HCCF Brand Refresh
Background
Hamilton County Community Foundation (HCCF) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for residents of Hamilton County, Indiana. Founded in 1991, HCCF focuses on initiatives related to mental health, family empowerment, and inclusive economic growth. The foundation aims to mobilize resources and foster collaboration to address critical community needs and promote equity.
HCCF came to Mojo Up Marketing + Media looking for a brand refresh to help differentiate themselves after being closely tied to the Central Indiana Community Foundation (CICF) for many years and help give a clear understanding to the community of who they are. My primary role in this project was to create the new logo suite for HCCF.
Team:
Account Manager: Mary Ellen Romero
Project Manager: Kasey Jones
Graphic Designer: Jalen Moore
For Mojo Up Marketing + Media
Project Timeline:
July 2024
The Challenge
Lack of Brand Recognition: The organization's previous brandmark is used by multiple affiliate organizations causing confusion within the community and donors on who HCCF is.
Low Awareness: Limited community recognition made it difficult for residents, donors, and potential non-profit partners to understand and engage with their mission, services, and contributions to the community.
Differentiation over Separation: HCCF needed to differentiate itself from CICF, but also did not want to separate itself from its affiliation, entirely.
Goals & Objectives
Increase Brand Recognition: Establish a strong, recognizable brand presence to ensure HCCF is top-of-mind within the community and separate from CICF.
Clarify Brand Value: Clearly communicate the unique value proposition of contributing to HCCF to attract and retain donors.
Expand Service Offerings: Address service gaps, provide capacity-building for nonprofits, and increase funding opportunities.
I started this process by doing an initial audit of every county community foundation in the state of Indiana, to get an idea of what common ideas are being used and how we could help HCCF stand out on a local and state level. Then, once I had a grasp of what to avoid and what could be capitalized on, I moved on to sketching my ideas and creating rough vectors of the ones that stood out.
early concept sketches
Similar to any logo ideation process, we worked with the client to define what would make this logo successful. The logo had to:
use the previous brand color palette to help keep ties to the CICF affiliation
avoid hands, heart, and tree symbolism as those are common marks within non-profit/community foundations
be “something we can swag the hell out of.”
evoke a feeling of trust and confidence
early logo concepts
early typography exploration
- Tom Kilian, former President
“ Something we can
swag the hell out of. ”
Results
Brand Awareness: HCCF is successfully shedding its "best-kept secret" status, becoming a more recognized entity within the Hamilton County community and its residents.
Enhanced Donor Contributions: Clear communication of HCCF’s value proposition is helping attract new donors and deepen existing relationships.
Stronger Partnerships: Collaborative efforts with aligned nonprofits and community leaders are amplifing the foundation’s impact.