Welcome to our new brand!
As the Omaha Community Foundation celebrates its 40th anniversary, we are excited to recognize new milestones and share our new look, new plans, and new messaging with the community.
For most people turning 40 is often a time of reflection on what we’ve done the last four decades and how we’ll plan to spend the decades ahead. Most also feel they’ve hit their stride, know more about themselves, and have greater confidence in their abilities and place in the world. You stop sweating the small stuff and instead channel that energy into more outward focus on the needs of others.
As the Omaha Community Foundation celebrates 40 years this month, our organization is experiencing a similar evolution. We have had a tremendous history of growth and are energized to take on the ever changing future role we need to play in our community. We are more focused than ever on what it means to be a Community Foundation. We are constantly responding to our community’s most pressing needs, identifying the gaps, and recognizing our role in filling those gaps.
When the pandemic hit, we immediately implemented our Response Fund, introduced partner grantmaking, and distributed CARES Act grants. As the organization rose to meet our community’s needs, we realized we were evolving as an organization. It was time to examine ourselves from all angles—our strategy, our internal infrastructure, and our identity—in order to set the appropriate framework for our future.
Strategic Plan. We launched a new strategic plan, starting with stakeholder interviews. We wanted to validate assumptions and open our eyes to new opportunities. Stakeholders told us they see us as a partner and facilitator of philanthropy, and they thought OCF should be more of a connector and convener. We used this feedback to map out a plan that would position us for responsive growth.
New brand. As we saw themes emerge from our strategic plan, we quickly realized it was time to revisit our identity—both visually and in our messaging. We used stakeholder feedback to reveal and validate. We heard comments about our perceived strengths and weaknesses. We concluded that, like our favorite old pair of jeans, it was time to refresh our look. And, it was time to modify our message to better reflect the organization we had and intend to become.
Our new brand is more than a new logo—it represents our organization’s essence. It respects our past while positioning ourselves for growth. It reflects our commitment to equity in our community. It’s bold yet approachable. With vivid colors, strategic language, and a reinforced focus on inclusivity, the new brand amplifies our mission to maximize the power of philanthropy to strengthen our community.
Conducting our strategic plan and creating a new brand in tandem proved beneficial far beyond our original projections. While it was challenging, I’m immensely proud of our team for diving in head-first, establishing priorities, and digging deep to discover our current and future place in our community.
Today, we launch the culmination of all of this great work by revealing our new brand. Our new tagline—Growing Good, Together—also highlights a critical part of this work. Moving forward, we cannot do this important work without your support. We want your input. We need to know how we can help. As we celebrate our 40-year milestone, we’re more committed than ever to working with all of you to meet our community’s needs together.
Let us know your thoughts on our new plan, new look and new message. We hope that you see and share the energy and enthusiasm our team feels about turning 40—a time of reflection, renewal and refocus.