Change the name of an entire organization – but do it in 24 hours.
Value marketing asked community members to vote for their favorite organizations to receive this year’s recipients 24-hour deliveryoffering a local nonprofit a total revamp of its logo, website and even its name.
Mary Verdin, CEO of Verdin Marketing, said the project draws together a team of approximately 21 media, business and creative local partners who combine their talents to make the day-long project a reality. But before that magic happens, the recipient must first be chosen by nomination and votes.
According to Verdin, the process begins with public nominations by local nonprofits. The 24-Hour Give staff reviews these and decides on two finalists. The winner is up to the voters over a 10-day period.
“[The voting] is really about getting the nonprofit to kind of rally their supporters and get the word out and what they’re trying to do,” Verdin said. “Raising awareness of who they are, what they do and getting people out to vote at the end of the voting period. ”
While nominations have closed for this year’s round, Verdin Marketing will announce this year’s two finalists and open voting on October 11. Residents can vote until October 21, and voters can vote once per day, for a total of 10 votes. The 24-hour project itself starts at 07:00 on November 7 and ends at the same time on November 8.
Verdin Marketing is an SLO marketing firm specializing in business improvement districts, and its mission is to support tourism, economic growth and a strong sense of community. Its 24-Hour Give project has been a way to make a difference in the community since 2014, and according to Verdin, it has donated more than $1 million in services through its work and partner contributions to date.
Verdin said she’s excited about this year’s 24-hour project because it hasn’t happened since 2020, when the pandemic shut down the group’s ability to work together in the same room for an entire day.
“My team was really excited to do it again. A lot of my team weren’t here in 2019, so they’ve never done it and were very curious to do it,” she said. “So, we thought earlier this year, maybe let’s go back and do the 24-hour version of it again.”
Since 2020, the group has helped with various local campaigns, including one for the Transitions-Mental Health Association, but not in 24-hour periods.
The values of the chosen organization are important to the 24-hour team, Verdin said. Before the actual transformation begins, they meet with nonprofit staff beforehand to ensure the improvements reflect the mission.
“So, any one [staff that] want to come and be part of what we call an immersion session, we go through a discovery session,” she said. “We’re just getting as much information as we can about who they are, why they’re important, what they’re trying to accomplish, what their biggest pain points are.”
From there, the 24-hour team creates a new logo, revamps the nonprofit’s website, takes new photos, and even brainstorms new names.
Literacy for life was a recipient of the 24-hour gift in 2016 and is still reaping the rewards.
The organization was founded in 1982 to help tackle illiteracy among immigrants and provide local literacy tutoring, and executive director Bernadette Bernardi said the 24-hour project gave the organization the energy it needed, including a new name and website.
Once called the Literacy Council, Bernardi said its change to Literacy for Life modernized its image and added more meaning to the organization’s mission.
“[Literary Council] sounded a little dated, and it sounded like a bunch of people sitting around making decisions,” she said. “What [24-Hour Give] did for us is that it revitalized us, rejuvenated us, gave us a lift – a splash, if you will – and got us going. You just get into the old routine and don’t think about new things. And so this was a really good vehicle to re-energize in a lot of ways.”
Bernardi said Literacy for Life is still using the same website 24-Hour Give created for them in 2016 as well.
“I think it’s still hip and it’s still alive today, and it’s been years already,” she said. “Just a new coat of paint on an old house.”
For more information about the 24 Hour Give and to vote for this year’s recipient beginning October 11, visit 24hourgive.verdinmarketing.com.
• The Woods Humane Society is hosting the biggest pet celebration of the year, the Wiggle Waggle Fall Festival on Saturday 26 October from 12-3pm at the Woods Humane Society SLO, located at 875 Oklahoma Ave. The free fall-themed festival will feature costume contests for kids and pets, exercise challenges and local vendors and food. New for this year is that the Humane Society and SLO Läns Djurservice will offer half-time adoption of dogs and cats at the event. For more information, visit woodshumane.org/fallfestival. Δ
Reach staff writer Libbey Hanson at [email protected].
#Verdin #Marketings #24Hour #Give #SLO #Nonprofits #Free #Rebranding