Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation / Transforming philanthropy for an equitable New Jersey
Branding, Website design, Website development
Investing in Racial Equity
New Jersey communities most impacted by injustice and inequity have spent decades pressing for change without the kind of robust investment and power required to bring about the systemic changes needed. The Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation recognizes that philanthropy should be a catalyst towards a just and equitable New Jersey. Rooted in guidance from networks, movements, organizations, and leaders on the front lines of this work, the Dodge Foundation is reimagining their philanthropic work by boldly resourcing and shifting power to these communities to support necessary solutions towards equity in the state.
Threespot and the Dodge Foundation collaborated to launch this vision through a vivid new visual identity and website. Through this process we worked to not only illustrate their transition, but also to develop a communication strategy that would help build their team’s capacity for years to come.
A Brand That Bends Towards Justice
The Dodge Foundation’s reimagined vision is a major shift for both the organization and their grantee community. Our design process explored communicating the journey towards a just future in their visual identity and we developed a brand system that centered their new goals while still honoring their 45+ years of commitment to New Jersey.
The logo travels from a rigid and thin starting point to a beautiful and bold curve to joyfully embrace progress toward an equitable future. The typeface, Halyard Display, was created by Joshua Darden, a Black typeface designer and founder of Darden Studio.
A Site Designed to Scale
As the Dodge Foundation matures in their mission, the website will need to grow and scale with them. We built site capacity that could easily be activated and retired with a click of a button.
For launch, it was critical that the homepage acted as a manifesto announcing their bold new vision. However, this would only be a temporary need. We built in homepage functionality that would allow them to easily toggle between their manifesto design and a more evergreen, impactful hero design.
The existing platform allows for ongoing incorporation of impact reporting and storytelling as they realize outcomes and data from their work, foregoing any need for overhauling the website as they progress in this journey.
Center Focus on Grantees with an Automated Grants Directory
Centering the stories of the Dodge Foundation’s grantees and community partners is the crux of our cobuilt communications strategy. This highlights the Dodge Foundation’s philanthropic approach rooted in priorities and strategies identified by New Jersey communities closest to the harms of structural racism and injustice. To that end, we developed a dynamic sync integration with their grantee database. This integration populates the website’s searchable grants directory and each grantee’s detail page, giving users direct and real-time views into the vital work Dodge Foundation grantees are doing.
See Our Work in Action
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