The Boston Foundation unveils new branding to reflect the reshaping of work around equity
June 22, 2023
Boston – The Boston Foundation today proudly unveiled new branding for the 108-year-old organization as part of an effort to recognize and build upon the Foundation’s focus on equity across the organization. The new logo and visuals, designed in partnership with Boston-based branding and advertising firm Proverb, modernize the brand, recognizing both TBF’s strength as an institution in Greater Boston and its dynamic efforts to move Boston toward a more equitable future.
“This new brand is more than a new logo. It reflects the work across the Boston Foundation over the past year to take the strategic vision of Our New Pathway and craft a new, more unified approach to our work that encompasses the entirety of what we do,” said M. Lee Pelton, President and CEO of the Boston Foundation. “Whether we are working with donors, partnering with the region’s brilliant and experienced nonprofit leaders, or connecting with, convening, and answering to the communities we serve, this new brand represents our unwavering Foundation-wide focus on equity to improve lives and strengthen communities.”
Along with the new branding, TBF today shared a new structure for its work in partnership with nonprofits, donors, and community leaders around four pathways. These interconnected pathways unlock greater opportunities to tackle the individual-, systems- and root-level causes of inequity. They are:
Nurturing Strong Beginnings
Building Economic Opportunity
Advancing Community Wealth
Amplifying Community Leadership
Each of these pathways brings together leaders from across the organization to address a place where TBF believes we can most effectively use our resources to move toward greater equity in Greater Boston. It also builds upon work the Foundation implemented most visibly in response to what Pelton called the “triple pandemic” of COVID-19, the economic devastation it caused, and the public exposure of the racial disparities that have long plagued our country. Short descriptions of the four pathways can be found at the end of the press release.
“This new approach recognizes that the most pressing issues we face aren’t limited to single focus areas – they reach across how we have traditionally defined our areas of impact,” said Linda Mason, Chair of the Boston Foundation Board of Directors. “These pathways bring together our best minds in the arts, education, housing, health, and workforce development as part of a team that gives us the unique perspective and calling to bring together ideas, resources and partnerships. Only then can we build a city where opportunity meets possibility to achieve equity.”
The new brand development includes an ongoing redesign of the Boston Foundation website, tbf.org, along with new assets for social media, collateral and other resources. Foundation staff partnered closely with the award-winning team at the Boston-based branding and advertising
“The Boston Foundation’s work is not for the faint of heart. As a civic leader that dismantles systemic and structural inequities, the Foundation was seeking a bold brand that could face these issues head-on," said Daren Bascome, Founder and Managing Director at Proverb. “What Proverb has co-created is a message, identity, and image that drives equity, Boston and the Foundation forward. Buckle up; Boston is on the move.”