being aware of things. And so I think that the blog post that you put out most recently about trends in branding for nonprofits, I think was really powerful. And so if there's a couple things that you'd want to lift of just things that you've kind of noticed and that you're paying attention to and that you think nonprofits should.
• 15:20
  Unknown: Yeah, that's a great question. So the big thing is, I feel like this line between social impact and nonprofit and corporate responsibility that line is getting blurred for a lot of people where they're going Okay, like nonprofits is no longer acceptable, I think this is a trend coming is that it's no longer acceptable for a nonprofit to be like, Oh, your website doesn't really work.
• 15:43
  Unknown: Well, that's okay, your nonprofit, where we kind of like, allow this apology to cover the expectation that people have people are expecting nonprofits to look just as good as the caspers, or the pros or these other brands that are in the social impact space, but they're for profit. And people really want brands who are going to make them look good and feel good. And as much as people are altruistic, and they want to do good in the world, your brand really has to deliver on that experience, baseline deliver on that experience. But on top of that, you really have to make them look good. Because if somebody goes to your website, and they, you know, oh, it doesn't really work properly, Oh, this looks kind of weird. I don't know, that puts a lot of doubt in the minds of somebody, a potential donor, or someone who wants to get involved, and we just can't afford to do that anymore. It's that important that you have, you know, a site that looks good, is communicating well, because you have to compete with all the other eyes on all the screens.
• 16:51
  Unknown: Especially in our culture,
• 16:52
  Jonathan McCoy: it's like people, your donors view it as part of their identity, who are the few organizations that you choose to personally invest into your time and your money. And they want that to be a brand that they're associated with, it fits who they want to be, I mean, if they only have a limited number of places to plug in. So I think that's a very solid point, and why everybody should be raising this discussion among their leadership team, their board, etc.
• 17:14
  Unknown: Absolutely. And you know, they pay millions of dollars to get people to care.
• 17:17
  Unknown: Already, make people care, like people already care. So your brand and just delivering that great experience, I'm not saying like, it has to be an apple like experience, it just has to be a great, you know, good experience for people, there's no barrier for them. That's a good experience. And so I think this is low hanging fruit for a lot of nonprofits, because just like you said, like eat people, you have the secret, like, these companies are paying so much money to try to get their messages out and all these different ways where you have a real, authentic message that matters.
• 17:56
  Jonathan McCoy: Okay, I keep thinking, I feel like one of the platforms that we need to push forward as a fellow marketer brand or at heart is that one of the biggest barriers I think I hear nonprofits say is like, Oh, we don't have the budget to invest in this. And we've had this conversation with social media, we have this conversation with hiring consultants, we have this conversation with literally any investment in your organization. It's frustrating as a designer, because we understand the value we understand. It's the front porch to our entire your entire organization, like per cost ROI is so high compared to anything else. But what are just how do you talk clients through that I know you are really unapologetic, that some things cost. I mean, we're going to work with you to a certain degree, but it's going to be a certain level of investment, because we're professionals, and this is helping you out. So what's something you can impart to people of just why they should, you know, push money into this kind of investment?
• 18:54
  Unknown: Yeah, I mean, the biggest thing is that your brand is exactly what you said, the front porch is the face of your nonprofit, and that matters. And the best brands are built over time. So the best thing you can do for your nonprofit, is to invest. And I say, invest in a few key areas. I'm not saying you have to blow out and do like brochures and merge and everything with your nonprofit.
• 19:18
  Unknown: But I think investing in a logo, a consistent style, some key messaging, and a great website is a great way to get started social media you can do behind the scenes and have fun and like, can be a little bit off script, because that's part of your brand is that personality.
• 19:38
  Unknown: But those days, say three things or four things are critical for your nonprofit, at least to get started. And then you know, over time, if you already have a logo, rebranding or redoing, it isn't something that you just want to like, you know, wipe out the old and start over. As you you know, build that brand equity over time. You really want to get you know, those key pieces will grow and change with your organization. But those are the ones to get right and really invest in another, you know, second opinion or professional to help you with that.
• 20:13
  Jonathan McCoy: Taking a quick pause from today's episode to thank our sponsor, who happens to be one of our favorite companies virtuous. You know, we believe everyone matters and we've witnessed the greatest philanthropic movements happen when you see and activate donors at every level. And virtuous is the platform to help you do just that. It's so much more than a nonprofit CRM. virtuous helps charities reimagine generosity through risk. Sponsor fundraising. And we love it because this approach builds trust and loyalty through personalized donor engagement.
• 20:37
  Jonathan McCoy: Sound like virtuous may be a fit for your organization, learn more today@virtuous.org, follow the link in our show notes.
• 20:48
  Unknown: Oh my gosh,
• 20:48
  Becky Endicott: I love this conversation so much. I think these are things that everybody can get on board with. I mean, I think we're used to saying, kick that to the marketing department as a nonprofit, like I'm, I'm over here and grants or corporate partners or whatever, I don't really, I don't really have a dog in that fight. And it's like, no, everyone needs to be pouring into this, because we're all going to use the website at some point. I mean, even if you're a gift processor, you're going to be pointing people to how to make a gift on the website, you need to know who your what your brand is, who your who your voice is, who your end user is. And I love that you have brought out what we call the long game. You know, brands are not something if you get a new logo, you get a new website, you have a launch for that your brand is not just automatically accepted. And that's not who you are, you have basically rolled out a new logo and a new website, how you interface with someone in that time, is really about how to build your brand.
• 21:49
  Becky Endicott: So I want to talk a little bit about auditing organizations, because I think this could be something practical that people could actually do today. Could you do like a little mini audit with our listeners and provide a few questions that they could ask themselves to begin auditing their branding, their messaging, perhaps their digital presence?
• 22:07
  Becky Endicott: help us out?
• 22:10
  Unknown: Yeah, so let's just focus on those, you know, those three things that we mentioned before your logo, your messaging, and then your website? Because I feel like those are the best examples of branding. But on a practical level, just what you can look at and kind of question. And what's funny as you're gonna laugh, because a lot of these questions are like, wow, these are so big, like basic questions, but they're really important, just for the functionality of your identity. So first, with the logo, I always, you know, is it attractive and legible. A lot of times with nonprofits, you know, you have a logo, and you know, someone design it for you, and I get one, but it doesn't scale small, or scale large, or your team doesn't like using it, maybe it's got too many colors, or it's just difficult to manage. And so really take a hard look at that. And a lot of people think your logo is the end all be all like it has to define everything with our brand. And it doesn't. This is just one piece of the puzzle.
• 23:09
  Unknown: And really your logo, the only purpose of your logo is to give somebody something to identify.
• 23:13
  Unknown: So like, Okay, I have this experience with your brand or with your nonprofit. That's the logo and it's all subliminal.
• 23:19
  Unknown: It's not like someone literally going like, Oh, yeah, this is what I'm identifying that with, but it's just an identifier. So it should look good and be memorable. Like I said earlier, you know, with, if you've been established for a few years, don't think that changing your logo, changing your website, it's gonna change everything about your brand, just like you said, Becky, it's, you know, if you've been around for I would say, five to 10 years, you need to keep part of that that logo the same, because that's some brand equity, unless it's really not serving you or is you know, there's something wrong really wrong with it, then it's time to change. But there's parts of your logo that you want to keep the same, just so it's you know, recognizable.
• 24:03
  Jonathan McCoy: That's great advice. How about with, you know, websites? I mean, that's a big part that everybody's got a front door? What are some quick audits that you could today open up your browser and do a quick check on that?
• 24:16
  Unknown: Yeah, the biggest thing with websites, I think it's over like 50 I think it's 53% of traffic now is then mobile, people are coming to websites on mobile. Wow. So you need to make sure yeah, you need to make sure your website is mobile friendly.
• 24:29
  Unknown: So that would be number one. Two is, you know, does it look good.
• 24:35
  Unknown: There's a certain degree of like everything with your brand, your fonts, your colors, your photography, everything comes together on your website. And so you need to make sure that that presence feels authentic and professional, but not like corporate and boring. A lot of times we go into this like oh I have to be so you know, robotic and it has to be so professional that we lose some personality and your you know, key message on the website needs to be in the top portion of the page.
• 25:03
  Unknown: People need to be able to see it right away. And it needs to be memorable. So those are kind of my main things with your website. Definitely have Donate button, easy to find in the top right corner and make that donation process easy for the donor to go through. Love those.
• 25:21
  Becky Endicott: So the third one messaging Of course, I'm like leaned in on this, please tell me what you think we should be doing on messaging.
• 25:28
  Unknown: Yeah, so the big thing with messaging is needs to be memorable with a lot Other times with nonprofits, we get mission statements. And we're like, yeah, this is it. And it's not memorable. Somebody, you should repeat it over and over and over again. And people should be able to repeat it back to you. And really what that message needs to do is, and I'm thinking a one liner where it's, you know, who are you? What do you do? And then, you know, what are you known for, and really try to tie those things together. And it's really hard to get that in a concise statement. But once you get it, it's a game changer for your nonprofit.
• 26:06
  Jonathan McCoy: I agree. I mean, because at the end of the day, this is even going through the process to figure out what your key statements are, it's just such a healthy journey to take your team on and your staff on because the more you talk about it, and this is true with the podcast, I feel like the more things that we flesh out, we just become better people, we're able to better express our mission, we know it in and out.
• 26:27
  Jonathan McCoy: And we can talk about it in lots of different scenarios. And so all of this is, this is why it's so good to engage your whole team in this process, not to get their feedback on the logo, I would say like, at some level, you either got to restrict who's weighing in on some of these things. But the process of especially analyzing and getting people's feedback of just like Who are we as an organization, like, it's so much richer, if you can get a lot of voices. And as you kind of sift through what really bubbles to the top of what makes you unique. So
• 26:53
  Becky Endicott: I'm really glad you brought that up. Because it's a really good segue to something I've been thinking in my head, which is there, the logo is a very personal thing for a lot of people. And I I want to address it as like sort of the elephant in the room on this conversation, because I can go back to my early days in higher ed, for whatever reason, the culture of our university has these car stickers, like a car tag, these are literally stickers you put on the back of your car that says I am for us at Oklahoma State University.
• 27:24
  Becky Endicott: I'm an LSU alum, for whatever reason, that is a very personal logo, yes. And what people see, because it's such a visual billboard that's just driving around, you know, with hundreds of 1000s of people, you know, that are giving, or their alarms, or their athletic supporters, whatever it is. And I remember a time where we were like, We need to change the car tag, we need to update that sticker and that logo and the, the visceral reaction from the university and changing that.
• 27:56
  Becky Endicott: And we had to have a hard conversation about how we need to be progressive, you know that even the top brands in the world need a refresh, and we need it to align with the things that we are saying today. Yes, the brand is very consistent. We're all still here for the same mission.
• 28:12
  Becky Endicott: But it's like our story is evolving a little bit. And so can you talk a little bit about those people that are listening right there that says, Oh, my gosh, my my EDI is never gonna let me change the logo or corporate marketing is never going to let us change the logo.
• 28:30
  Becky Endicott: I mean, what would you say, as counsel for something like that?
• 28:34
  Unknown: Yeah, that's a great question. And I do face that a lot, where a lot of times, and you know, executive director will be like, you know, we want a new brand, but don't touch a logo. And a lot of designers, they just say, it's just like, oh, throw out the old and we're good. Like, let's move forward.
• 28:51
  Unknown: And it's just a totally new thing. And I'm not for that there's certain amount of equity, like we talked about earlier that is in that brand.
• 28:56
  Unknown: And so you just want to be mindful of like, Okay, if there's pieces of the brand, or the logo that are working well, sorry to see my dog's tail.
• 29:07
  Becky Endicott: Dogs bring your dog in.
• 29:10
  Unknown: If you see pieces of that logo that are working for you, but the important part is to look at and again, look at it objectively, it's not a matter of if you like it or don't like it or your opinion, is, is it serving our organization is this logo serving? I think when example I worked with the academy for lifelong learning in Denver last year, so refreshed their brand. And that was one thing that had a lot of pushback was you know, we don't want to change the icon completely and the brand the logo completely.
• 29:40
  Unknown: But strategically I looked at it, I'm like, you're you know, these are, this is an organization that serves seniors, the logo is really hard to read the icon doesn't really mean anything, there's no symbolism in it. So how can we make this better and make it smarter and serve the people that your organization is working with? So that way, it's not just changing it for changing its sake, but there's got to be some strategy there.
• 30:08
  Unknown: But at the same time, you know, sticking with it, just to stick with it. A lot of times, there's a case for consistency, like, Oh, we have to keep it the same.
• 30:14
  Unknown: It's always got to be the same.
• 30:17
  Unknown: The colors always have to be the same. And really, I think brands are shifting where now it's, you know, it's more human it brands are expected to be more human and you can use that color but bring in, you know, a little color or maybe on your shirts, you can do something More fun or social media do something more fun. And so there's this like human side of branding that's becoming more and more popular, which is great. Because it gives a little more flexibility, humanity and branding.
• 30:47
  Becky Endicott: Oh my gosh, I love this.
• 30:49
  Jonathan McCoy: Oh, Lauren.
• 30:49
  Jonathan McCoy: Okay, so you get to work with all these amazing nonprofits and get to be part of their stories.
• 30:55
  Jonathan McCoy: I know you're personally philanthropic. Is there a story that's kind of stuck out with you? Maybe an organization you've worked with? Or maybe it's personal?
• 31:03
  Unknown: Yeah, I? Man, that's a great question. The one the story I think of is, I worked with an organization probably two years ago now called covered and they are in the human trafficking space in Denver. And but what was a key differentiator of their brand is they actually don't go and like rescue people, they're not in these dangerous situations. What they do is once someone who has escaped human trafficking, is actually give them the skills and the training to build a life. So they don't fall back into that cycle again. And that was such a like core differentiator for them. Like I was like, Oh my gosh, I've never actually thought of human trafficking that like I didn't think about that piece of it, because that script of trafficking is so you know, ingrained and rescuing people, which is so important. But there's more to the story than that. And we so we worked with them rebranded, set up a new website, they saw amazing results just in like donations, Facebook followers, I mean, really, it just like, rallied and gave their organization, just new energy, even from within. And I got an invitation a month ago, to go to their Open House of their office. And I was like, Oh, my gosh, look at what, you know, getting really strategic, really focused, then rebranding, giving them an identity. And then just being able to celebrate, like, wow, you're getting a space. Like, I know, that sounds so small, but I was just like, that's so exciting. I was just so like, honored to be invited to be a part of their open house. But so I just think, you know, as much as branding, a lot of people think like, Oh, it's just the designers geeking out or Oh, it's just the surface level stuff. It can really revolutionize your organization, you know, from the inside out and give people a new level of ownership and excitement.
• 32:57
  Becky Endicott: And when you look good. I mean, it's it's contagious. People go, Wow, they're doing something really cool and special over there. So yeah, so that's probably one of my favorite stories is kind of seeing the full circle effect of of branding. Okay, I'm on their website right now. And if you need an example of how branding can inform your story, and how the logo in the website plan to all of this, please go to covered colorado.com or.org because this is a beautiful, beautiful example of that. So okay, Lauren, we asked all of our guests final question. One good thing, what is your one good thing that you would offer to our community today simple hack, or just a little piece of advice.
• 33:41
  Unknown: My one good thing would be, you know, engage with the creative community. When I went to start Hertzberg, like I would say, late 2019. I just put some feelers out to freelancers of like, Hey, I'm looking to start this agency, we're going to hire freelancers, just to help, you know, nonprofits. But I had over 350 messages, the emails
• 34:07
  Jonathan McCoy: struck a chord,
• 34:08
  Unknown: oh my gosh, it was madness. And I was like, Oh my gosh, and I just, my heart just broke because I'm like, here like nonprofit designers understand how important branding is and they just want to help then you have on the other side nonprofits who need the help and again, not saying like work for free but I thought that was so remarkable that like wow, like designers are really ready yet you know, writers ready to help and really serve this industry and passionate about helping and so I would say you know, if you need design help one you can always reach out to me, I'm happy to connect you to designers. But also, you know, put feelers out there and ask for help because the creative community, they are ready even I think about you know, if COVID photographers are looking for work, there's you know, freelance writers, you don't have to hire someone full time, but just get another opinion. and creative people are wired to help think about things differently. So that would be my one good thing is lean into your creative community.
• 35:12
  Jonathan McCoy: That was a very awesome one good thing.
• 35:14
  Becky Endicott: It was an awesome one good thing and can I add one more good thing that I've just been thinking about?
• 35:20
  Becky Endicott: I'm sorry. I can't talk about brands without thinking about you as an individual, whoever wherever you are listening in the world, as a brand, and I want you to think of yourself as a brand because You are, how you dress, how you talk, how you hold yourself how you navigate in this world says everything about the person that you are Yes, you are within an organization or within a company or you're in your family structure, but you are a brand in and of itself. And so look at your values and how you're perpetuating that. And maybe it's time also for an audit and, and just thinking about aligning yourself in the spaces where you think you can do the most good.
• 36:05
  Becky Endicott: But I love that we're talking about this from, you know, a tactical perspective. But I also think you could be as much of a draw to your organization because of your kindness.
• 36:16
  Becky Endicott: Because the way you listen to people, because of the way that you storyteller the way you do business. And so to me, that's kind of my final one good thing is you are a brand and you're just as much a part of perpetuating your organization as
• 36:29
  Jonathan McCoy: well. So Lauren, how can people connect with you?
• 36:32
  Jonathan McCoy: What's the best way to get with you or heart spark? Just to learn more and geek out on other things?
• 36:39
  Unknown: Yeah, so LinkedIn is the best place to connect with me. If you want more articles and things about branding, you can head to heart spark design comm or you can follow us on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, we're on all of it.
• 36:53
  Unknown: Love it. Thank you.
• 36:55
  Becky Endicott: Appreciate you being here. Lauren. We just I have loved every moment of this time. I know john and Julie have as well. So thank you for what you've brought to our community.
• 37:03
  Unknown: We appreciate you. It's my pleasure. My pleasure.
• 37:06
  Becky Endicott: She said it's my pleasure.
• 37:07
  Unknown: Oh my goodness.
• 37:10
  Jonathan McCoy: chick fil a loop is closed.
• 37:12
  Unknown: Awesome.
• 37:12
  Unknown: Have a good one.
• 37:14
  Becky Endicott: Thanks for listening to today's conversation with Lauren. We hope it's inspired you to take a hard look at your organizational brand to multiply your impact in a way that's authentic and humane. You probably hear it in our voices but we love connecting you with the most innovative people to help you achieve more for your mission.
• 37:29
  Becky Endicott: Every Monday we send out a weekly roundup of our best content and resources to the good community. Sign up for free. We are for good, calm backslash. Hello. One more thing. If you love what you heard today, would you mind leaving us a podcast rating and review? It really does help more people find our community.
• 37:42
  Becky Endicott: Thanks friends. Our production hero is the spark of our hearts.
• 37:45
  Becky Endicott: Julie Confer Good one. Our theme song is sunray by Remy bortz Van Gogh rock this week.