Verdin Marketing's 24-Hour Give provides SLO nonprofits with free rebranding 

Rebrand an entire organization—but do it in 24 hours.

Verdin Marketing asked community members to vote on their favorite organizations to receive this year's 24-Hour Give, which offers one local nonprofit a total revamp of its logo, website, and even its name.

Mary Verdin, president of Verdin Marketing, said the project pulls together a team of approximately 21 media, business, and creative local partners that combine their talents to make the daylong project a reality. But before that magic happens, the recipient must first be selected through nomination and votes.

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• Photo Courtesy Of 24-Hour Give
• 'ROUND THE CLOCK Local creative partners brainstorm new logos and website designs for a past recipient of the 24-Hour Give project.

According to Verdin, the process starts with public nominations of local nonprofits. The 24-Hour Give staff reviews these and decides on two finalists. The winner is up to voters over a 10-day period.

"[The voting] is really about getting the nonprofit to kind of rally their supporters and get the word out and what they're trying to do," Verdin said. "Raising awareness about who they are, what they're doing, and getting people to vote at the end of the voting period."

While nominations have ended for this year's round, Verdin Marketing will announce this year's two finalists and open voting on Oct. 11. Residents can vote through Oct. 21, and voters can cast a vote once per day, totaling 10 votes. The actual 24-hour project will start at 7 a.m. on Nov. 7 and end at the same time on Nov. 8.

Verdin Marketing is a SLO marketing firm that specializes in business improvement districts, and its mission is to support tourism, economic growth, and a strong sense of community. Its 24-Hour Give project has been a way to make a difference in the community since 2014, and, according to Verdin, it's donated more than $1 million in services through its work and partner contributions to date.

Verdin said she's excited about this year's 24-hour project because it hasn't happened since 2020, when the pandemic shut down the group's ability to work collaboratively in the same room for an entire day.

"My team was really excited to do it again. A lot of my team wasn't here in 2019, so they've never done it and were very curious to do it," she said. "So, we thought earlier this year, maybe let's go back and do the 24-hour version of that again."

Since 2020, the group has assisted with various local campaigns, including one for Transitions-Mental Health Association, but not in 24-hour periods.

The values of the selected organization are important to the 24-hour team, Verdin said. Before the actual transformation starts, they meet with nonprofit staff beforehand to ensure the enhancements reflect the mission.

"So, any [staff that] want to come and be part of what we call an immersion session, we go through a discovery session," she said. "We just get as much information as we can about who they are, why they're important, what they're trying to accomplish, what their biggest pain points are."

From there, the 24-hour team creates a new logo, revamps the nonprofit's website, takes fresh photos, and even brainstorms new names.

Literacy for Life was the recipient of the 24-Hour Give in 2016 and is still reaping the benefits.

The organization was founded in 1982 to help address illiteracy among immigrants and provide local literacy tutoring, and Chief Executive Officer Bernadette Bernardi said the 24-hour project gave the organization the energy it needed, including a new name and website.

Once called the Literacy Council, Bernardi said its change to Literacy for Life modernized its image and added more meaning behind the organization's mission.

"[Literary Council] sounded a little dated, and it sounded like a bunch of people sitting around making decisions," she said. "What [24-Hour Give] did for us is it revived us, rejuvenated us, gave us a lift—a splash, if you will—and got us going. You just kind of get in the old routine and you don't think about new things. And so this was a really great vehicle to get reenergized in many ways."

Bernardi said Literacy for Life is still using the same website that 24-Hour Give created for them in 2016, too.

"I think it's still hip and it's still vibrant today, and that's already been several years," she said. "Just a fresh coat of paint on an old house."

For more information about the 24-Hour Give and to vote for this year's recipient starting Oct. 11, visit 24hourgive.verdinmarketing.com.

Fast fact

• The Woods Humane Society is hosting its largest pet celebration of the year, the Wiggle Waggle Fall Festival on Saturday, Oct. 26, from 12 to 3 p.m. at Woods Humane Society SLO, located at 875 Oklahoma Ave. The free, fall-themed festival will offer kids and pets costume competitions, training challenges, and local vendors and food. New this year, the Humane Society and SLO County Animal Services will also offer half-off dog and cat adoption at the event. For more information, visit woodshumane.org/fallfestival. Δ

Reach Staff Writer Libbey Hanson at [email protected].