Our clients
St. Cyprian's Episcopal Church
Who are we after a series of crises?
Strategy + vision
St. Cyprian's is the first and oldest Black Episcopal parish in North Carolina. Known for their legacy of creating spaces of refuge and belonging for people of color in their local community, they’ve been described as the "center of ripples" throughout New Bern. After Hurricane Florence, their building was severely damaged and the congregation was not able to meet.
After a long period of building repairs and years of being closed due to the pandemic, St. Cyprian's partnered with us to ask deep strategic questions about their identity. To support this congregation in their work toward reconnection and deepened engagement in their community, we:
engaged their leadership planning group in measurable goal-setting
identified problems of gatekeeping and systemic racism to be addressed
provided an analysis to both the leadership group and the judicatory body as to how variables within the system impact the ability to proceed
Sycamore Collaborative
What’s the path from food pantry to food justice?
Strategy + vision, communications, identity
Serving Schenectady County in upstate New York, Sycamore Collaborative (formerly Schenectady Inner City Ministries, or SICM) has been a lifeline in a time of increasing food insecurity and an inspiration for community engagement to volunteers and clients alike. Embracing their decision to become intentionally interfaith, we walked alongside the organization to look across all its communications to understand more clearly what they want to say, to whom, when and how.
For our communications audit, we:
reviewed all current communications
conducted key interviews
led a retreat among organizational leaders and key staff
organized and analyzed data
reviewed staffing capacity
made recommendations and provided reflective language to move the organization forward
As our communications audit concluded, we recommended a strategic planning, renaming, and rebranding process. In this iteration of our work, we:
articulated core values
created a strategic filter for decision-making
collaboratively created a far-reaching strategic plan
created a new visual identity, name, and website
Judson Memorial Church
How do we raise money to provide access to the neighborhood?
We are pleased to have engaged in a partnership with the Heller Fundraising Group to support Judson Memorial Church in New York City as they consider a capital campaign to make their building more accessible. Judson supports countless community arts, justice and religious groups in the thriving Washington Square neighborhood. So often it is hard to know where to start with a project of this size, and we’re helping them do just that: Start!
Not So Churchy
How do we reflect the core of who we are?
Not So Churchy is a place of healing and hope, where queerness and curiosity expand the spiritual journey beyond boxes and binaries. This eclectic community also happens to have been started by Mieke, and is where she currently serves. We engage as their regular designer, including the beautification of annual reports and the website that serves as a spiritual home for this geographically diverse community.
Synod of the Northeast
Who needs a synod?
The General Assembly of the PCUSA asked synods around the country to answer the question of why they should exist. We worked with Synod of the Northeast to come up with their response.
“We are glad to be working again with Vandersall Collective on branding our biennial worship, learning and fellowship gathering. Working with Vandersall Collective is accessing creativity, diligence, and passion commitment to radical welcome and pursuit of justice.”
— The Rev. Dr. Amaury Tañón-Santos, Synod of the Northeast
Several years ago, the Synod of the Northeast of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) was responding to a mandate from its national body to examine its effectiveness and purpose. While being open to complete disbandedment, they learned that they have particular gifts to share, and that the diversity of the gathered community was too important to lose. To emphasize the gifts of this gathered body, they worked to refocus their energies, flipping the balance so that gathering received more emphasis than governing, allowing the gathering time to be filled with energy and the governing time to be filled with purpose.
In three key areas, we have been honored to work with the Synod to help implement its new strategic vision.
COMMUNICATION
We created and implemented a cohesive and cross-platform communication plan in consultation with the Synod, and as a result of a communications audit. The website was used as a community hub where information was shared clearly and effectively. A video was created to communicate the personalities and the impact the Synod is having on the life of its constituents. An eblast schedule and template (both visual and content) was created to further tell those stories, driving traffic back to the website. Finally, we created special branding for their two biennial conferences, known as Come to the Table.
To effectively communicate their vision, and the new ways of engagement that come out of that vision, their website needed to become a vital location centralizing communication and provide opportunity for community-building. After completing a communications audit and report, we took their existing logo and vision, flushed out a verbal and visual brand identity, and created a new, easy to update website.
To communicate with their constituency in between events, as well as to communicate the weight and importance of their work with current and potential donors, we created a robust package of print materials. Their Robert L. Washington Scholars & Fellows program was established to provide leadership opportunities for young and/or people of color, and we also created a gorgeous and hefty annual report.
The Synod also needed a way to personally and persuasively communicate their vision and warmth to the people in their large geographic area without physically having to be present. Our creative team reflected their story back through a short video. Working with a team from the Synod we wrote a script, gathered leaders from throughout the Synod together for a day-long shoot, and then edited together a video currently used in their local communities, and at fundraising events.
Stories of hope and innovation that exemplified the Synod’s deepened purposed needed to be shared persuasively and effectively. We created a communication schedule and guidelines, integrating the website, social media and new eblast templates to reflect the new brand identity. We also worked with the staff to train them to take their design templates and do it on their own.
Finally, as the Synod's focus shifted to gathering, the first non-governing event was a major undertaking. Our services were contracted to help the planning team create and execute a hospitable, organized experience for their guests. We took the branding platform and guidelines and implemented them through the creation of a registration process and conference booklet. We also worked with the worship team to align our worship time with the new vision of the Synod. Mieke Vandersall, Derrick McQueen, Paul Vasile, and Larissa Kwong-Abazia of the Vandersall Collective were instrumental in making this event a success.
GRANT-MAKING
In their process of re-visioning, the Synod reallocated significant funding to support innovative ministry within their geographical bounds. When we began our work with the Synod they asked for help in reconstructing their grant applications, application process, and review process. Using best practices, putting more trust in the applicants, and encouraging them to explain their needs in their own words, we first wrote a report after speaking with various past grantees with recommendations for change and then worked with the Mission and Ministry Commission (their Board-equivalent) to refresh their process and encourage a more mutual relationship between the applicants and their Synod. The stories of the applicants were also the basis of our communication strategy.
FUNDRAISING
With so many new people, congregations and organizations seeking funding from the Synod, and the heightened communication about the granting opportunities, the generous funding set aside in the Synod’s budget was being spent faster than ever before. In order to understand how best to raise funds, we completed a development audit, and then began a robust major-donor program, integrating the opportunity for giving on the website, organizing multiple cultivation events throughout the northeast, and launching the Synod's inaugural year-end campaign highlighting the impact of the grants made to innovative ministries.