Representing over 3,300 local public health departments and tribal health organizations across the United States, The National Association of County & City Health Officials is a leader, partner, and catalyst for improving public health in America. Dependent on government funding in an era of declining federal budgets for public health, NACCHO responded with a new strategy to diversify its revenue sources and foster a culture of fundraising in the sector. They asked Constructive to turn their strategic plan into a new brand to mobilize its people and resources to build the capacity of local health departments across America. Needing to act quickly and launch the initiative at their annual conference, we created The Foundation for the Public’s Health, a new daughter organization with a focused message and brand that compellingly makes the case for investment.
As an association nonprofit, NACCHO is the voice for ensuring that America has an effective public health system, helping over 3,300 local public health departments carry out their vital mission. The challenge is that public health, often referred to as The Invisible Shield, is often taken for granted until there’s a crisis. A trend of annual federal budget cuts was gradually and rapidly weakening this vital protection over time, delivering less money for public health research, resources, and infrastructure that threatened the effectiveness of America’s public health system. There was another thing that, when taken for granted, could also spell disaster for public health: the belief that the government would always provide the funding that the system needs. NACCHO’s solution was a strategy to reduce reliance on government funding and diversify revenue sources by changing the culture in a sector that rarely prioritized private funds. Needing to rapidly make this idea a reality in time for their annual conference in five months, we quickly got to work creating a brand strategy to launch the organization that would be the face of this new vision.
With a clear understanding of NACCHO’s strategic plan for The Foundation for the Public’s Health (FPH) and valuable insights into the motivations and needs of the audiences they needed to engage, we developed a strategy to inform how the new entity would show up in the world. First and foremost, the Foundation needed a purpose-defining brand narrative to engage audiences with its “why.” This brand message positions FPH by powerfully communicating the value of America’s public health sector, elevating the urgency of ensuring that it is appropriately funded, and inviting allies to build a stronger system that meets the needs of communities across America. With the brand idea clearly articulated, we then created FPH’s “case for investment” to empower NACCHO’s development team as they began reaching out to funding partners and raising awareness.
Designing the branding for NACCHO’s new philanthropic foundation was our opportunity to visually encapsulate their novel strategy, differentiate the brand, and establish FPH as an innovative and dynamic force for improving public health in local communities across America. Fortunately, a sea of undifferentiated, institutional brands in the public health sector meant that our team had no shortage of opportunities to design branding for The Foundation for the Public’s Health so that it would stand up, stand out, and stand for something. Constructive’s team explored a wide range of design concepts that expressed different aspects and attributes of FPH. The direction that resonated best with NACCHO and spoke to their collaborative, community-centered development model presents a vibrant and dynamic organization in motion—one that unites public, private, and philanthropic partners in a shared mission to ensure a strong public health sector.
In fundraising and development, a website to point people to that quickly builds trust and delivers a focused message is an invaluable asset. The challenge for FPH was that it was still an unknown organization that needed to mobilize funders to take up a huge systemic challenge in public health. Even with the NACCHO’s history and brand equity providing a ballast for The Foundation for the Public’s Health, FPH was a new organization—one with big plans, but a long way to go in proving the effectiveness of its model and demonstrating tangible outcomes. We stayed focused on the website’s biggest priority and the most important purpose: introducing funders to the organization, persuasively telling its story, and creating a bridge to further conversation and engagement. FPH’s website makes the case for the mission with a focused message that speaks to strategic partners and donors alike; and then delivers a detailed look at the Foundation’s organizational strategy, visualizes its theory of change, highlights areas of expertise, and drives engagement.
The Foundation for the Public’s Health’s website invites new funders into the fold, speaking with clarity and urgency to a complex issue so that private partners and philanthropic funders can join FPH in helping make the change.
To launch Foundation for the Public’s Health with momentum, it was essential to engage their most important constituency—the tens of thousands of public health workers across America and its strategic partners in the public health sector. It was also essential to begin fundraising by engaging supporters within and outside the sector. To build excitement in the public health professional community and enlist their support, we created a direct mail campaign to coincide with FPH’s website announcement; then followed up with a broader fundraising appeal online using campaign landing pages and consistent calls-to-action.
“Working with Constructive was the best strategic decision we could have made. They don’t just go through the steps—they’re a true partner. They push you. They give—and take—constructive criticism. And they share your passion. Constructive’s team never says “your” project. For them, it’s “our” project—and it shows in the quality of their work.”
Paul Yeghiayan, President & CEO, Foundation for the Public's Health
