Challenge

The Brooklyn Heights Synagogue provides its diverse membership with religious services as well as social programs such as a preschool, adult learning classes, and homeless shelter. To meet the demands of a growing congregation that had doubled its membership, the synagogue was exploring a renovation of their current space when the building next door was put up for sale. The synagogue secured funding to take advantage of the opportunity to purchase the building. They were now in the position of having to raise $3.5 million to pay down the mortgage.

A capital campaign was launched to fund the expansion of its facilities and programs. Red Rooster Group was brought in to develop a message that would resonate with members, a visual identity for the campaign, and materials to communicate it.

Research

We began with an assessment of the donor history of the congregation’s annual appeals and a capital campaign conducted more than a decade ago to get a sense of the amounts and levels that people had given. We reviewed the synagogue’s materials including their videos, conducted interviews with members to understand their affinity for the congregation. We met with Brooklyn Heights Synagogues’ campaign committee to discuss the expansion project and what it meant for the congregation’s future.

Choosing a Slogan

Using the identified themes as a source of inspiration, we explored nine different slogans and taglines for the campaign that embodied a theme central to Brooklyn Heights Synagogue’s culture and identity. Ultimately, the theme Growing Together: Getting closer with more space,” as selected as the theme. The slogan connects the physical expansion of BHS facilities to communal growth, communicating the idea that the new building will allow for more people to connect with each other.

Initial Logo Concepts

We wanted to create designs with elements representing community, diversity, and opportunity, and chose a blue and green color story symbolizes new life, prosperity and growth.

Brochure

As the next step in the marketing process, we developed a brochure to inform members about the building campaign. The brochure’s gate-fold style in itself represents openness, reflecting the main message, “Expanding Our Possibilities” that appears in the center.

With the two messages below, “Bursting with Activity” and “A New Building to Grow In,” the reader quickly learns what the campaign is for, and why it is needed. The first two panels summarize the reason for the campaign and how the plan for expansion came about. The inner four panels provide a more detailed summary of the campaign, citing their specific needs, the benefits of increased space, and how these areas will be used.

Familiar names and faces to the synagogue community appear throughout the brochure. Photos depict members engaged in activities, and testimonial quotes lend insight into individuals’ relationship with the organization and why more space is needed for the synagogue.

Posters

Pledge Card

We proposed a number of different themes for the names of each donor level that relate to the capital campaign. The Building Metaphor categories were selected for use.

Note Card

The notecard features the “Growing Together” logo and tagline, with a blank interior. These can be used as personalized thank-you notes from BHS to its donors, or for written solicitations to specific members.

Kick-Off Letter & FAQ Page

We designed the letterhead for the kick-off letter announcing the campaign and compiled a list of frequently asked questions about the campaign and the expansion project. We connected these documents to the rest of the campaign materials through the “Growing Together” logo.