Friends of the Columbia Gorge won Grady Britton’s $25,000 in-kind marketing grant in 2018.

PORTLAND, Ore., May 19, 2020 - Today, local nonprofit conservation group Friends of the Columbia Gorge (Friends) debuts its new brand, a culmination of a two-year partnership with one of Portland’s longest-standing marketing agencies, Grady Britton. In late 2018, Friends was selected as Grady Britton’s grant winner through a program that this year celebrates its 10th anniversary of awarding a Portland-area nonprofit $25,000 in-kind branding and marketing services. From their work together, Friends celebrates a refreshed brand, including its first official logo, a new and nature-based color palette, modern typography and collateral, along with focused messaging.

“We are so proud to have been able to partner with Friends of the Columbia Gorge to do this important work,” said Paige Campbell, Grady Britton President. “We started our grant program to help organizations that help our community, and the work Friends does is vital to the very landscape and spirit of the Pacific Northwest. I'm thrilled we got to be a part of helping to tell their story.”

With the goal to build brands for companies making the world a better place, Grady Britton recognizes that some of the most impactful organizations in the Portland community don’t have the means to hire an agency for an extended period of time. So in 2010, the agency developed a grant that covers at least $25,000 worth of Grady Britton's internal time and can be applied to in-house services including branding, creative development, media planning/buying, public relations or any of the agency’s other services. Friends was awarded the grant in 2018, one year after the region’s devastating fire.

While Friends received a generous surge in public support after the 2017 fire, its ability to effectively reach new and diverse audiences remained limited. As part of a larger initiative to strengthen Friends’ public and community engagement effort, the Friends board and staff worked with Grady Britton to clarify the organization’s position and purpose through new messaging and construct a new logo that illustrates it. Adopting a square shape, the new Friends logo conveys trust and protection, while visually representing a holistic approach to the organization’s conservation work. Contained within, an illustration of the actual Columbia River. The color palette is also reminiscent of the Gorge itself, matching Pantone colors to photos of the area’s iconic scenery. Along with collateral design and messaging, the brand refresh for Friends aims to reach a new generation of stewards of the land.

“Partnering with businesses, communities and non-profit organizations has been vital to our conservation success over the past 40 years, and partnering with Grady Britton propels us into the next 40 years," said Kevin Gorman, Friends of the Columbia Gorge Executive Director. “The Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area brings together two states, six counties and 13 urban areas. One of the things I love about our new logo is how it captures them all and illustrates the river as the thread that connects us, as the Columbia Gorge is a place that we all have a role in protecting and stewarding.”

Founded in 1980, Friends of the Columbia Gorge is the only conservation group entirely dedicated to protecting, preserving and stewarding the Gorge, and the group led the effort to create the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area. The organization has protected nearly 1,600 acres of land in the Gorge through strategic purchases by its land trust, helped enact new oil-by-rail safety protections in the state of Oregon, and educated hundreds of local school kids through its outdoor education program.

“The work between Friends of the Columbia Gorge and Grady Britton demonstrates the immense importance of a private-nonprofit partnership to enlist a community in protecting its natural resources,” said Campbell. “It’s also a great example of the rewarding work possible when marketing agencies donate time to the organizations that often don’t have the ability to engage professional branding services.
 

About Friends of the Columbia Gorge

Friends of the Columbia Gorge is the only nonprofit conservation organization dedicated solely to protecting the scenic, natural, cultural, and recreational resources of the Columbia Gorge for generations to come. For almost 40 years, the organization has worked to protect the Columbia Gorge from irresponsible development, preserve vital lands, promote responsible stewardship, strengthen public support for conservation initiatives, and expose local youth to the Gorge's wonders.

Stay connected with Friends of the Columbia Gorge on Facebook @GorgeFriends, Instagram @gorgefriends, Twitter @GorgeFriends, and YouTube.
 

About Grady Britton

Founded in 1974, Grady Britton is a values-based, full-service marketing agency. As Portland’s original Certified B Corp agency, Grady Britton partners with like-minded companies, driving their business purpose throughout their brand’s fullest potential. The world needs what good brands bring; Grady Britton is here to see that the good companies win.

Stay connected with Grady Britton on Instagram @gradybritton, LinkedIn, Facebook @GradyBritton, and Twitter @gradybritton.
 

Contact information

Allyson Marrs
Grady Britton
allysonm@gradybritton.com
541.844.4688

Burt Edwards
Friends of the Columbia Gorge
burt@gorgefriends.org
703.861.8237
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