A $20,000 design grant for emerging nonprofits.
Join the waitlist!
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You’re a fundraiser for a small nonprofit.
“How do you get noticed? Understood? Make a lasting emotional connection with your audience?”
Even though your organization is doing great work – has a rad purpose, admirable values, and passion – you can’t motivate your audience to act unless these things are brought to the surface in a strong brand identity.
You probably understand this pickle well…
You need a strong brand identity to gain support, but lack the funds to cover the financial costs associated with it.
Funders want their money to go directly to services – ignoring other important costs like design, advertising, and even administration.
Meanwhile, companies in the for-profit sector can spend millions on advertising to increase company revenue – and consumers won’t bat an eye.
The expectation that nonprofits should put all their cash into delivery neglects the needs for growth and visibility, which are essential to increasing impact.
We want to help solve that challenge. Atom Studio is launching the No Small Change project.
Our purpose is to help you – small nonprofits who struggle allocating the resources to create an effective brand that attracts dollars – do just that. Available to nonprofits with less than $1M in annual revenue or 4 or less full-time staff, it’s a $20,000 grant for brand identity design – which includes a complete toolkit including your new logo, colours, typography, and graphic elements – and how it is expressed across your next fundraising campaign.
Applications open
May 1
2024
Applications close
July 1
2024
Recipient chosen
Aug 1
2024
The grant
$20,000 in design services, which covers:
New brand identity design: Logo, colours, typography, graphic elements.
Online brand toolkit:
with downloadable assets.
Application of the brand to one fundraising campaign: Design concept for the campaign, and application to up to 5 formats.
Eligibility
Eligible applicants must:
- Have under $1M CAD (or $750k USD) in annual revenue, or have 4 or less full-time staff
- Be a registered charity in Canada or the U.S.
- Help in one of the focus areas below
Focus areas
- Improving quality of life
- Learning and thriving
- Our planet (or any of the creatures that inhabit it)
You know your logo and brand identity need a major upgrade, and you’re willing to take the leap. Maybe your audience has trouble understanding what you do. Or, your materials are not emotionally connecting with your audience, or matching the impact of your accomplishments.
Interested?
Join the waitlist, and we’ll let you know when we’re accepting applications.
By joining our waitlist you are subscribing to future communications from Atom Studio. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Wait… what’s a brand identity?
First – what’s a brand?
Your brand is who you are as an organization. It encompasses what you do, how you do it, and your organization’s reason for being. It is what your organization is – and aspires to be.
Brand identity design
Brand identity design involves ensuring your marketing materials match your brand. If people see a disconnect between your designed materials and who you say you are, you lose trust.
What does it do?
A successful brand identity visually differentiates you from your competitors. It makes your organization easier to recognize, understand, emotionally connect with, and remember.
FAQ
How many nonprofits will be chosen to receive the grant?
We’re a small organization too, so we will only be choosing one recipient (for now).
Our plan is to make this a regular thing!
What’s the application process like?
We know you’re busy. And we know that applying for grants can be onerous and time-consuming. So we’ve made our application as simple as possible, and we don’t need long answers to our questions. Finalists will be contacted for more information, and an interview.
How is the grant recipient selected?
The Atom team selects the recipient, based on:
- The innovation, creativity, impact and reach that their programs have in their community.
- The bravery of their ambition for the future.
- The expected impact the grant will have on the organization and their ability to deliver their mandate.
- Their willingness to engage in a process with our team to re-imagine what their brand identity could be.
Is this a cash grant?
No. This grant is for design services only.
What about brand strategy, marketing advice, or writing? Will this grant help with those things?
No. We’re a design agency, so our focus is on design. Normally we’d work with partners to help with the other stuff, but can’t in this instance since we’re doing the work pro-bono. If you do need paid help with these items, we can point you in the right direction.
What about costs for photography or illustration?
That isn’t included – we are offering design services only. However, we understand that you might not have budget for these things. If that’s the case, we’ll come up with design concepts that don’t incur them.
You said application of the brand identity to one campaign is included. What about the ad spend associated with this campaign? Advertising fees or printing?
That’s not included either. Planning the methodology of your campaign is up to you, and will need to work with your budget. We will help by applying the brand identity to up to 5 key items in the campaign. This might include out-of-home advertising, digital ads or posts, an email template, or direct mail.
When will the actual design work happen for the selected recipient?
Work can begin in August. Once started, the entire process should take about 8 weeks. The goal would be to have the campaign creative ready for giving season (Q4).
How do I know you have the experience and knowledge to help my organization with their brand identity?
Fair question. How about you start by checking out our case studies here?
How can I support the No Small Change project?
By spreading the word, or by hiring us for work. Our paid work is what funds the No Small Change grant! Reach out.
Here’s some of our work.
