HYPE Rebrand RFP

Organization Summary

Hope For Youth, Inc. (HYPE) is a thriving Atlanta-based nonprofit organization that is empowering middle and high school girls of color to become future leaders in tech!

Through our interactive coding camps and programs, high school internship placement, International teaching experiences, college and career readiness training, and women in tech conferences and roundtables, HYPE:

• Addresses early disparities in K-12 education that limit opportunities for girls of color to enter the tech workforce
• Inspires girls of color to confidently pursue technology careers and opportunities
• Supports retention of women of color in tech by building community and increasing representation
• Helps develop career readiness, technology, and leadership skills; thereby establishing a pipeline of diverse talent for tech-powered and tech-enabled careers

Since 2017, we have served more than 500 students with more than 70% of them joining since 2020. Our goal is to serve more than 2500 students by the end of 2023.

Our Mission

To plug the leaky tech pipeline problem for women and girls of color by building a talent network through intentional exploration, education, and empowerment

Our Vision

We aspire to achieve equitable representation of women of color in the tech industry.

Our Purpose

HYPE exists to inspire every girl to believe she can use her creativity, talent, and gifts to solve real-world problems and make valuable contributions to the world of technology.

Project Description

Over the past 5 years, HYPE has experienced significant growth and name recognition based on successful programming and prior relationships and connections. As we look to scale and attract new revenue streams and recruitment sources, we need a brand that can clearly communicate to new and unfamiliar audiences who we serve and what we do. We want a brand story that celebrates our accomplishments within the communities we serve.

Additionally, as we’ve grown to know our primary beneficiaries better (girls and young women of color ages 11 – 17), we also want our brand to reflect and resonate with them.

We are looking to accomplish a brand refresh that elevates and enhances who we’ve grown to be in a way that brings new attention and energy to the organization as a whole.

We would like to start the brand refresh project by the first week of November with an expected completion date no later than January 31, 2023.

Project Scope of Work 

Deliverables

• Brand Naming: Agency to lead the process of finalizing a new organization name.  The ideal organization will have prior experience facilitating organization naming and spearheading a methodical process for gleaning staff/stakeholder/key audience insights, as well as industry/nonprofit marketing trends, to propose the most effective and strategic permanent name for the organization’s future. 
• Brand Logo Refresh: Agency to develop formal recommendations for an official design of a refreshed organization logo to align with the new organization name and updated brand strategy. 
• Brand Message Framework: Agency to develop a message framework with key messages for providing key information about and positioning the organization within the new brand strategy. 

• Brand Identity Refresh: Agency to develop a comprehensive brand identity book reflecting the new brand strategy, including the proposed color palette, fonts, photo guidelines, etc. Agency to also provide creative concepts for an updated campaign web page reflecting the new brand identity within the existing templates/website format. 
• Change Management Plan: Recommended marketing and communication plan for rolling out the new brand name, logo, and identity to key audiences and stakeholders, including internal audiences, organization partners, youth, and external donors/consumers. 

Project Budget

The above deliverables should be completed during the November 2022 – February 2023 timeframe, with plans to roll out the new brand identity in March 2023. 

Interview Requirements for Agency

HYPE is extending limited invitations for marketing agencies to participate in informational interviews to further discuss collaboration opportunities.  During this 60-minute interview, the agency prospects should be prepared to share: 

• Case Studies/Examples: Examples of when the agency has provided similar deliverables for other clients and/or has provided marketing support to other nonprofit organizations – explaining their proposed process and approach. 

• Proposed Project Team: Overview of key agency talent/team members who would work on this project if the agency is selected 
• Proposed Project Budget Estimate: High-level estimate of the proposed project budget (including any key caveats or conditions).  The ideal prospect will donate 20% – 30% of the total budget estimate as pro bono services.   

Following the interview, the agency should be prepared to share the slides/PDFs including all of the above-outlined bullets as presented during the interview. 

Important Milestones and Dates

• October 7: HYPE to confirm list and scheduling interviews with interested marketing agency prospects 

• October 14: HYPE to finalize briefing slides for agency prospect interviews. 
• Week of October 17: HYPE to conduct interviews with agency prospects 
• October 28: HYPE to make a final decision about the agency award and notify agency prospects of the final decision 
• Week of November 14: HYPE and newly selected agency to conduct official project kickoff meeting. 

Additional Information

• Minority and women-owned businesses encouraged to submit
• We welcome pro bono or discounted services
• We expect vendors to provide an explanation of their strategy/methodology for engaging with key stakeholders to develop outcomes set out in the RFP
• Schedule/LOE expected from our stakeholders to engage in this project
• Provide a portfolio of previous work and client references
• Non-profit experience preferred
• Feel free to include any information regarding the diversity of your team/organization
• Remote engagements are preferred. Onsite required engagements will need additional discussion.
• Resumes and bios of staff who will conduct the engagement should be provided