The Situation

The Need to Make Communications more Engaging and Accessible

City First Enterprises (CFE) lends capital to people often left out of the traditional financial system. They help develop affordable housing, scale nonprofits, make clean energy accessible to all, and help people buy homes. Their work is all about building community and closing the wealth gap.

While changing and growing as an organization, CFE had a communications problem. This complicated both their messaging and the relationship they have cultivated with their communities. They wanted to be a place where people could come for support, and not be put off by a stiff and unapproachable website.

They needed a communications transformation.

When the executive director and team reached out to me, I was excited to be part of the work. Their organization puts capital in the hands of real people who both need and deserve it.

The Challenges

Engagement Hindered by Nonprofit Jargon and Financial Complexity

From the beginning, we knew a big key to the communications issue was their website. It was in need of a redesign that would transform it from a stiff, non client-centric tool into a viable place where people who required their services could find what they needed. Their goal was to have their clients be the center of their messaging.

We pinpointed the following issues:

• Their original website started with “Who we are,” rather than leading with their client's needs and issues.
• The imagery on the homepage didn’t connect to the actual audience, who looked for high quality loans from a reputable organization. Instead, they leaned into the use of standard and impersonal stock-photos that showed no connection to the community they serve.
• The reports available on their site, which needed to share their successes and the impact they’ve had through their work, were dry and un-engaging. Reports aren’t just about facts and figures, they are about telling the story of how you make a difference.
• The messaging on the website led with their products and services and while useful, they were framed in hard to understand financial “speak,” which made the presentation difficult for the lay person to connect with.
  

The Approach

Prioritizing Storytelling and Interactive Experiences to Drive Engagement

My working relationship with CFE spans several years, and together we’ve partnered to uplift their brand and bring more humanity, accessibility, and fun into their communications. As a result, we have achieved many successes:

• We revamped their website and centered it around the client experience. We made their visitors feel how important they and their needs are to CFE.
• I worked with their team to create appealing and engaging digital impact reports, turning them from dry numbers into strong messaging that connects with their audience. We highlighted stories, created illustrations to make the work come alive, and added flair to the numbers.
• After CFE completed a strategic planning exercise, I helped develop an interactive website. This innovative approach aimed to communicate their story and future in a dynamic and memorable way.
• Currently, we are collaborating to find better systems for gathering stories, ensuring a respectful and non-extractive approach to storytelling with beneficiaries.
• We are actively advancing the evolution of the CFE brand – never a static thing!