Why a nonprofit changed its name — and avoided acronyms in the process
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Changing the name of a nonprofit is tough. There’s often an affinity or long history to an organization’s name, and it’s not uncommon for an executive director to encounter at least some skepticism when proposing the switch.
Executive Director Emily Shields didn’t shy away from a name change, however. She lead the effort to update the name of her organization, from Iowa Association of Community College Trustees to Community Colleges for Iowa.
On the Nonprofit Storytellers podcast, we talk about:
What prompted the name and brand change
How she walked the organization through the process
The long-term strategy behind a name change
Why she’s avoiding acronyms — but also won’t be the “name police”
And tips on how others might lead their nonprofit through the same process
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Below is an edited and condensed version of the interview.
→ Listen to the entire interview online on the Nonprofit Storytellers Podcast on iTunes, Spotify and Google.
Tell me a little bit about Community Colleges for Iowa.
We are a statewide advocacy organization for Iowa's 15 community colleges. Much of the work we do is advocating on behalf of community college students, employees, our campuses, and the communities we're in all across the state.
We do that at the state legislature, with state agencies, and at the federal level by working with our national organization.
We also work to unite and support Iowa's community colleges by supporting professional development and collaboration between trustees, presidents, and employees. We want to ensure Iowa's community colleges are as successful as possible.
What drew you to the mission?
My career began with an interest in education and, in particular, "education for all." Education as the great equalizer.
I really got drawn to that in college and then got involved in politics. Since then, I've worked in education policy and within higher education. For me, community colleges are just the ultimate way for education to achieve its original mission of not only an informed society for democracy but also for people to be successful and support their families.
Community colleges are open-access institutions, ensuring that anyone interested in furthering their education can do that. I'm just really passionate about it.
My parents are community college graduates, and I've seen the value that it can bring no matter your path. Community colleges are meeting people where they are, whether it's learning English for the first time, preparing to go on to a four-year degree and beyond, or learning a specific trade. We’re everything in that space.
What prompted the conversation about the name? It was originally Iowa Association of Community College Trustees, which is still the legal name.
Yes, that's still our legal name, and it's a great description of our governance. And what we are in a very technical sense. My board includes one trustee from each community college. We have a locally elected board of trustees at each college.
As society has become more interconnected, we're trying to communicate with broader audiences. That's not a name that resonates with a lot of people. Not a lot of people know what a trustee is. Not a lot of people know what an association is.
My orientation is toward communication. It's a big part of what I've tried to do everywhere I've worked. Coming in, I wanted us to communicate more about community colleges, their value, that kind of thing. We were looking at updating the logo and decided the name also needed a refresh.
We wanted different languages to draw more people in and help them quickly understand what we're trying to do. We went with a simplified name that would connect us with more people and help us communicate about Iowa's community colleges as a brand versus just a small association. We went into it intending to figure out what that could look like.
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