Placemaking is the designing a physical environment to provide a positive experience of a community or organization. It is a tool that can be used by nonprofit organizations to build understanding and affinity for their missions. Placemaking entails integrating the values and character of a community and crafting architecture, landscape, signage, and experiences that are aligned with the culture of the community. To learn more about the history of placemaking, check out the Project for Public Places and their eleven principles of placemaking.

Heurista organizes its work around the concept of philanthropic placemaking. We explore an organization’s mission, vision, values and culture as well as its aspirations in order to craft experiences that bring understanding and affinity for the mission and specific character of the organization. Using experiential design concepts to guide the work, we address the architecture, landscape, wayfinding signage, and storytelling. The storytelling may involve written words, photography and graphics and typically addresses combinations of the history of the organization, its achievements, and the support provided by its donors and volunteers. Philanthropic placemaking requires insight that goes beyond understanding an organization’s brand; it requires an understanding of the organization’s “how” and “why”, and insight into what it hopes to achieve.

Our work with St. Mary’s Abbey and Delbarton School is a good example of the opportunities afforded by a philanthropic placemaking approach. The headmaster convened a committee charged with developing a multi-year plan for improving the experience of the school’s campus through new recognition signage and a possible history display. The charge included documenting new policies and procedures that would inform the work at hand and guide future decision-making. Heurista was contacted by the committee based on a referral from another resource who had experience with our comprehensive approach to recognition program planning and design. The timing for this project coincided with a comprehensive fundraising campaign to support the School as well as the Abbey.

The work began with discovery, the consultative process by which we gain an understanding of the organization’s working style, brand, immediate challenges, and aspirations. This process often includes a campus tour, multiple interviews, and discussions about industry best practices and their application to the specific needs of the organization. Delbarton School is a private school in Morristown, New Jersey educating male students, grades 7-12. The educational model is based on the Benedictine tradition. The school was started by and is still closely connected to the monks of St. Mary’s Abbey. The two organizations share a campus and the grounds and Abbey Church are used by the entire community. Members of the monastic community teach and have served as headmasters of the school since its inception. Understanding this relationship and the values of the Benedictine tradition informed the choices the client would make over the course of the philanthropic placemaking work.

Following the discovery period, Heurista drafted a recommendations report. The report forecast work that would take several years to complete. It included policy and procedure planning; naming opportunity valuation and documenting processes; design for donor recognition, various awards, and key naming opportunities; branded graphics and architectural enhancements for new construction and upcoming renovations; and full replacement of the wayfinding sign program. The plan included a suggested order for the work ahead, budgets, and a schedule of roles and responsibilities. Over the course of the work, many teams would be involved, including Abbey and School leadership, Institutional Advancement, Marketing and Communications, Buildings and Grounds, the archivist, IT and special projects managers. Additionally, Heurista was chosen to lead coordination with outside resources including several sign and display manufacturers.

In the years that have passed since the work began, Delbarton has dedicated St. Benedict’s Hall, a learning commons with adjacent student interaction and learning spaces and other student support services; constructed the Pizzo Family Field House creating a central hub for student-athletes and visiting teams; renovated Old Main, the original historic home on the Delbarton campus which now houses the Peter L. O’Neill ‘59 Alumni Center; and installed all new wayfinding signs, including campus maps, interpretive kiosks, and new entry monuments. The Abbey completed renovations to St. Vincent House and other spaces within the monastery. Additional construction is anticipated as Delbarton continues to flourish.

To view the full scope of our work at the Delbarton campus, click on the links below:

• Collaboration: What is the role of a consultant?

• Transformational Giving: Delbarton names the Peter L. O’Neill ‘59 Alumni Center in historic Old Main

• Experiential Design: enhancing the tie between mission, vision and values and the campus experience