A Public Health Institute Demonstrates the Way

Is there value in a nonprofit brand? Public Health Management Corporation (PHMC) certainly believes so. This fall, PHMC - a nonprofit public health institute - celebrated a successful rebranding, strengthening its position as a brand ahead of the pack.

Through a carefully constructed strategic plan, PHMC is able to communicate meaningful value to its stakeholders. And, the organization learned some lessons along the way. In July 2008, the 36-year-old nonprofit then known as Philadelphia Health Management Corporation announced a soft-launch of its organization's rebranding. After formally changing its name to Public Health Management Corporation and gradually introducing the new brand on its website, in its print newsletter and on letterhead, PHMC launched a successful full-scale branding outreach in November through a major stakeholder engagement event, media announcement and related PR about the business side of nonprofits.

What led PHMC to execute the rebranding? And how should a nonprofit decide whether rebranding is right for its situation?

1. Define brand as a concept

Before you can consider the issue you brand, you need to adopt a consistent definition of brand. Some people will say it's a logo, others will say advertising, still others will say reputations. If you ask this question of 20 people you may well receive 20 different responses. PHMC uses this definition: Brand is the emotional connection between the stakeholder and the organization. All of the elements people list are encompassed by this definition and combined to create brand.

2. Conduct stakeholder research

With this definition of brand, the stakeholder - anyone with a vested interest in the organization (employees, board members, funders, clients, competitors, government agencies, vendors and so forth) - is a critical factor. So be sure that you clearly identify your stakeholders and use them as a touchstone for understanding your brand image. This requires brand perception research through which you gather the impressions and beliefs that your stakeholders hold about your organization. Since brand reflects a combination of the attributes you wittingly choose and those imposed by the environment, you will find some gap between your organization's brand goals and your audience's perception of the brand. The nature and size of that gap can indicate whether you are ripe to take greater control of your brand, either through enhanced efforts around your current brand or through rebranding.

PHMC began the rebranding process nearly a year ago, in response to stakeholder research indicating that - though seen as a trusted, collaborative, innovative and visionary leader, its public perception may not have been keeping pace with its rapid expansion. Research revealed that key decision-makers had limited knowledge of the breadth of PHMC's work, restricted to the elements to which they had direct relationships. "Given the broad reach of PHMC - nearly 1,400 employees, 250 programs, 9 affiliates, 70 sites and 40,000 people served each year - a considerable range of the agency's scope, impact and value could have been undetected by any given partner, collaborator or funder," says Richard J. Cohen, PHMC President and CEO.

3. Identify brand strengths and weaknesses

Conducting stakeholder research enables you to identify brand strengths and weaknesses. Research on PHMC brand perception showed that stakeholders held PHMC in high regard for its leadership and vision, but sometimes experienced confusion about its role in the health system. "Looking beyond the results of the research," says Dina Baker, vice president of communications, "we recognized that we are in a market that burgeons with health care entities. Another goal of our rebranding is to provide clear differentiation for PHMC in our role as a major public health institute."

4. Ask the tough question: "What's in a name?"

This is the touch question because changing a name - especially an old and established one - can be an emotional experience for many stakeholders. Before taking this route, make sure the name convincingly presents itself as a factor in closing a perception gap, and that the gap is significant enough to require such a change. Once PHMC leadership decided to rebrand in response to its marketplace, the first step was evaluating the existing name and - if needed - determining a new one. "A name helps to define an organization," says Cohen. "And our name clearly plays a role in establishing our legitimacy and economic value, for attracting donors, people and organizations." In the end, PHMC did decide to move away from the name that had served it well throughout its 36 years, but not to stray far.

"By simply changing ‘Philadelphia' to ‘Public' our new name placed clearer emphasis on our core non-profit mission of public health and all that it encompasses," notes Cohen. In addition, even as PHMC firmly remains a service partner to the City of Philadelphia, the organization's geographic range had expanded considerably. "Our stature, size, results and management processes give us opportunities to positively affect public health throughout the state and in some cases even across the country," says Cohen.

PHMC chose to retain "Management Corporation" in its name because its unique business model and strong management capabilities signified critical aspects of its identity, ability to grow and attraction to funders - brand attributes clearly valued by key stakeholders according to the research. "The PHMC model has helped steer us to a strong record of financial management. We have an annual budget of about $165 million, managing more than 250 programs in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware with an overhead rate of fewer than 7% -- a rarity in nonprofit management, where average overhead is around 15%," says chief financial officer Marino Puliti. "Thus our management practices translate to savings of up to $13 million per year, which we can reinvest in services."

5. Move beyond the name

Rebranding your nonprofit is not a one-step process; the transition may take months, even years, and the choice of whether to change your name - and, if so, to what - is just the beginning.
"As important as our name may be, neither it - nor the fresh logo and brand colors - is the end-game," says Cohen. "If the brand is the emotional connection between the stakeholder and the organization, our duty is to live our brand and make it meaningful to our stakeholders so we can all be more effective in the work we do every day."

6. Tap into the brand power of your employees

Part of the process of rebranding is recognizing the power of communicating brand changes with employees. For many stakeholders, employees provide their primary brand exposure to your organization's brand. PHMC conducts brand training sessions for employees regularly, helping internal stakeholders to grasp, own and internalize the totality of PHMC and its brand promise. "Employees can become the most important aspect of the renewed face of PHMC to external audiences," stresses Cohen. "I consider our nearly 1400 employees to be the greatest ambassadors of the brand."

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About PHMC
Public Health Management Corporation (PHMC) is a nonprofit public health institute that builds healthier communities through partnerships with government, foundations, businesses and other community-based organizations. It fulfills its mission to improve the health of the community by providing outreach, health promotion, education, research, planning, technical assistance, and direct services. PHMC has served the Greater Philadelphia region since 1972.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
November 11, 2008
Contact: Jamie Arehart (267-350-7699 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)

Lee Carson to be Awarded Leadership Achievement Award

Carson has worked in the areas of HIV prevention and substance abuse rehabilitation in the LGBT community for the past ten years. "I am grateful to be receiving an award from The Attic," says Carson, "and at the same time I am fully aware that my work is only one small part within a larger mosaic of efforts put forth by many toward creating a better quality of life for Philadelphia's LGBT citizens."

Currently a research associate at Public Health Management Corporation (PHMC), Carson works on several projects related to HIV prevention among men who have sex with men. "We are very proud of Lee and his recognition by The Attic," says Lynne Kotranski, vice president of PHMC's Research and Evaluation component. "Lee brings a unique set of skills to his work and commitment to the community-great clinical training blended with an understanding of conducting research on vulnerable populations."

In addition to his research work, Carson works part-time as a mental health therapist for the Mazzoni Center, a health center serving Philadelphia's LGBT population. Carson also serves as an adjunct instructor in the graduate social work department at Temple University.

Carson's work as an activist in the LGBT community began in 2000, when he became an active member of the New York-based Men of Color Health Awareness Project (MOCHA), an HIV prevention organization. While at MOCHA, Carson served as a board member for the New York State Black Gay Network. After moving to Philadelphia, Carson co-founded and became president of a local nonprofit organization called the Black Gay Men's Leadership Council, which advocates for black gay men in Philadelphia. He is also a founding member of the LGBT People of Color Coalition, which presently consists of 14 organizations that represent a broad cross section of LGBT communities across race and gender.

Carson's commitment to the LGBT community has garnered him both local and national recognition. This past fall, he began serving on Mayor Nutter's advisory board on LGBT affairs. His familiarity with the LGBT community also led to his selection by the Centers for Disease Control as an expert on an advisory panel for a new HIV prevention campaign targeted towards black gay men. Carson has a bachelor's of arts degree from SUNY Brockport, a master's of social work degree from Nazareth College and is a licensed social worker in the state of Pennsylvania.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
November 19, 2008
Contact: Jamie Arehart (267-350-7699)

La Comunidad Hispana's New Home: Building Green

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design

KENNET SQUARE-La Comunidad Hispana (LCH) began pursuing the coveted Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification for its new building, which will open its doors this spring.

"LCH hopes to be the first non-profit organization in Chester County to receive LEED certification," said Executive Director Margarita Queralt Mirkil, "although that depends on when other buildings that are also registered receive the official status." LEED certification is a voluntary, consensus-based national certification system for developing high-performance, sustainable buildings. "More building professionals, owners and operators are seeing the benefits of green-building and LEED certification," said Mirkil.

LCH serves over 7,000 patients, most of which are vulnerable Latino residents in Chester County. The new building, which will be located at 731 West Cypress Street in Kennett Square, will house the 22 staff members who work serving the community in the health care center and as part of the resource and education and social services departments. This new building will house all the agency's services and the administrative department under one roof for the first time since 2003. "We are all very excited about the move and the opportunity to work as one integrated agency."

LEED buildings deliver significant savings in energy, water and other key consumption figures. Average LEED energy use is 25-30% more efficient, for example, LCH anticipates achieving that level. LCH's use of a geothermal HVAC system will assure both energy conservation and greater efficiency.

Mirkil explains, "We know that buildings fundamentally impact people's lives and the health of the planet and we as a public health provider are committed to making a positive impact on the health of our community and environment by constructing a green building."

LCH's new facility, which is currently under construction, will incorporate systems that use approximately 25% less energy and 30% less water and will emphasize the use of sustainable and recycled products. "Our goal during construction is to send 75% of all waste to certified recycling companies instead of a landfill and La Comunidad Hispana will contract with our local energy provider to purchase 35% or more of the building's power for green generated energy providers such as wind turbine and solar," stated Mirkil.

Construction of the building began in July of 2008 and is projected to end in late April of 2009.

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About La Comunidad Hispana
La Comunidad Hispana (LCH) is a community-based nonprofit organization that provides services to the Latino community and other vulnerable residents in Chester County. Its mission is to improve the quality of life, health and well being of low-income Latinos and other under-served groups through advocacy and bilingual programs in health care, education, and social services. LCH is a culturally competent, bilingual, bicultural agency that reflects the community served. LCH was established in 1973 and became an affiliate of Public Health Management Corporation in 2004.

LCH is located at 314-316 E. State Street, Kennett Square, PA 19348. For more information on LCH and its programs, please visit www.lacomunidadhispana.org or call 610-444-4545.

About PHMC
The Public Health Management Corporation (PHMC) is a nonprofit public health institute that builds healthier communities through partnerships with government, foundations, business and other community-based organizations. It fulfills its mission to improve the health of the community by providing outreach, health promotion, education, research, planning, technical assistance, and direct services. PHMC has served the Greater Philadelphia region since 1972.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
November 6, 2008
Contact: Jamie Arehart (267-350-7699 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)

Major Regional Public Health Institute Launches New Brand

PHILADELPHIA - In a period of unprecedented growth for the nonprofit business, 36-year-old Public Health Management Corporation (PHMC), formerly The Philadelphia Health Management Corporation announces a full re-branding of its organization. After formally changing the name in July and gradually introducing the new name and logo on its website and newsletter, PHMC affects a full-scale launch this month.

PHMC began the rebranding process nearly a year ago, in response to stakeholder research that indicated its public perception may not have been keeping pace with its expansion. The research revealed that large groups of key decision-makers had limited knowledge of PHMC, restricted to the elements with which they had direct relationships. "Given the broad reach of PHMC - nearly 1,400 employees, 250 programs, 9 affiliates, 70 sites and 40,000 people served each year - a considerable range of the agency's scope, impact and value could be going undetected by any given partner, collaborator or funder," says Richard J. Cohen, PHMC President and CEO.

Even as stakeholders underestimated the breadth of PHMC, they enumerated many positive perceptions. The research showed that PHMC is known as a trusted partner and as a professional, collaborative, innovative and responsive nonprofit possessing strong leadership and broad vision.

"Looking beyond the results of the research," says Dina Baker, vice president of communications, "we also recognized that we are in a market that burgeons with health care entities. Another goal of our rebranding is to provide clear differentiation for PHMC in our role as a major public health institute." According to the National Network of Public Health Institutes, of which PHMC is one of the largest members, a public health institute is defined by its role in convening multi-sector collaborations, strategically supporting health systems improvements, leveraging resources, redrawing the boundaries of public health through its alliances, and helping to reframe and define the focus on public health among system partners (source: http://www.nnphi.org). One reason for PHMC's leadership in this arena is its science-based approach, as the organization encompasses a large and highly respected health research and evaluation component that provides the data to help PHMC develop its programs based on clearly defined needs and demonstrated solutions.

What's in a name

Once PHMC leadership decided to rebrand in response to its marketplace, the first step was evaluating the existing name and - if needed - determining a new one. "A name helps to define an organization," says Cohen. "And our name clearly plays a role in establishing our legitimacy and economic value, for attracting donors, people and organizations." In the end, PHMC did decide to move away from the name that had served it well throughout its 36 years, but not to stray far.

"By simply changing ‘Philadelphia' to ‘Public' our new name places clearer emphasis on our core non-profit mission of public health and all that it encompasses," notes Cohen. In addition, even as PHMC remains strongly rooted in its long and critical service to the City of Philadelphia, it also has rapidly expanded geographically. Much of this has been spurred through its 9 affiliate organizations-subsidiary nonprofits to which PHMC provides value added services including accounting, human resources, information systems, communications and marketing-so that they can better focus on serving constituents, developing programs and raising funds. "Our stature, size, results and management processes give us opportunities to positively affect public health outside the state, and through the state and in some cases even across the country," says Cohen.

PHMC chose to retain "Management Corporation" in its name because its unique business model and strong management capabilities are critical aspects of its identity, ability to grow and attraction to funders. "The PHMC model has helped steer us to a strong record of financial management. We have an annual budget of about $165 million, managing more than 250 programs in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware with an overhead rate of fewer than 7% -- a rarity in nonprofit management, where average overhead is around 15%," says chief financial officer Marino Puliti. "Thus our management practices translate to savings of up to $13 million per year, which we can reinvest in services

Much more than a name

As important as our name may be, neither it - nor the fresh logo and brand colors - is the end-game," says Cohen. "The brand is the emotional connection between the stakeholder and the organization, and our duty is to live our brand and make it meaningful to our stakeholders so we can all be more effective in the work we do every day."

PHMC conducts brand training sessions for employees regularly, helping internal stakeholders to bet he first to grasp the totality of PHMC and its brand promise. "They become the most important aspect of the renewed face of PHMC to external audiences," stresses Cohen, "with formal communications - such as newsletters, and website communications - simply as tools to support the work of our nearly 1400 employees, whom I consider our greatest ambassadors of the brand."

To celebrate its rebranding, including its strong history and the continued and expanding value of its mission, PHMC will host evolution: phmc's brand celebration on Tuesday, November 18, 2008 at 6 pm at The Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia. For information on tickets and sponsorships, please go to www.phmc.org/evolution.

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About PHMC
Public Health Management Corporation (PHMC) is a nonprofit public health institute that builds healthier communities through partnerships with government, foundations, business and other community-based organizations. It fulfills its mission to improve the health of the community by providing outreach, health promotion, education, research, planning, technical assistance, and direct services. PHMC has served the Greater Philadelphia region since 1972.