Merging and energizing two powerhouse nonprofits: Here’s how Heights was born.

Background

Philadelphia Futures and Steppingstone Scholars — two prominent nonprofits serving Philadelphia youth — agreed to a merger in May 2022. Together, they would have an operating budget exceeding $12 million, over 70 staff members, and a three-year goal of serving 5,000 students.

Each organization brought enormous credentials to the table in the form of history, impact, and momentum. Combined, they sought to help every student in Philadelphia graduate high school and achieve economic mobility — realizing student potential and powering the city’s future.

Our solution

Building a brand as important as this one meant eliciting feedback and buy-in from one of the widest arrays of stakeholders and decision-makers we’ve ever collected. FVM conducted leadership interviews, student and alumni focus groups, surveys, and a massive branding strategy session that spanned both organizations — as well as a deep-dive into the “competitive” nonprofit educational space.

What we learned? Students had to be the center of the new brand, even if they weren’t always the primary audience. Genuine energy and excitement needed to pour out of every pixel and every word we created. The new brand needed to be something families, partners, and donors could believe in — and something students would proudly cheer about. And we needed to capture that spirit without glossing over the realities of black, brown, and first-generation-to-college students in Philadelphia.

After multiple initial messaging concepts, an extensive naming process that included custom domain acquisition, several visual approaches and multiple rounds of finessing, we landed on Heights Philadelphia: a brand that represents not only the identity and achievement of its students, but also the network of people who believe in those students’ futures.