The YMCA has joined a growing list of the nation's largest nonprofits that are reinventing themselves with a new brand and logo. The organization, headquartered in Chicago, Ill., will call itself “The Y,” what it's commonly referred to as, and the national office has started the change, to which all of its 2,680 local affiliates should transition within five years.

More than two years of analysis and research went into the new brand strategy, the first for The Y since 1967 and the sixth since the organization was established in 1844. The rebranding effort grew out of the organization's 2007 strategic plan, starting in earnest two years ago with analysis and research. “There was general consensus among Y's across the country that we don't get the kind of recognition we deserve for the work and impact that we make,” said Kate Coleman, senior vice president, chief marketing officer for YMCA of the USA. “In response to that we decided to take a hard look at our brand. That's how all of this work evolved out of that hard work,” she said.

The Y describes its new logo, unveiled Monday morning at The National Press Club in Washington, D.C., as “more forward-looking” and one that “reflects the vibrancy and diversity of the organization, and a framework that focuses resources on three core areas: youth development, healthy living and social responsibility.”

“One of the things we found was that we tend to talk about ourselves in terms of this product and that service,” said Coleman. “We need to talk about what why we do what we do, so those three core areas were really a way of reframing what we do, so you can understand what the impact is that we're trying to have,” she said. Coleman estimated that the national YMCA would spend about $1.3 million on the rebranding effort by the end of this year. The bulk of spending, she said, has gone into the development of tools and templates that affiliates can use, in addition to marketing materials and training to roll out the new brand.

Among the nation's largest nonprofits that have rebranded or shifted their image in recent years include Feeding America, Susan G. Komen for the Cure, United Way, and Girl Scouts of America. Coleman said it's not coincidence that some of the largest, and oldest, nonprofits in the nation are rebranding. “There's so much noise out there that if you don't do a good job of explaining what you are about, you get lost in the noise,” Coleman said.

“Organizations have to continually re-look at how they come across, how younger generations see them, how they're perceived and connect, and particularly with a lot of the new media, how you're presenting yourself in a way that is compelling,” said Neil Nicoll, president and CEO of the YMCA of the USA. “So it's logical that longstanding organizations would be thinking this way,” he said.

“The real benefit of this is going to be to better explain ourselves and help communities appreciate all that we do, which in turn opens the door for us to serve more people. And that really is the primary motivation and we're excited about it because as an organization we have been driven by changes we have been able to implement in American society in 160 years and this continues us moving forward,” said Nicoll.

The brand strategy research included a national online survey last month of 1,500 American adults, to “better understand how they feel about the quality of life in their communities and the biggest challenges and opportunities facing their communities today.”

“The Y Community Snapshot” indicated that 56 percent of Americans are “strongly satisfied with their own lives today,” compared to 66 percent who said the quality of life in their community is worse than it was a year ago. Respondents were evenly divided about what the future holds: 51 percent saying they were optimistic about the future while 49 percent were not.

“People are concerned about the problems facing their communities,” Nicoll said. “Like the Y, they understand that lasting change will only come about if we work together to improve our health, strengthen our families and support our neighbors. Our hope is that more people will choose to engage with the Y,” he said.

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