525 S. 4th Street, Studio 589Philadelphia, PA 19147215-922-7303www.designforsocialimpact.org

5/21/09

Fair Food Identity EvaluationBoard of Directors Meeting

Report prepared by: Ennis Carter

Thank you all who participated in the Identity Evaluation & Audience Mapping portion of your Public Image. Based on our conversation, here are the notes and recommendations for taking your Identity to the next level as you establish Fair Food as its own 501c3 organization.

Please refer to 5/18/09 member entitled “Fair Food Public Image Review” for the context of the work we did during the session.

IDENTITY QUESTIONS:This brand-new Board of Directors is still establishing itself and its understanding of the organization. In the meantime, however, everyone agreed that the basic mission of the organization is still strong and there are no new elements of the following qualities that would have an impact on the basic organizational Identity:

Primary goal still matches mission statement There is an overall understanding of core values The methods that the organization use to achieve its mission are still

sound.

Note: These questions raised some items that the Board would like to evaluate as it moves forward:

Should the mission statement be tweaked to reflect current and future expansion beyond Philadelphia?

Should the quality of “local” be defined or replaced in any way to be more specific?

The group would like to establish Core Values. Retreat may be a good time to start that work.

ToneBefore overlapping into the needs of audiences, we took time to discuss the tone that feels most comfortable for the inner circle of Board and key staff:

Educational/Informative Active – Purposeful Ethical Transformational Celebratory Nourishing Contemporary Forward to the Land Consciously Hedonistic Fostering Relationships Nurturing Hands on Practical Application – Running a business Not elite Casual Passionate Thought Leader – Leading the way, paradigm shifting Confident Righteous Authentic Trusted Assertive

Unique QualitiesWe discussed the qualities that set Fair Food apart from other organizations that might be doing similar work – as well as qualities that might set Fair Food apart from what it was under White Dog & WDCE.

We make connections – literally and symbolically Farm to Plate Farm viability Having a good time is a core value

Note: We didn’t spend much time talking about what might set Fair Food apart from the White Dog/WDCE. Time will be the biggest factor for really making that distinction. The Board may want to address this at a later date if still necessary over time.

AUDIENCE MAPPINGThe following audiences were identified – with the top 5 as priority audiences:

Growers/Producers Buyers (commercial/institutional) Consumers Funders Other non-profits Media Public Sector (lunch ladies) Volunteers/Interns/Staff

We identified the following common needs and motivations for all audiences (in priority from audience perspective):

1. Facilitated connection between farm good and audience – this is the “bringing” aspect of the mission.

2. Trusted and authentic information

Note: These needs & motivations might flip priority order when it comes to Funders

CURRENT IDENTITY REVIEWAfter we reviewed the above conceptually, we evaluated elements of the current Identity asking the following questions?

Does it match up to what we just said? What is missing? What could/should change?

NameEveryone agreed that they love the name and that is need not be changed. Here are some aspects that could be enhanced to connect more to the tone/audience needs:

“Fair” has a social justice/equity connotation. While that is a point of inspiration for Board, Staff and Volunteers, it isn’t a primary need or motivation of other audiences. And, may even bring up assumptions based on point of view.

Philadelphia isn’t in the name, but it is in the mission. We agreed that the organization is looking at a larger region, so we don’t need it in the name.

We agreed that we should explore the use of taglines and/or slogans to enhance the name rather than changing it.

LogoThe current logo is recognizable, but it doesn’t quite match up to the elements we discussed. Right now, it is:

Folksy Nostalgic Grassrootsy

We agreed that the logo should be tweaked to capture more of the qualities we identified under tone.

One particular quality to capture is: CONFIDENCE Keep a pig and tomato, but perhaps use a different style Try different, more contemporary fonts Explore new color palettes

We agreed that we shouldn’t spend time creating completely different logos that would be a radical departure from what Fair Food currently has.