the Zagaya brand exercise

An exercise that I had a chance to be a part of early on during the summer was the Zagaya branding exercise. A brand consultant helped us think aloud, ask and answer some very important questions that would go a long way towards making Zagaya's mission and work more targeted and messaging more succinct and comprehensible. The broad framework used was based on a schematic from 'Designing brand identity' by Alina Wheeler:

What goes into a brand brief

A big part of the discussion revolved around what Zagaya did, and yet what was interesting was how much time was spent on what Zagaya did not do. This was very important as it impacted the message sent out both through our brand messaging channels and by everyone at Zagaya who were ambassadors of their work.

A challenge to the executive director at every stage was to continually keep track of all the changes in strategy and accordingly align the message sent out to all stakeholders, supporters and public in general. Having a chance to hear her thoughts and contribute towards possible ways to shape the communication strategy was a good learning experience for me. It helped us understand where Zagaya stood in contrast to competitors and what was the value proposition offered.

Out and about!

There were a lot of things I did over the summer in and around San Francisco that I loved, so here are a couple of off-beat things I would recommend:

Grab a Bakesale Betty's sandwich

This was something that was highly recommended to me and I am glad I got down to it though it was in the last week. It was probably the first time I saw a 200-strong queue at a working day lunch place. Surprisingly, the line moved fast and I got to try the much talked about baked chicken sandwich, ginger cookie and strawberry shortcake and it was well worth it. 

 Attend the Benicia "Torchlight Parade"

Over the July 4th weekend, I got treated to my first small-town parade and it was delightful. Benicia’s Freedom Festival Independence Day “Torchlight Parade” parade takes place every year on the eve of July 4th with music, dancers, floats, clowns and entertainment and everyone is welcome to partake in the festivities.

Make a trip down to the Russian river 

There are many picnic spots along this river in Sonoma county that are suitable for lazing around, canoeing/kayaking, swimming or fishing. With easy access to food, pubs and wineries and a scenic drive up from San Francisco, this area makes for a great day trip with family or a group of friends.

On the subject of funding models

One of the key things I learned in my time at Zagaya was that raising funds, though seeming to take time away from the primary cause the organization wishes to work on, is something that requires a major amount of focus and is something that a lot of non-profits struggle with. The following is a great article by the Stanford Social Innovation Review that deals with the various funding models that non-profits can use:

Ten nonprofit funding models

The idea is to identify the best strategy for your non-profit and then spend targeted efforts towards executing that. We found that this exercise also helped in tightening and re-energizing the mission and focus of the organization as we tried to answer the following questions:

• Can we create a tangible and lasting solution to a major problem in a foreseeable time frame?
• Can we clearly articulate how we will use large-scale funding to achieve our goals?
• Are any of the wealthiest individuals or foundations interested in our issue and approach?

Emeryville diaries - 1

Hello from sunny California! I have spent the last 6 weeks in Emeryville (better known as the home of Pixar) at a global health, non-profit start-up, Zagaya, helping them with their supply chain strategy. The experience right from the getting to work on a great project, having an amazing host family, meeting interesting and intelligent people and enjoying vibrant San Francisco weekends has been thoroughly enjoyable and fulfilling.

I have been busy learning the nuances of a new industry (more specifically donor-funded healthcare), experiencing the dynamic nature and the challenges of working in a non-profit and taking in the myriad of culinary and cultural experiences offered by the city of San Francisco and Bay area. I have had the opportunity to meet and have conversations with very interesting and inspiring people both in the non-profit and technology space. The dedication and support offered by so many people to a cause affecting such a large population in the developing world is a sobering and warming realization.

In upcoming posts, I will write more about my reflections on work, food, SF sights and living in the East Bay. As I am the only WDI fellow in a domestic project, my pictures will be of more familiar yet loved sights: