I love working with my non-profits.

Over the last decade, I’ve worked with so many different kinds of clients. I’ve worked with financial agencies, creative agencies, small businesses and individuals. But, some of my favorites have been not-for-profit organizations. My experience has been that the smaller the organization, the more thrill I get out of the project. Especially when there’s a cause I’m passionate about attached to the project.

I just want to take a few minutes to talk about a few of the non-profit organizations I’ve worked with over the last fifteen years and why I love them.

The Hub City Farmer’s Market

I work with not-for-profits today because of this organization. I began visiting the market before my daughter could walk. I quickly fell in love with it. It was our time out of the house. We interacted with our community and were enriched by the diversity of it. She learned much of her communication skills and did most of her socializing on Saturday mornings at our market.

She learned about new foods. We aren’t bad eaters, but we all have our routines. Meat and potatoes and the occasional veggie was pretty much the deal. To get out and try the fresh, local produce and see all of the foods people made to sell there was very enlightening to her. I mean, I don’t bake so, this was her only access to fresh baked sweets guys. Seriously.

It also gave me the opportunity to introduce her to new cultures through entertainment, local artisans and … yep, food. We would spend many an afternoon Googling where a certain herb came from thanks to someone we met at the farmer’s market.

I became so passionate about this organization that I donated their entire website free of charge. I emailed the director at the time and basically said, “Dude. The website. Let me fix it.” It was disorganized and hard to navigate. There was not clear call-to-action so people didn’t know what the purpose of it was. It was hard to make a donation or get info on market schedules or programs. After we cleaned it up, redesigned and reorganized there was no question that the website existed as a portal to collect donations for market operations and educate the community on everything it had to offer them.

We followed it up with some print that kept the brand consistent. I worked with them consistently for several years as a partner in web development and brand management.

This organization continues to enrich the Northside community and the rest of Spartanburg. We still visit on Saturdays and enjoy our coffee and sweets while we listen to music and my daughter still makes new friends there each time we visit.

Spartanburg Area Conservancy

SPACE is an NFP organization I met through my relationship with the market. My clients often pass my name on to other organizations they know could benefit from my expertise. I’ve been working with SPACE for a few years now providing print design and photography services on an as needed basis.

SPACE manages several green spaces in Spartanburg. Two of our favorites are the Glendale Shoals area and the Cottonwood Trail.

Preserving our green spaces is huge. I’m mostly an indoors, Netflix and tea sort of person. I do value clean air and sunshine and I make it a point to get out a couple times a week just to be outside. My daughter, who is clearly the only thing motivating me to grow, loves to talk on nature trails and play pretend and dance and run and sing and collect things.

Without SPACE, places like the shoals would be wild spaces that were unusable for people in the community. Living side-by-side with nature and having those spaces in-between civilization and the wild provide such benefits. I feel such a sense of pride when I walk through one of those spaces and I love that the work I do helps them continue that work.

PFLAG Spartanburg

My newest not-for-profit client is PFLAG Spartanburg. We just finalized their website this month and I was so excited to finally get to work with them!

PFLAG Spartanburg is paramount in providing support to the local LGBTQ+ community. There are bigger organizations that serve South Carolina or the Upstate. PFLAG Spartanburg is in a unique position to really reach out to this community, though.

There is a growing LGBTQ+ population in our area as more and more folks feel safer here and they and their families need support. As the sister of a trans man, a straight ally and someone who values diversity and equality, it is my privilege to get to walk with this group of extraordinary people on this journey. This organization has important work to do. They are poised to be a change maker in Spartanburg and I look forward to continuing our work together so that they can see all of their goals come to light.

Uplift Outreach Center

Back in 2019 a pair of friends launched this grass-roots non-profit focused on providing a safe space and affirming resources to LGBTQIA+ youth in Spartanburg county. I was lucky enough to be in a very hands-on roll as we worked on raising funds. We weren’t sure how the organization would be received. Let’s face it, we don’t live in the most open-minded part of the country. But once they put their feet to the pavement, they were literally off running!

We planned and branded the Upstate Rainbow Ball and were able to announce that a physical location had been donated that evening at the event. The organization immediately began serving youth from 10 – 17 years old as the first LGBTQIA+ youth resource in the Upstate. Today they serve dozens of youth from 10 years old into their twenties and have become a model for other similar organizations in neighboring counties.

This group provides three meeting dates for the different age groups, offer enriching and affirming programming and help provide resources like counseling, a clothing closet and more to their youth. You can learn all about the group and what they offer at upliftoutreachcenter.org.

I still brand their fundraising event each year and expect my connection to this group will last for a very, very long time.

So, you can see a little bit about why I love working with my not-for-profit clients so damn much. These are only a few of the organizations I’ve worked with over the last ten years. I hope the future brings more NFP organizations my way.

Do you have an organization that could use a little bit of help in design and marketing? Let’s talk about it.