Our fourth cycle of Brand New Brand! was awarded to Lucas’ Fitness Lab (LFL), the New York-local nonprofit giving kids the tools they need to build fit bodies and fit minds. We rebranded the organization, creating a playful and dynamic new visual identity and website.
We are proud of the results but saddened that LFL has been beset by challenges. Operating a successful nonprofit is difficult, so much so that 30% of nonprofits fail to exist after ten years. Unfortunately, LFL faced increasing challenges and the lingering effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. The result of these challenges is that we are unsure about their continued operation, and the work will not be adopted.
We wish the Lucas’s Fitness Lab team all the best. And, IOP and our partners will look toward the next cycle to dive once again into a full rebrand of a worthy nonprofit.
Once the desktop and mobile website designs were ready, the development team took the lead. We have been busy building the new Lucas’s Fitness Labs website in WordPress, an easy-to-use platform that will make the maintenance of their content going forwards as effortless as possible. We’re very excited to be getting close to the launch!
The new site has been designed to better reach LFL’s audiences—parents and potential partners—to provide them with program updates, event information, donation details, and information on how to partner.
Up next: we’re planning photo and video shoots to capture content for the new website. Stay tuned!
We’ve been busy! Over the last few months, IOP has been hard at work exploring new visual identities and trialing new logo directions for Lucas’s Fitness Labs.
After digging deep into LFL’s core identity, beliefs, and values, we were able to explore and present multiple renewed versions of the brand’s visual identity, including updated color palettes, typography options and logos. With each of those concepts, we’ve also been working through how we can apply the new identity variations to the brand’s various touch points.
After healthy internal deliberation and a successful pitch to the LFL team, both the LFL and IOP teams are excited with the decision that was made for the final visual identity. This work has helped set the foundation for the new website design, which is well under way!
Following our in-person workshop at Lucas’s Fitness Lab, we got to work. We started exploring the brand messaging and personality, and began reimagining the visual identity, and the digital strategy and information architecture for the website. Minds are at work!
We had the pleasure to venture out to Ridgewood, Queens to visit the team at Lucas’s Fitness Lab, and experience their space. The IOP, Tribe, and LFL teams had the chance to sit down and get to know each other. We discussed the organization’s long-term goals and aspirations. At the end of the workshop, everyone was invited to explore the space and we all unlocked our inner child.
We are excited to announce that Lucas’s Fitness Lab is the recipient of the fourth Brand New Brand! cycle.
Working in Queens, NY, the Lab gives kids the tools they need to build fit bodies and fit brains. This small but mighty team is making sure there are no barriers holding back our youth, especially those from low-income households who might not have the same opportunities to explore different skillsets that are necessary in today’s modern society. LFL aims to provide accessible STEM and fitness programming with the goal of setting kids up for success inside and outside of the classroom.
We are thrilled to partner with an organization working proactively to help kids in a diverse and historically underserved community. After the tough past few years, a fit mind and body are more important than ever!
Last week, our three independent judges (photographed above from left to right in the top row: Jen Brown, Frank Rimalovski and Diane Hagerman) gathered virtually to assess the top seven semi-finalists in contention to be this year’s recipient of Brand New Brand! All three of our experts brought different perspectives to the table that contributed to an invaluable conversation.
“In light of recent events, such as COVID, it’s great to see organizations doing work that is so relevant and needed over the next 10–15 years.” —Jen Brown, Operations Manager at Kids in Crisis (former BNB! recipient) & pro-bono BNB! judge
While everyone at the table agreed that all seven of the semi-finalists were doing great work, our judges narrowed down the list to the top three candidates that would meet the requirements and move on to the final stage of the selection process—a one-on-one dialogue with each organization’s Founder and/or Executive Director. In order to gain more insight into the impact that Brand New Brand! could provide, a list of well thought-out questions for each organization based on their wants and needs was developed by our judges and IOP team.
Stay tuned for the announcement of this round’s BNB! recipient in early June.
First, IOP experts and our five partners (listed below) made an initial selection of semi-finalists. We ensured the semi-finalists met all the criteria for a successful partnership and agree to basic terms (i.e., be able to participate in the workshop, be able to support the ongoing implementation of the new brand, etc.).
Then, the semi-finalists were reviewed by a panel of independent judges (listed below) to narrow down the list even further.
4th Cycle Partners:
Our partners generously donate their goods and services to BNB! each cycle
4th Cycle Judges:
Diane Hagerman
Deputy Director, Programs at New Jersey Health Initiatives
As Deputy Director of Programs, Diane brings learnings from and relationships with state and national stakeholders to reimagine how to build healthier communities, partner on strategic design, and direct the tactical implementation of NJHI’s funding initiatives. In addition to her programmatic responsibilities, Hagerman directs New Jersey Health Initiatives’ (NJHI) communications efforts, which are integral to NJHI’s work to drive upstream health conversations, promote the work of NJHI grantees, and connect underutilized resources to improve health in lower-resourced communities. Diane appreciates working directly with NJHI’s active grantees to ensure they are able to realize the full potential of their projects, aligning technical assistance and support to build stronger networks among grantees, ensuring they have opportunities for growth and success throughout and beyond their grant funding.
Diane currently serves as a trustee of the Council of New Jersey Grantmakers, a member of the Healthy New Jersey 2030 Advisory Council and is a 2015 Lead NJ Fellow. Diane holds a Bachelor of Business Science degree in Marketing from Webber College in Babson Park, FL, and a Master of Arts degree in Mass Communication from the University of Florida. Prior to joining New Jersey Health Initiatives in 2002, Diane served as the Corporate Manager of ElderMed Services with Kennedy Health System in southern NJ, and Manager of Employee Programs and Communications with Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts in Atlantic City.
Frank Rimalovski
Executive Director, NYU Entrepreneurial Institute; Managing Director, NYU Innovation Venture Fund
Frank is the founder and executive director of the NYU Entrepreneurial Institute, where he leads a pan-University initiative to spur and support entrepreneurship and technology commercialization. Frank is also managing director of the NYU Innovation Venture Fund, a seed-stage venture fund that has invested in 24 NYU startups. He collaborated with Giff Constable to produce two acclaimed entrepreneurship texts: Talking to Humans and Testing with Humans.
Frank has more than 25 years of experience in early-stage investing, spinouts and technology commercialization. He was a founding partner of corporate spinout VC specialist New Venture Partners, and before that Director/Entrepreneur-in-Residence in Lucent’s New Ventures Group. Previously, he held positions in product management and marketing at Sun Microsystems, Apple and NeXT.
Frank has previously served as an Instructor for the NSF’s I-Corps program, taught entrepreneurship courses at NYU’s Tandon School of Engineering and the Courant Institute, served as a mentor at Techstars, and on the advisory board for the Tufts Entrepreneurship Center (TEC).
Frank holds a BA from Tufts University and an MBA from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business.
Jen Brown
Operations Manager, Kids in Crisis
Jen Brown began her career in Higher Education Administration, specifically, student programming, development, and administrative and logistical operations.
During her tenure at NYU, Jen was responsible for creating the “NYU Summer“ program providing support services for interns and summer students from around the world. In addition to serving as Assistant Vice President for NYU Campus Services, Jen served on the University implementation team charged with converting La Pietra, a 60-acre Estate in Florence Italy, into a full service academic and residential campus.
Currently Jen oversees Operations at Kids In Crisis, a former IOP Brand New Brand recipient. Kids in Crisis provides emergency shelter, crisis counseling, and community education programs for children of all ages and families facing crisis. As a 24-hours, 7-day a week facility, Jen oversees and supports all of their operations from IT, HR, facilities and policy development for the residential shelter program.
Jen holds an MA in Counseling and School Administration from Kean University, and a BA in Psychology and Human Services from Rowan University.
