May 2009
SIERRA CLUB FOUNDATION RELEASES MISSION MINDED-DESIGNED ANNUAL REPORT

The Levi Strauss Foundation launched a new logo designed by Mission Minded to provide a visual identity for the foundation supported by one of the world's most iconic brands. See the report.

June 2008
MISSION MINDED DESIGNS NEW LOGO FOR LEVI STRAUSS FOUNDATION

The Levi Strauss Foundation launched a new logo designed by Mission Minded to provide a visual identity for the foundation supported by one of the world's most iconic brands. See the logo.

June 2008
08–09 OPERA TICKETS ON SALE NOW

The Mission Minded campaign has fueled new subscriptions for San Francisco Opera. See the campaign.

January 2008
MISSION MINDED TO SPEAK AT SONOMA CONFERENCE

Mission Minded has been invited to present two workshops at The Resource Center For Nonprofits’ 2008 Annual Conference on March 14, 2008 to be held in Sonoma County, California.

Jennie Winton and Zach Hochstadt, Mission Minded founding partners will present "Messages That Move: How to create messages that engage the community and move people to action."

Participants will learn the principles of creating great messages - including taglines and fundraising slogans - that will help their organization stand out from the rest. They will have the chance to practice creating better language.

The workshop is for everyone who works for or leads a nonprofit, foundation or educational institution.

Mission Minded art director, Rod Lemaire will join with Zach Hochstadt in hosting a session entitled, "Using Design to Engage Your Audience." This workshop focuses on the graphic design process and what people in nonprofits need to know in order to make sure their investment in design of communication materials reaches and engages the intended audience.

Those personally responsible for designing materials for their organizations will learn best practices and basics that will help them improve. This workshop will also be valuable for managers working to get the best design from a staff member or outside designer.

For more information visit http://www.volunteernow.org

December 2007
ASIAN ART MUSEUM SELECTS MISSION MINDED

The Asian Art Museum of San Francisco has selected Mission Minded to create the campaign for a new exhibition featuring court arts of the Ming Dynasty.

The rare exhibition features many works never seen outside of China, including rare jades, paintings, vases, and jewelry from the Palace Museum and the state museums in Bejing, Nanjing and Shanghai.

Mission Minded will write and design a series of print and outdoor advertisements for the campaign intended to drive exhibition attendance. Key audiences are Bay Area, regional and national arts patrons and those curious about the Ming Dynasty for whom this accessible exhibition will provide both education and a rare opportunity to enjoy art from this important period in Chinese history.

The exhibition will take place June 27–September 21, 2008. For more information, please visit http://www.asianart.org/courtarts.htm.

October 2007
MISSION MINDED TO PRESENT AT MARIN NONPROFIT CONFERENCE

Mission Minded Founding Partners, Jennie Winton and Zach Hochstadt, will present at the Marin Nonprofit Conference on October 25, 2007 at the Marin Center in Marin, CA. The conference is being hosted by the Center for Volunteer and Nonprofit Leadership.

Jennie and Zach will lecture on The Secrets of Nonprofit Branding: A "how-to" guide for building an honest and irresistible brand for your organization.

Jennie and Zach are frequent lecturers in Marin and at the Center for Nonprofit Leadership. The duo's presentations are continuously met with rave reviews.

To register or for more information visit cvnl.org.

June 2007
JENNIE WINTON TO SPEAK AT NATIONAL CONFERENCE
Mission Minded founding partner will present at the American Marketing Association Nonprofit Marketing Conference.

Mission Minded Founding Partner Jennie Winton will speak at the American Marketing Association Nonprofit Marketing Conference in Washington, D.C. on July 10. The conference, entitled Transforming Your Organization Through Marketing, will be held from July 9-11, 2007.

Jennie will be part of a panel addressing the topic Basics of Managing Your Brand. Other panelists are Peter Lynch Executive Administrator of Lions Clubs International and Joselyn Zivin, Senior Vice President of Lipman Hearne.

Jennie is frequently asked to address marketing and nonprofit professional audiences about important aspects of nonprofit marketing. Past organizations Jennie has addressed include the Association of Fundraising Professionals, the Center for Volunteer and Nonprofit Leadership, Development Executives Roundtable, The Resource Center For Nonprofits, the California Arts Marketing Association, and the Long Beach Nonprofit Partnership.

The American Marketing Association is the nation’s leading organization for marketing professionals. More information about the conference and the association can be found at www.marketingpower.com/nonprofit.

January 2007
LEVI STRAUSS FOUNDATION SELECTS MISSION MINDED

The Levi Strauss Foundation has selected Mission Minded for an international initiative to raise awareness of its global giving impacts among key stakeholders worldwide. Mission Minded will conduct research and make communication recommendations for the Foundation.

“For over 150 years Levi’s has been known for its courageous leadership on social issues, and the Levi Strauss Foundation has been instrumental in social change for the last 50. We are honored to be working with this important foundation,” said Jennie Winton, Mission Minded Founding Partner.

For more information about the Levi Strauss Foundation, please visit http://www.levistrauss.com/Citizenship/LeviStraussFoundation.aspx

October 2006
MISSION MINDED SELECTED TO DESIGN SAN FRANCISCO OPERA’S 07-08 SEASON CAMPAIGN

Mission Minded has been selected for a third season to create the print materials presenting San Francisco Opera’s 07-08 season.

Mission Minded will design the collateral materials presenting the subscription ticket campaign with a goal to renewing existing subscribers and converting single ticket buyers into subscribers. The campaign will highlight the glamour of attending a performance at San Francisco Opera and the thrill of seeing international stars perform on the Opera’s stage, while reinforcing the message that opera is an exciting art form accessible to all.

“We are honored to work with San Francisco Opera to promote their exciting 07-08 season. As one of the most highly regarded Opera companies in the country, the Company requires highly sophisticated design,” said Mission Minded Founding Partner Zach Hochstadt.

In addition to a season subscription brochure, targeted collateral to various other audiences will be developed to support the campaign.

“We are delighted to work with the San Francisco Opera for the third season in a row and hope that the campaign we design encourages more and more people from the Bay Area and beyond to experience the exciting opera productions programmed by David Gockley,” said Mission Minded Founding Partner Jennie Winton.

About Mission Minded
Mission Minded is a marketing communications consulting firm with a client list comprised exclusively of nonprofit organizations and foundations. Providing branding, research, writing and design of marketing and fundraising materials, Mission Minded serves local, national and regional nonprofits with services and expertise that help them achieve their highest potential.

About the San Francisco Opera
San Francisco Opera is the second largest opera company in North America and the largest performing arts organization on the West Coast. Since its inception in 1923, the company has been heralded for its first-rate productions and top casts of international opera stars. San Francisco Opera boasts the world’s most comprehensive array of training programs and performance opportunities for young artists under the auspices of the San Francisco Opera Center.

David Gockley became San Francisco Opera’s sixth general director in January, 2006 after more than three decades leading Houston Grand Opera. A self-described “progressive traditionalist,” Gockley is both a strategic businessman with a MBA from Columbia University and a former opera singer. His trademark innovation, informed risk taking, and commitment to core artistic values will ensure a lasting legacy for San Francisco Opera in a fast-paced and changing world.

September 2006
STANFORD HUMANITIES CENTER LAUNCHES NEW LOGO
Mission Minded Lead Brand Strategy, Logo Design Process

Stanford Humanities Center, a Stanford University institution for advanced research in the humanities, retained San Francisco-based marketing communications consulting firm Mission Minded to help them re-envision the brand of the organization.

The Humanities Center’s goal was to create a stronger reputation that would lead to increased donations, and attract interest and participation in its public programs.

“Working with the director of the Humanities Center, we provided a number of services including strategic research and audience analysis, development of key messages, logo design, and an integrated suite of marketing collateral reflective of the reputation being established for the Humanities Center and its programs,” said Jennie Winton, Mission Minded Founding Partner.

The role of the Stanford Humanities Center is to provide a forum for advanced research in the humanities that informs scholarly inquiry, challenges the way our community understands our world and shapes the way students learn about humanities in the classroom.

“We were thrilled to be selected to work with such a highly esteemed and internationally visible organization making such significant strides in inter-disciplinary research,” said Zach Hochstadt, Mission Minded Founding Partner.

Stanford Humanities Center will launch their new visual identity in October 2006.

About Stanford Humanities Center
Established in 1980 and funded substantially by endowments, the Humanities Center is an integral part of Stanford’s internationally renowned research community. It brings together scholars from across disciplinary boundaries to work on projects that deepen our understanding of the human experience. The new thinking that comes out of the Humanities Center radiates into the classroom, throughout our community, and across the world.

March 2006
MISSION MINDED DESIGNS NEW REDF PUBLICATION
Report furthers field of social entrepreneurship

Furthering its pioneering role in the fields of venture philanthropy and social entrepreneurship, REDF released a new white paper that helps business leaders determine the appropriate organizational structure for their socially minded endeavors.

Designed by Mission Minded, the paper highlights critical insights and profiles of success.

“We’ve been fortunate to have served REDF in a number of capacities—as writers, editors, strategists and designers. This paper, in many ways, exemplifies our work with REDF. We took a strategic approach to helping them think about how to marry content and design in a way that made for a clear, approachable document that also appropriately represented REDF’s value to the community,” said Zach Hochstadt Mission Minded Founding Partner.

For more information or to download a copy of the white paper, please visit www.REDF.org.

March 2006
TOWNSEND CENTER FOR THE HUMANITIES LAUNCHES NEW NEWSLETTER AND LOGO
UC Berkeley Center Heralds Effective New Design

The Doreen B. Townsend Center for the Humanities at the University of California at Berkeley has just launched a new Mission Minded-designed newsletter and logo.

The graphic pieces were the culmination of a process that included the development of a new brand position for the organization.

“We strongly believe that before great design can take place for our clients, we first need to deeply understand who they are, the challenges they face and what opportunities lie ahead. By first articulating Townsend’s brand promise, we helped the organization determine a strategic direction that was reinforced by the new visual identity,” said Jennie Winton, Mission Minded Founding Partner.

The new logo was carefully developed to represent the Townsend Center’s most compelling attributes as a leading West Coast academic institution.

Said Townsend Center Director Candace Slater: “We chose this logo from a number of others in part because of its distinctiveness and unmistakable fluidity; in part because of its at once literal (the highly stylized “TC”) and invitingly non-literal quality. We also liked the varying associations that it has suggested to different people — Art Nouveau, a Japanese woodblock, a glyph.

The new newsletter was developed after considering the needs of different users of the newsletter, as well as its function as a representative piece for the Townsend Center. The result was a complete overhaul and vast improvement over the previous design.

“It's been such a pleasure working with you, and I definitely feel like I learned a lot,” said Irene Perciali, Interim Associate Director of the Townsend Center.

July 2005
MISSION MINDED TO HELP LOS ANGELES MUSIC CENTER
World-class performing arts center turns to Mission Minded for fundraising messages

The Music Center of Los Angeles County has hired Mission Minded to help the organization develop more effective fundraising messages as part of its ongoing efforts to appeal to existing and new supporters.

The Music Center’s campus includes some of Los Angeles’ best known landmarks, including the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Ahmanson Theater and the newly opened Walt Disney Concert Hall. The Music Center also hosts three major resident companies including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Los Angeles Opera and the Center Theatre Group.

“The Music Center plays a central role in shaping the cultural landscape of Los Angeles. Dance, opera, symphony, theater, and speakers all thrive in L.A. thanks to the Music Center. It’s an honor to be working with such a prestigious organization,” said Zach Hochstadt, Mission Minded Founding Partner.

In addition, the Music Center is leading the effort to reestablish arts education at the core of the public school curriculum in L.A. While their program includes offering performances to school children county-wide, their primary focus is providing technical assistance to school boards to develop systemic, sustainable arts education for all students in Los Angeles County.

“The Music Center plays such a significant role in creating and sustaining Los Angeles as a rich cultural center. We look forward to helping them share their message in a way that will make their enormous contribution more visible to their donors,” said Jennie Winton, Mission Minded Founding Partner.

For more information about the L.A. Music Center, please visit their website at musiccenter.org.

May 2005
SAN FRANCISCO OPERA LAUNCHES 05–06 CAMPAIGN

The San Francisco Opera launched its 2005-06 subscription campaign with marketing collateral designed by Mission Minded.

The “Discover What’s Inside” campaign was designed to reinforce the magic of opera by depicting every day life as black and white with the only color coming from the Opera’s stage. The suite of brochures, print ads and support collateral will be followed by a single ticket sales campaign set to launch in June.

Early indicators suggest the campaign’s success as subscription sales meet and exceed projections.

The campaign includes the launch of a new Web site, also designed by Mission Minded. By maximizing usability, providing easy access to multimedia features, and enabling quick purchase of tickets, the web site marks a new era of sophistication in the Opera’s web marketing efforts.

Response has been overwhelmingly positive with patrons applauding the work. Wrote one subscriber, “I would like to compliment you on finally updating and vastly improving your web page and material it contains. It has gone from the worst web page to the best. I follow the Met, Lyric of Chicago, LA Opera, etc. and now find San Francisco Opera’s web page at the top of the list!”

For Mission Minded, the work is an expression of the company’s commitment to supporting Bay Area arts organizations in their pursuit to retain and recruit arts audiences.

“We’re thrilled with the final results of this work, as well as the process that led to its development. It’s truly an honor to serve the San Francisco Opera. They have been great collaborators,” said Founding Partner, Zach Hochstadt.

For more information about the campaign, please see the case study or visit sfopera.com.

November 2004
MISSION MINDED TO HELP REFINE BRAND OF PRESTIGIOUS PRIVATE SCHOOL

San Francisco’s French American International School – International High School (FAIS-IHS) has retained Mission Minded to help refine the organization’s brand and explore new naming options for the school.

The independent school – which includes a K-8 French immersion program and an internationally-focused high school that prepares students to pass the French and International Baccalaureate exams — is one of San Francisco’s most respected and academically rigorous private schools.

“FAIS-IHS offers such an incredible opportunity to its students. We are extremely pleased to have the opportunity to help them explain the benefits of this unique education more effectively,” said Jennie Winton, a Founding Partner of Mission Minded.

More information about FAIS-IHS can be found on their Web site at www.fais-ihs.org.

October 2004
SAN FRANCISCO OPERA SELECTS MISSION MINDED
2005–06 Campaign, Web Awarded

The San Francisco Opera, one of the world’s most acclaimed and forward thinking musical institutions, has hired Mission Minded to develop their 2005–06 Season Campaign and design a new Web site.

“We are honored to be serving one of the Bay Area’s most highly regarded arts organizations. It is an enormous privilege to put our experience in nonprofit arts marketing to work on their behalf,” said Zach Hochstadt, a Founding Partner at Mission Minded.

The contract began in 2004 and will continue through 2005. The campaign includes numerous print materials that will carry a continuous theme in support of the organization’s brand.

“Opera touches us on many levels,” said Mission Minded Founding Partner and Artistic Director, Tine Pietschman. “We hear it, see it, feel it and are moved by it. Creating design that reinforces the experience of that magic is a rewarding challenge.”

For more information about the San Francisco Opera, please visit their site at www.sfopera.com.

August 2004
HEADLANDS CENTER FOR THE ARTS HIRES MISSION MINDED FOR BRAND, MESSAGE AND WEB WORK

Headlands Center For The Arts, an internationally renowned artistic laboratory located in the Marin Headlands, has hired Mission Minded to articulate the brand value of the organization for an audience of artists, donors, and the public at large.

As recipients of a grant from the prestigious Andy Warhol Foundation, Headlands Center For The Arts is focused on repositioning the organization to its various publics and to redesigning its website, a critical communication tool for bringing the Headlands Center community together.

Working closely with the executive and development directors, Mission Minded will make brand positioning recommendations, write key messages and write all copy for the new organizational website.

“As a supporter of emerging artists in the Bay Area, I am particularly delighted to be of service to such an important arts institution. With the Warhol grant Headlands Center has a unique opportunity to tighten its message and improve its public outreach in a way that will ensure its vibrancy over time. We see nothing but opportunity for them to succeed and are honored to be of service,” said Jennie Winton, Mission Minded founding partner.

In creating Headlands Center For The Arts, the founders sought to re-configure the role of the artist from a marginalized position to that of a central participant in our society. Since 1986, Headlands Center has developed this idea into an array of dynamic programs for artists and the public, including residencies, lectures and performances, Open Houses, community-based projects, publications and commissions.

For more information go to www.headlands.org.

July 2004
YMCA OF SAN FRANCISCO TEAMS WITH MISSION MINDED FOR ANNUAL REPORT

YMCA of San Francisco has hired Mission Minded to write, design and produce its annual financial report to be mailed to 27,000 donors and community stakeholders in the Bay Area.

The YMCA of San Francisco is pivotal in addressing some of the major challenges faced by the Bay Area, including substance abuse prevention, child care, at-risk youth, the isolated elderly and new immigrants struggling for a foothold. The annual report is an important document that not only honors the donors who make this work possible, but also helps the YMCA to showcase its impact and need.

“Very few nonprofit organizations in the Bay Area touch as many lives as the YMCA. We want readers to understand the magnitude of their work,” said Zach Hochstadt, founding partner of Mission Minded.

In the 150 years since the first YMCA in San Francisco opened in a few small rooms above a post office in Chinatown, the organization has played a pivotal role in improving the quality of life of millions of Bay Area residents.

For more information go to www.ymcasf.org.

May 2004
BSR TO WORK WITH MISSION MINDED
Business for Social Responsibility selects Mission Minded for annual conference marketing

Business for Social Responsibility (BSR), the world’s leading proponent of corporate social responsibility, has selected Mission Minded to develop a visual identity and marketing collateral for the organization’s annual conference.

The conference, widely considered one of the most respected conferences on corporate social responsibility, will take place November 9-12, in New York, N.Y.

“From our founding, we have worked to integrate responsible principles into our own method of doing business. Being selected by BSR aligns with our mission and gives us the opportunity to create marketing materials that will impact businesses around the globe,” said Zach Hochstadt, Founding Partner of Mission Minded.

Mission Minded will work closely with BSR leadership to develop creative communication pieces that reinforce BSR’s strong brand.

With offices in San Francisco, Paris and Hong Kong, BSR engages with some of the largest and most distinguished corporations in the Global 1000, providing a unique forum for learning and dialogue. BSR member companies have nearly $2 trillion in combined annual revenues and employ more than six million workers around the world.

For more information about BSR, visit www.bsr.org.

February 2004
UC PRESS CHOSES MISSION MINDED FOR BRANDING EFFORT
Mission Minded to help reposition the 110 year old nonprofit institution’s brand identity.

The University of California Press, a nonprofit publisher of books and texts since 1893, has selected Mission Minded to help develop a new brand position for the venerable institution.

“We’re incredibly excited about this opportunity to work with one of the most important academic publishers in the world,” said Jennie Winton, Mission Minded Founding Partner.

As the nonprofit publishing arm of the University of California, the Press publishes a full spectrum of distinguished works, from inventive first books by young academics to volumes expressing the results of the research and creative thinking of many of the world's foremost scholars.

It is especially well known for pioneering books on critical social issues, the collected writings of great authors, special editions of classics, beautifully crafted art books, major historical studies, and monumental works of research.

More information about UC Press can be found on their website at www.ucpress.org.

January 2004
JUMA VENTURES SELECTS MISSION MINDED
San Francisco-based Juma Ventures selected Mission Minded to support new strategic plan and fundraising efforts.

Juma Ventures, a nonprofit social venture that helps at-risk youth, has chosen Mission Minded to help support the organization’s new strategic plan and fundraising efforts. Mission Minded will also work to help make Juma’s identity and story more visible.

“We’ve long admired Juma’s efforts in merging for-profit and nonprofit strategies to benefit youth. It’s an honor to be asked to be part of the organization’s continued success,” said Mission Minded Founding Partner, Jennie Winton.

Mission Minded will help Juma by working with the agency’s leadership to craft a compelling case for support and re-envision the organization’s visual identity.

“We’re passionate about helping do-gooders in the nonprofit community. Working with Juma allows us to put our professional expertise together with our humanitarian ideals,” said Zach Hochstadt, Mission Minded Founding Partner.

Juma Ventures provides employment opportunities for Bay Area youth in social enterprises they own and operate. Employment affords youth a solid economic foundation from which to advance educationally, gain financial skills, and begin to build personal assets.

For more information about Juma Ventures, please visit their website at www.jumaventures.org.

December 2003
MISSION MINDED LAUNCHES NEW NAME AND WEBSITE

The trio of nonprofit marketers formerly known only by their names, Jennie Winton, Zach Hochstadt, and Tine Pietschman, have done for themselves what their nonprofit clients have long-relied on them to do: Create a compelling public image.

In an effort to simplify the way clients think of the group, a new name — Mission Minded — now places the talent of all three partners under one organizational identity.

“We noticed our beloved nonprofit clients all coming up with their own name for our organization. We heard everything from ‘Jennie and Partners’ to ‘Marketing Communication for Nonprofits,’ so we knew it was time for us to formulate an official partnership complete with a name that would have meaning and easy recognition,” said Jennie Winton, one of Mission Minded's three Founding Partners.

“We used the very same process for our own organization that we do when helping our nonprofit and foundation clients tackle a communication challenge,” said Zach Hochstadt. “We asked ourselves what is most compelling about our work, what makes us different from other service providers and what benefit we offer our clients.”

The answers were easy to name, but finding a company name that captured the passion and commitment the three partners have for helping nonprofit organizations communicate well took some time.

“We knew we were special,” said Tine Pietschman, “but it wasn’t immediately clear how to convey that in a name.”

Mission Minded is a partnership of three professional marketers who have devoted their careers to helping nonprofits set and reach their goals. From human service organizations to foundations and associations working to change the world through business, the partners share their experience, strategic thinking and creative solutions with their clients to help ensure their success. Providing services from strategy through creation of fundraising and other communication tools, Mission Minded is unmatched when it comes to getting results at rates nonprofits can afford.