100 Men YEG

We Give A Damn

What We Did

Web & Branding

The Client

100 Men YEG is a charitable group in Edmonton based on similar organizations across Canada. Each member brings a $100 cheque to a quarterly meeting, where they listen to three local nonprofit groups talk about their work and how donations will help them. Then members vote, and the group with the most votes receives over $10,000 in donations. It’s a fast, relatively inexpensive way for caring Edmontonians to help their community.

The Project

When 100 Men YEG approached us, they were a group of 20 or so guys who had a vision to change their city. They had heard about other 100 Men groups across the country, and knowing how well-connected Edmonton is, they wanted to start a similar group here.

Goal

Their goal wasn’t just to reach 100 members, but to go far beyond that and create even more local change. They needed our help creating a recognizable brand and supporting resources to inform people about the organization and encourage them to sign up. We love a great cause, which is why this project was on the house.

Brand Identity

100 Men YEG wanted to find its own identity by partnering its goals with a well-known brand. Most 100 Men logos incorporate the male symbol (♂) into one of the zeroes. Because there was already brand equity, the cause would be more recognizable if we kept 100 Men YEG’s logo in line with that of other groups.

Still, there was an opportunity to extend the identity even further and make it something new. We chose to incorporate the symbol more subtly and instead focus on the 100 to suggest a large, influential group. Other 100 Men groups used the phrase “100 men who give a damn,” which set the tone for the kind of organization these guys would become: bold, loud, and direct. We liked that persona, so we carried it into the logo.

The word mark is clean and balanced, with the elements working together to form a block. We created visual interest with contrasting typefaces, engaging shapes, and colour changes. The complete logo signifies professionalism and growth while communicating a bright, friendly feeling — the same feeling that’s in the air at every meeting.

Website

100 Men YEG needed a website to drive new membership and keep existing members informed about what’s happening with the group. People commit for a full year of donations, so they need information to validate that decision and make them see the value in staying a member. That’s why the site is full of explanations of who 100 Men YEG is, what they’re all about, and what membership involves. There are also plenty of details about what happens at each meeting.

One of the main reasons people visit the site is to find out when the next meeting is. That’s why we made the Meetings page its own navigation item, as well as a prominent tile on the home page. Visitors can go there for maps (as the location can be a little tricky to find) and to see the dates of the next two meetings, which allows them to plan ahead.

The News blog keeps members up to date on everything happening with 100 Men YEG. We built the site’s back end to be easily editable, allowing the team to handle most content updates themselves. They’re really good about counting down to upcoming events, and they’re always prompting members to spread the words and bring friends to the next meeting. They also post about past meetings, telling members how much money was raised and which charity it went to.

The About page talks about who 100 Men YEG is and what they do. But it also does something a little different than other websites: it talks about who the visitor is. If they’re pressed for time but want to learn about local charities, help their community, and be part of a great group, 100 Men YEG is the place for them. Then they can immediately sign up for membership.

Because 100 Men is a nonprofit organization, we also included a sponsors page to highlight some of the community-minded businesses who have helped out. It’s a nice, subtle way to tell other local businesses that they can get involved in more significant ways than simply being a member.

Collateral

During the identity development stage, we had to think about how the identity would apply to items like the group’s website, email newsletter, social media, and print collateral. Then we designed banners to decorate their events, postcards that members could share with friends, and (of course) a giant novelty cheque for the recipient charity.

Not everyone checks the website regularly, so it was important to find another way to distribute information. We set up a MailChimp account so that when people become members, they receive email updates about upcoming meetings and recently posted blog articles. Since meetings only happen every three months, this is a great way for 100 Men to keep in touch with their members in the meantime.

The Results

100 Men YEG made huge progress in their first year.

With our help, 100 Men YEG made a difference in their local community by donating funds to YESS, iHuman Youth Society, Sport Central, Little Warriors, and HIV Edmonton. We’re proud to be an ongoing part of such a great cause, and we hope you’ll consider doing the same. All it costs is $100 and an hour of your time every three months. It’s that small, and in exchange you get to be part of something that makes a big local impact.