Philanthropic Placemaking: A new approach to building a culture of philanthropy by contextualizing traditional donor recognition
Bridge Garden at the Sheltering Arms Institute, Richmond, Virginia
Rehabilitation garden design by HG Design Studio and bridge sculpture by Tektonics Design Group. Donor recognition design by Heurista with fabrication and installation by Image360, Kensington, Maryland.
Placemaking involves creating and enhancing public spaces to make them more active, engaging, inclusive, and reflective of the community's values and identity. Philanthropic placemaking interweaves a celebration of the various ways in which an individual can participate in the support of a nonprofits’ mission.
The concept of philanthropic placemaking — the use of inclusive storytelling to engage all audiences and enhance the culture of philanthropy — is proposed as a structured approach for improving community engagement with the goal of creating greater affinity, advocacy, and support for nonprofit organizations. The concept of philanthropic placemaking helps reinforce a culture of philanthropy as one that is diverse and inclusive, one that demonstrates a love for all humanity.
This blog post identifies frequent goals, likely components and suggested metrics for success specific to philanthropic placemaking.
Why is donor recognition so important?
Most nonprofit organizations rely on financial support from grantmakers, corporate and foundation giving, and individual donors to carry out their missions. Decades of best practice have shown that publicly recognizing donors encourages more giving… both from the donors recognized and others who see the recognition and better understand the role of giving in achieving a nonprofit organization’s mission. Traditional recognition signage is easily recognizable: lists for annual or campaign giving and the naming of areas or spaces for donors making the largest gifts.
What’s the problem with traditional donor recognition practices?
At their core, traditional donor recognition practices are built on the notion of exclusivity — only those who give enough are recognized. And as logically follows, only those with sufficient wealth are able to make qualifying gifts. These recognition traditions draw artificial lines between those with significant giving capacity and those without and may reduce the recognition story to the sum of money raised at least from the perspective of the general public.
Traditional donor recognition habits may also contradict organizational effort to encourage equity and inclusion by focusing on giving as the primary cause for representation or celebration. They ignore the many variables in a nonprofits’ audiences and sphere of engagement. Donor recognition tends to overlook those who support through frequent engagement (members), sharing of their talents (staff and volunteers), and those who receive care, education, services, or access to information or entertainment (patients, students, clients, and ticket holders).
How is a nonprofit’s community defined?
A community is a group of people who rally around one or more identity-forming narratives. While a community may be defined by a shared geography, communities also form around shared values, interests, or experiences. The more an individual identifies with an organization that showcases the community’s narratives, the more likely the individual is to contribute to the success of the organization. It is good business practice for nonprofits to foster strong relationships with the broadest definition of community. In reality, the lines between groups within a nonprofit’s community are often blurry. An individual may fall into multiple categories of interaction.
Community members benefit from seeing themselves as part of the community from their first interaction with the nonprofit. Nonprofits benefit from expanding the number and variety of individuals who care about their missions. Nonprofits can strengthen community engagement by encouraging a sense of welcome and belonging among the people who interact with its physical campus, programming, messaging and brand identity.
In recent years, the term, “a culture of philanthropy” has been lauded in the nonprofit sector. The concept emphasizes institution-wide involvement in philanthropic giving and gratitude. Taken further, a culture of philanthropy flourishes when it celebrates what it is to be human and to work for the benefit of other humans. By providing appropriate recognition for all types of participation, a nonprofit organization celebrates the diversity of relationships with its constituents, maximizes engagement and fosters various forms of support, including philanthropic giving.
What is the broadest definition of philanthropy?
The word philanthropy is a word of Greek origin and can be literally translated as “love of humanity.” Over the centuries, the definition has narrowed first to imply selfless action for the benefit of all, then charity for the benefit of those in need. With the advent of professionalized fundraising, the nonprofit definition of philanthropy has been skewed toward major giving. Recently, the notion of a culture of philanthropy has been criticized as one focused primarily on generating high-level financial gifts. The time has come to return to the original definition in order to build diverse and inclusive communities that are engaged with and supportive of our nonprofits and their missions.
Why should donor recognition practices change?
Re-envisioning who is included in an organization’s messaging is not just a rhetorical line of thinking, especially if public recognition for accomplishment, service or contribution is part of the rubric of who is “seen” as an exemplary member of the community. As a society, we are learning the importance of authentic inclusion in public engagement and communication strategies. The public is now demanding more from those who make decisions about how our shared values are expressed. In addition, donor motivations for giving are changing. Affinity, value alignment, trust, and meaningful connection are the drivers of modern philanthropy and donors expect evidence of the positive impact of their giving alongside any recognition they may receive. Donors want to understand the role they play in context with the larger mission and outcomes realized by the organizations they support.
Donors preferences for how they are recognized are likewise changing. At the 2018 Association of Donor Relations Professionals international conference, a trusted analyst of donor opinion, Penelope Burk, shared a new finding from her research: many donors prefer to be recognized within a community of all donors rather than the traditional largest-to-smallest categorized honor roll. Furthermore, many organizations are now augmenting donor recognition with more storytelling in order to better align the narratives about philanthropy with organizational commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice in mission delivery.
Conservancy of Southwest Florida, Naples, Florida
Campus planning and wayfinding design by Cambridge Seven Associates, Inc. Donor recognition design by Heurista with fabrication and installation by Wilderness Graphics.
Application of Philanthropic Placemaking Practices
Philanthropic placemaking is a new way of thinking about how donor recognition is contextualized within the overall experience of a place and in particular the variety of messages that are conveyed to and about the community that surrounds that place. Philanthropic placemaking organizes the design of spaces, exhibits, and signage with the purpose of rallying a community around shared values and ideals in order to foster the greater good and encourage various forms of engagement including financial support.
What is placemaking?
Let’s start with the definition of placemaking. The concept took shape in the 1960’s in the United States. Urban planners such as Jane Jacobs and William Hollingsworth "Holly" Whyte Jr. advocated for urban design that responded to the needs of people, rather than industry, commercial centers, and automobile traffic. As the placemaking matured as a practice, phenomenology of landscape and using public spaces as mechanisms for encouraging social interaction evolved. The practice became more specifically focused on sites of social interaction such as parks, plazas, and commercial corridors. The notion of vitality — self-generating social activity that is uplifting to the community that surrounds a place — increased the emphasis on community engagement in the planning, design, execution, and evolution of shared spaces. Events and activities presented within public spaces are often referred to as activations, highlighting the notion that the place is achieving its highest purpose when actively in use by the members of the community.
Today, placemaking is a world-wide practice that emphasizes community empowerment, well-being, and social capital. Placemaking continues to evolve as the needs of the people forming each community evolve.
How does placemaking apply to nonprofits?
Placemaking and a strong sense of place contribute to fostering affinity for the organization represented by that place. The concept of placemaking is especially significant in creating a positive and lasting impression in the minds of individuals who visit, work, or interact with the physical space. Even those who may not visit will be influenced by the expression of the brand identity and character of an organization through its print and online messaging. A consistent and authentic presentation from the nonprofit helps to build trust, engagement, and affinity within the community.
Objectives of philanthropic placemaking:
Identity and Branding - when the values, mission, and identity of an organization are represented in the design and curation of a space, it reinforces the brand in the minds of those who experience it. When done effectively, this can create a sense of trust and recognition, strengthening the connection between the visitor and the organization.
Emotional Connection - thoughtful design and a strong sense of identity can bring forward a feeling of connectedness between the visitor and the organization. This connectedness can lead to a deeper affinity for the organization.
Community and Social Interaction - a place where people gather socially and interact supports connection and opens opportunities for new understanding through positive experiences.
Positive User Experience - a well-designed and maintained place enhances the user experience, and a positive experience leads to the likely association with the organization responsible for that space. This can lead to a stronger affinity for the organization.
Repeat Engagement - inviting and dynamic initiatives can continue to attract people over the long term. Continuing to create engagement opportunities within the space can lead to continued exposure to the organization's message and values, reinforcing its presence in people's lives and fostering stronger affinity.
Cultural Significance/Context - When the place becomes a symbol or landmark within the community, it can be a source of pride for the organization's employees and supporters, further enhancing their affinity for the organization.
Sense of Ownership - Strong stakeholder engagement in the development and use of a place can create a stronger sense of attachment, affinity and ownership amongst these stakeholders and the broader community they represent.
How is the work of philanthropic placemaking accomplished?
Placemaking can occur in any public space and can have a wide variety of overlapping goals from respite to entertainment to economic development. Several guides exist for project planning and execution with case studies in a wide range of municipalities, businesses, schools, and healthcare centers, which can all be adapted and applied by a nonprofit.
What many of these guides don’t share is that placemaking is complex, often characterized by ambiguity and significant political influences. And with no hard data to quantify the return on investment, placemaking is defined by its effect on the community rather than by any particular set of solutions.
Typical philanthropic placemaking project phases:
Ideation - a period of facilitated brainstorming where ideas are collected and prioritized. Constraints, such as size and scope of the project, budget, and timeline are identified at this stage. Additionally, metrics to indicate success from various perspectives are often selected at this point.
Design - the translation of ideas into a visual representation of the project outcomes. Depending on the skills available on the organization’s team and size of the project, specialized designers may be employed including architects of various areas of specialty, a construction management team , environmental graphic designers, and content developers. This phase may begin with multiple conceptual renderings that are reviewed and revised to establish a specific list of deliverables. There may be incremental design functions required, such as engineering, design detailing, and specification.
Implementation - the work of designing, fabricating and installing components, and/or contracting for this work to be done. This phase may include extensive content development. The work culminates with fabrication and installation. Often a skilled project manager oversees this phase of the project.
Iteration - change is the name of the game. For that reason, the project plan should include ways to record and integrate feedback, measure the success metrics, make adjustments, and integrate new ideas. Good record keeping is key to a sustainable philanthropic placemaking project so that the messaging tools are easy to update or alter as time passes.
A universal feature of placemaking projects is collaboration. Ensuring that all internal and external stakeholders are authentically represented during project planning, design, implementation, and iteration is essential to the success of the project. Furthermore, placemaking is based on the integration of the voices of the community. Therefore it is crucial that all parties have a voice in the project. That doesn’t mean every individual participates, but do make sure every audience is represented and the process allows for differing perspectives.
Likely stakeholders in a philanthropic placemaking project:
Leadership - leadership establishes lofty goals, sets the vision, and grants authority to all other participants in the project. Executive-level individuals may not attend every meeting, but they should be at the table during initial ideation and during critical reviews. Leaders hold approval rights over the project constraints such as budget, schedule, and measures of success.
Subject matter experts - for any nonprofit, those who will be able to offer the content — be it art and artifacts or history, context, and interpretation — hold a critical role. However, from a philanthropic placemaking perspective, it is important to balance this perspective and hold space for other messaging fundamental to the success of the project.
Marketing/Communications - as the team members most familiar with safeguarding the nonprofit’s brand and identity and crafting the organization’s messages, these stakeholders are an invaluable resource. However, it is important to safeguard the process of philanthropic placemaking to make sure that all stakeholders are participating in the ideation and design process.
Facilities/Operations - these team members are most familiar with what’s worked before and the many critical concerns needed to operate in a safe and durable manner. Having this team represented at the table from the start expedites the implementation and iteration phases of the project.
Advancement/Development/Fundraising - team members familiar with inspiring participation and generosity will be important to any philanthropic placemaking effort. Team members responsible for donor relations will provide excellent insight. Remember, however, staff members cannot fully deliver the perspective of the nonprofit’s donors. It is wise to include a few donors in the ideation and design process.
Visitors/Members - if the nonprofit has staff responsible for the visitor and member relations, they make excellent contributors to a philanthropic placemaking project. This may be another opportunity to select a few individuals from the community to serve as project advisors.
Staff and volunteers - integrating representatives from the staff and volunteers for the nonprofit will also expand the perspectives contributing to the project.
Key outsiders - no nonprofit organization exists in isolation. A project of this magnitude will benefit from appropriate participation from others nearby and/or invested in the organization’s success. This may include neighboring businesses, municipal leaders, and representatives from peer institutions, especially those who engage similar audiences.
Any nonprofit undertaking a philanthropic placemaking project will establish a specific scope of work and develop exhibits, signs, and messages indicative of the organization’s purpose and audiences. That said however, there are general message categories that should be considered during the philanthropic placemaking project. Coordination of these message types is key to providing a cohesive visitor experience. All public-facing messaging should have meaning to the variety of possible audiences. Stories should help build a sense of community and highlight the shared history, values, and aspirations of that community. They should encourage understanding and new awareness.
Types of messages most used in philanthropic placemaking:
Wayfinding - a way of thinking about the visitor experience far more broadly than a set of signs in a nonprofit’s facilities. It often begins with the nonprofit’s website and includes messages that begin on the roadway leading to the facility. It includes both directional and destination-naming signs and may integrate a giving or recognition based space naming strategy. ADA compliance is important and some communities benefit from the use of multiple languages. Wayfinding signs are often a key contributor to the expression of the brand identity, however practical limitations are a consideration as well. Seeking the skills of wayfinding signage experts, or at least investigating wayfinding best practices, is indicated.
Interpretation - content and context provided to enhance understanding of objects and experiences. Interpretive messages may be communicated through environmental graphics of every sort and should be customized to the nonprofit’s brand and identity. Furthermore, the messages themselves and their presentation should be sensitive to the several audiences who will visit the organization. Audience segmentation will help develop a messaging voice that is appropriate to the widest number of visitors, demonstrates inclusivity, and best represents the goals and aspirations of the nonprofit.
History - Any variation on telling the origin and evolution of the organization. Situating the current experience in stories of the past is a useful way to communicate the longevity of a organization, the breadth of its involvement in the community, and to provide context for its current mission, vision, and values. It is also a way to provide transparency and to recognize chapters in the institutional past when values and actions may have been different and to clarify the current perspective on those past circumstances.
Recognition - celebrating various forms of achievement, including participation, excellence, and impact. This article has already indicated reasons to change traditional recognition habits. Remember to provide recognition for all types of service and to integrate story. Help visitors connect with the people who work at the nonprofit, its volunteers and donors, even other members. Done well, recognition can motivate all audiences to be more engaged with the nonprofit.
Calls to Action - a direct request for action on the part of the viewer. There are various reasons to inspire action by those visiting a nonprofit’s facilities. Two of the most important are membership and fundraising appeals. With philanthropic placemaking in mind, it is important to demonstrate the diversity of the community and make participation easy and worthwhile. These messages are often best situated alongside recognition and stories of impact. Testimonials are an example of how other community members can serve as ambassadors for the nonprofit’s calls to action.
Placemaking takes many forms and is used in many settings. A place relies on its community and placemaking gives stakeholders agency in the planning, creation, function, growth, and experience of a place, making the individuals more connected to the organization represented by that place. As that connection grows, the individuals become more invested in the experience of the place itself and the success of the organization associated with it and its mission. They participate more fully, often visiting more frequently and possibly volunteering, donating, and advocating for the organization. The organization’s identity becomes integral to the community’s identity and vice versa.
Philanthropic placemaking increases this alignment by consciously crafting messages and environmental aesthetics to focus the community on their participation in the mission of the nonprofit organization. Philanthropic placemaking removes the perceived dividing lines between content creators and consumers, between visitors and members, and between levels of financial support. Philanthropic placemaking engages the community with a shared identity based on aligned values and goals. A strong and resilient culture of philanthropy — one that celebrates the love of humanity — happens as a result of a positive experience of place, one that is respectful, enjoyable, accessible, understandable, and inclusive.
Lowcountry Food Bank, Charleston, South Carolina
Philanthropic placemaking, including brand identity, environmental graphics, and volunteer, staff and donor recognition designed and fabricated by Heurista.
How does philanthropic placemaking change traditional donor recognition practices?
Donor recognition, especially public-facing permanent signage, should be informative and have meaning for those who see it, not just the donors named by it. It should help all viewers to better understand the role of philanthropy within the organization and its impact on the community. Philanthropy and the recognition of donors should be woven into the experience of the nonprofit and not presented as separate from the surrounding architecture, programming, activities, or interpretive storytelling. Integrating philanthropy into the larger narrative brings value for both the donors listed and the community as a whole by turning public recognition of all types into an inclusionary, equity-driven exercise. Done well, donor recognition will celebrate the mission and achievements that are the motivation for philanthropic giving. Names may be included, but they should be presented alongside a story that sets the context for giving and invites greater understanding about the donors, their reasons for giving, and the impact realized through those gifts. This more comprehensive storytelling helps encourage philanthropic support, volunteerism and advocacy from others alongside celebrating those individuals who have already given.
By whatever means — a plaque, digital content, or a print piece — include a story about major donors and their impact to augment the name above an exhibit hall. Contextualize the gift such that the impact on the community is shared first, followed by the shared values, and finally the celebration of the donor’s philanthropic support. The addition of storytelling and visual integration create a sense of collaboration between the organization, and the community as a whole that invites the viewer in.
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The idea of philanthropic placemaking — highlighting the authentic cultural history, practices and aspirations of a community aligned with a specific nonprofit organization — was first documented in 2015 by Anne Manner-McLarty, one of the authors of this article. As a consultant, she had been working with nonprofits to use environmental graphics to celebrate philanthropy and to better integrate branding, wayfinding, historical and philanthropic storytelling.