For more information,
please contact us or email
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About
Address:
890 Hendersonville Rd
Asheville, NC 28803
Mailing:
890 Hendersonville Rd
Asheville, NC 28803
Our New Brand
Welcome! We’re glad you’re here because that means you’re interested in learning more about our new brand. Please take a few moments to watch our introductory video, read our brand narrative and, if you have additional questions, review the FAQs. We hope you love our new brand as much as we do! After all, you helped us create it.
We began our rebranding process with Formation PR + Brand back in the spring of 2022 with a brand perception survey completed by more than 600 grantees, community organizations and partners, board and staff. The creative team utilized that feedback to delve into comparative market research and study how other similarly-sized organizations and health conversion foundations shared not only their brand but also their brand story. From there, we incorporated our community investment philosophy and strategic priorities to develop our new brand.
From our discovery process, we knew that it would be important to lead with clarity – about our grantmaking process, who we are and how we work. We also understood that our new brand identity should be more approachable, innovative and an engaging representation of who we are and the type of work we seek to do in the region.
Our brand narrative speaks to the regional context of Western North Carolina – our diversity, resilience and commitment to innovate and grow at a transformative level – while also balancing that with our steadfast focus on catalytic and responsive collaborations and solutions.
We hope you’ll find our new brand to be a reflection of our region and our evolution as an organization, aligning with our purpose, clearly conveying our community investment philosophy and, most importantly, our commitment to do good with the resources endowed upon us.
Brand Narrative
Dogwood Health Trust exists to dramatically improve the health and well-being of all people and communities in the 18 counties and Qualla Boundary of Western North Carolina. Working with our community, grantees, partners, researchers and scholars, we collaborate to create a Western North Carolina where every generation can live, learn, earn and thrive, with dignity and opportunity for all – no exceptions.
Dogwood is a reflection of our region – the grit, the resilience and the innovation of our collective history, upon which we build our hopes for the future. In our relationships and our work, we seek first to listen and to understand. We strive to operate with trust and openness, demonstrating transparency and candor throughout our processes and interactions.
We strive to embed equity in the way that we work and hold equity as the standard by which we measure our impact. And for us, equity exists when all people have unconstrained opportunities to live lives of dignity and achieve wellbeing, regardless of place, race, faith, health, wealth, age, ability or identity.
We go beyond grantmaking. Dogwood leverages knowledge and expertise that can inform and strengthen our partners’ work in our strategic priorities. We learn from individuals with lived experience in order to identify and address the root causes of longstanding challenges – barriers that have held communities back or thwarted desired outcomes.
Dogwood is both responsive and catalytic. We invest in our partners and their ideas and originate work where solutions do not yet exist.
Our purpose and our responsibility dictate that we reach higher and strive for greater. We recognize this requires the courage to take smart risks, investing for profound positive change that improves lives for generations.
In addition to financial resources, we leverage community influence and voices to name what must be changed and illuminate where our region can fulfill its potential.
We aspire to do good with the resources entrusted to us. While there is much work to do, we are inspired and hopeful through our connection with our partners and communities as we advance our shared commitment toward a better region for all – no exceptions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Initial branding created in 2018 at Dogwood’s inception is no longer in alignment with the direction of our organization or the investments we’re making in the region. Now that three years have passed, with several rounds of grantmaking and community engagement behind us, our Board of Directors decided it was time for a full rebranding, including a brand discovery process, comparative market research, development of a brand narrative, and the creation of a new brand identity. Our new brand identity reflects who Dogwood Health Trust is today and where we aspire to go in the future. It is informed by community input, collective insight, strategic priorities, and our Community Investment Philosophy.
Dogwood Health Trust partnered with Formation PR + Brand to develop the new brand.
Beginning in April of 2022, the Formation team conducted brand research for several months, which included a brand perception survey of our partners, analysis of other funders and an internal brand audit.
Primary research consisted of brand perception surveys to Dogwood grantees, partners and community members. More than 600 survey responses were received during the primary research phase. The new brand was developed from the valued feedback of the community.
Following the brand research, the Formation team developed initial brand logos, concepts, and messaging based on their findings, which they presented to a “Brand Council” composed of staff and board members for review and feedback. The Brand Council was established in April 2022 to oversee the Dogwood rebrand, ensuring alignment with its strategic priorities.
On January 13, 2023, Dogwood Health Trust unveiled the new brand to grantees, partners and community members, launching the new brand logo and messaging in the following ways:
- E-newsletter announcement
- Brand landing page on the website
- Brand explainer video
- Brand narrative
- Social media campaign
In the months ahead, we look forward to fully implementing our new brand with a new website, signage, and our Annual Report.
Our Community Investment Philosophy describes how we will act toward our purpose, commitment, values, and guiding principles as we work. The Philosophy is captured in our new brand narrative.
For any questions, contact Betsey Russell, Senior Director – Community Engagement at Dogwood Health Trust, at [email protected].