Following the appointment of a new Chief Executive, a full strategic review of the charity recommended a brand research exercise, to better understand perceptions of the existing brand among the charity's audiences:

• Beneficiaries: Ordinands, pre-retired, retired, their dependants, divorced / separated spouses, widows etc.
• The Church: Dioceses, Bishops, Institutions, Director of Ordinands, Theology Colleges etc.
• Supporters & partner organisations
• The wider world including the media

The charity had identified that their name was potentially confusing to target audiences, and asked IE Brand to test this hypothesis and explore alternatives. IE conducted telephone interviews with a representative sample of external stakeholders.

We then created a quantitative esurvey to validate these results with over 1,200 participants, drawn from the clergy, ordinands, and their families from across the UK. The survey sample included previous beneficiaries of grants from the charity, through to people previously unfamiliar with the organisation. 

The research showed that a number of people had unhelpful or misleading perceptions of the charity, ranging from thinking that it was ‘only for men’, to believing that it helped clergy children to attend independent boys' schools. 

In the below video, you can watch a presentation to members of the ACO on how Sons and Friends of the Clergy became Clergy Support Trust, with Nick Gazard (Marketing & Communications Manager) at the charity and David Crichton (Creative Director & Brand Consultant) at IE Brand. 

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IE made a series of further recommendations to the charity. These included an increased focus on non-financial support to address challenges such as heavy workloads and mental health problems – in addition to providing a lifeline through grant-giving. 

Clergy Support Trust needed to become more visible to members of the clergy, and become thought leaders on the subject of clergy wellbeing. For their beneficiaries, they needed to make it easier for people to ask for help, and demonstrate that the charity is inclusive, confidential and impartial. 

Updated brand messaging reflects these aims, while a modern new visual identity was needed to help the charity move forwards.

The brand personality is helpful, empathetic and passionate. The messaging has a renewed focus on storytelling, putting people and families at the heart of the brand. The people at Clergy Support Trust offer a listening ear with someone who cares about clergy wellbeing, and who will never judge, because asking for help is never a sign of weakness.

Visual identity and logo

IE Brand created a modern logotype that emphasises the three words at the centre of the charity’s work.

By highlighting the cross at the end of the word ‘Support’, the logotype includes a nod towards the faith-driven nature of their support. The brand’s new colour palette combines the majesty of royal purple – symbolic within the context of Christian liturgy – with the purity and light of pure white, and the energy and warmth of bright orange.

To ensure that the brand is more personable and relatable, we use photography that revolves around lifestyle imagery showing real families, to accompany stories and impact stats.

The project won Silver for 'Best Visual Identity from a Charity, NGO, or Not-For-Profit' and Bronze for 'Best Naming Strategy' at the Transform Awards Europe 2021. 

An outstretched hand to reach more beneficiaries

Put together, these elements create a confident and compelling brand, and reflect a new sense of organisational confidence and ambition for the charity. With its new messaging, visual identity and renewed focus, Clergy Support Trust will become more visible to the people that need it most – offering an outstretched hand and a beacon of hope for members of the clergy and clergy families in need.

Clergy Support Trust's annual report showed the enormous impact of the rebrand and new website, year on year (2018 vs. 2019):

• 66% more beneficiaries helped (906 up from 547 in 2018)
• 21% more grant money awarded (£3,130,000 in 2019, up from £2,580,000 in 2018)
• 36% increase in grants disbursed (1,608 in 2019 vs. 1,185 in 2018)
• 85% quicker grant processing time, from 45.7 days to just 6.9 days.
• 99% of 575 grant recipients surveyed, when asked how the support had made a difference, said it had made their life easier, and 98% said it helped them worry less about money.

Hear the charity's Chief Executive, Jeremy Moodey, talking about the new brand when it launched. 

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Last but not least, Clergy Support Trust asked IE to design and develop a new website in time for the brand's unveiling at the Christian Resources Exhibition in Manchester (CRE North).

Working against the clock under short timescales, the IE Digital team created the new site in Drupal 8, to show off the new visual identity and messaging beautifully. It features a new 'Eligibility Checker', functionality that stemmed directly from a need highlighted by IE's initial research findings, which allows beneficiaries to discreetly explore whether they might be eligible for a grant. 

The website was named Runner-up for 'Best New / Redesigned Website' at the Premier Digital Awards 2019.

See it for yourself at clergysupport.org.uk