Philanthropic Foundations Canada Reimagined for the greater good PFC is an enabler for the common good, working in collaboration with civil society, the private sector, and governments. For more than 20 years, we have been bringing grantmakers together to connect, learn, and advance the best solutions for change on the issues that matter. About PFC Philanthropic Foundations Canada (PFC) is a member association representing Canadian grantmakers. With over 20 years of experience, PFC has collaborated with civil society, the private sector and governments, to strengthen and facilitate Canadian philanthropy. PFC brings together grantmakers to connect, learn and enforce the best solutions to shape communities and protect the environment. Their mission is to promote the growth and development of effective and responsible grantmakers throughout Canada, by providing membership services, resources and advocacy. The Challenge PFC approached us with the objective of improving the user experience (UX) on their website and creating a cohesive brand identity that would accurately reflect their organization’s values across all of their channels. They sought to increase their online engagement while positioning themselves as a leading resource for their members seeking to take action and participate in philanthropy. This required a complete overhaul of their website, along with the development of an accessible platform that would allow their members quick and easy access to all necessary assets. PFC entrusted us to take on this challenge and we were determined to deliver results that exceeded their expectations The Approach Because of their extensive inventory, PFC found it challenging to engage effectively with various partners and struggled to mobilize its community through its digital presence. Our approach to solving this challenge was focused on creating seamless UX for their members and partners. We recognized their struggle with fragmented branding, design and poor website functionality, and saw an opportunity to make significant improvements. Phase A A Digital Makeover: New Look, New Voice With the goal of creating seamless UX for both members and partners, we spent the next 10 months completely overhauling PFC’s digital ecosystem. This involved restructuring their website to improve content organization, developing a new brand identity that accurately reflected their values and mission, and providing an accessible and cohesive digital environment. This was done to encourage fostered partnerships, collaboration and learning relevant to Canadian Philanthropic foundations. Gather stakeholder insights We interviewed client stakeholders and sent content briefs to gain a better understanding of their pain points, vision and objectives. Workshops on digital identity We conducted branding and design workshops to create a modern brand identity. Tone of Voice Through the workshops, we were able to identify PFC’s brand voice and tone, as well as create clear and accessible brand messaging that resonates with their target audience. Brand Toolkit Development We provided PFC with a brand toolkit that included clear guidelines on fonts, design, photos and colors, to ensure consistent branding across their marketing ecosystem; including documentation, conference assets and a newsletter. Logo Design Through a series of feedback sessions, we developed a simple yet impactful logo that represents PFC’s growing community, connectedness and humility. Through an array of colors, it expresses the diversity of their community and initiatives. Marketing Revamp Our team took on the challenge of updating PFC’s entire marketing strategy to improve their online presence and increase engagement. Through a combination of branding, design, and content updates, we transformed their digital identity and created a unified message across all their channels. Digital benchmarking We evaluated PFC’s positioning compared to their peers and competitors. Analysis of digital landscape An analysis of their social media and content efforts, and digital footprint helped us identify potential opportunities and weaknesses. New gameplan Based on the analysis of what worked and what didn’t, we developed a digital strategy with the aim of promoting the PFC brand and its mission and attracting a new audience. Phase B Better Website, Better Performance Their website’s basic framework, confusing messaging and difficult-to-find documents made navigation and resource utilization difficult for members. And the lack of structure and cohesive visual elements lent itself to a frustrating user experience and poor SEO. To address these challenges, PFC wanted us to rebuild their web infrastructure, improving the design (updated branding from Phase A), functionality and organization to enhance user engagement and better support their members in the following ways: Facilitate exchange of resources We built a member’s portal with a document and video library that includes useful resources such as reports, webinars and videos. Improved user experience By restructuring the content for better flow, information could be organized into verticals for easy navigation. Annual Conference hub Having a dedicated conference page on the PFC website, streamlined participant registration, and centralized conference-related information (event details, itinerary and travel logistics). Additionally, we created physical assets such as banners, as well as member invitations and newsletters to promote the event. Working with Third Wunder since 2020 has been a dream. They helped us redevelop our website, refresh our branding, develop a new logo and streamline our processes. They are now our go-to consultant for anything related to digital communications. A Fresh New Look, for a Bold New Future PFC is excited about their new digital identity and upgraded website, which has elevated their online presence. Their new website is easy-to-navigate and features an engaging member portal that offers a wide range of resources to support their members’ philanthropic initiatives. Most notably, PFC is able to offer more peer-learning opportunities, networking events, webinars and expand attendance at their annual conference, all of which strengthens their impact in the philanthropic community.
Working with Third Wunder since 2020 has been a dream. They helped us redevelop our website, refresh our branding, develop a new logo and streamline our processes. They are now our go-to consultant for anything related to digital communications.