From the Heart: The New Look of VCCF

The Ventura County Community Foundation, your community foundation, has been in awe of this county’s love and generosity since we first opened our doors in 1987, and when we come together and bring our passions and talents to support our neighbors, anything is possible. From community leadership to philanthropic consulting, we work hand-in-hand with our neighbors to envision an engaged and thriving community inspired by growing generosity.

In the decades since VCCF’s inception, our brand has evolved with the needs and identity of our community, whether through our logos, colors, and our website—does anyone remember our spinning shell homepage days? When the opportunity for us to rebrand arose, we graciously welcomed the chance to follow our mission of connecting people, resources, and solutions to create lasting impact in our shared world. Now, as we look ahead, we’re thrilled to unveil a fresh chapter in our journey—one that honors our roots while embracing the future with hope and purpose.

PAST LOGOS AND COLOR PALETTES

OUR PROCESS

In 2023, VCCF connected with branding and digital marketing agency Everneu to reimagine our brand identity with a clear vision: to reflect the unique spirit of Ventura County and the incredible generosity of its people. After our first consultation where we described our hopes and dreams for VCCF and Ventura County, we officially embarked with Everneu on our rebrand journey. Following over a year of meetings and revisions, VCCF is thrilled to reveal our new brand visual identity and website! With our uplifting and classic colors, logo, and visual feel inspired by the natural beauty and vibrancy of our region, we hope it will speak to the hearts of our community members who want to make Ventura County a better place.

LOGO

Our logos have undergone several transformations since VCCF’s inception. Everneu approached VCCF with a new design iteration that aligned with the direction that VCCF saw for its future and its placement within Ventura County.

Our new logo’s letters are all different but enclosed in the same square, creating an analogy between people who are all different from each other (letters) and a square that unites and encloses them (community). The different letter sizes create the energy and vibrancy of the good deeds of our county’s inspiring generosity. The letters do not fully fit the square, giving the sense of expansiveness and freedom. The square is not a limiter, but an enabler, giving everyone an opportunity to grow.

COLORS

The palette for VCCF’s new visual identity communicates the emotional tones of our brand and strikes a refined balance of vibrant colors. Cool hues of blue and green communicate trust, community, and nature, while warm hues give a sense of energy and warmth. The color selection is inspired by local nature—sunsets, the sky, ocean, forests, meadows, and flowers.

The use of the gradient communicates the concepts of the blending of different activities and people, and the expansiveness of acts of generosity. The gradient reflects the interconnectedness of the community and gives a sense of vibrancy.

WEBSITE

Lastly, VCCF was delighted at the prospect of working with Everneu on a new website to coincide with our rebranding. Along with the brand, the website sought to capture the feeling of local nature, strengthening the deep emotional connection to our locale. We wanted to emphasize the communication of past and future impact, telling everyone, “We are doing good things for the community effectively—join in!” We hope the storytelling of our new website shows how much one gains in life’s purpose through witnessing the impact of our contributions.

CONCLUSION

With all the elements of our rebrand synthetizing, alongside our commitment to our mission, vision, and values, we hope to speak to the hearts of each and every member of Ventura County, to say that your community foundation is here for you. We look forward to our future of better stewarding the legacies of our community through our trust, transparency, compassion, equity, tenacity, excellence, and authentic connection.

We are delighted to unveil our new visual identity and website that emphasizes who we are and what matters to us, and will help better tell the story of Ventura County, one honoring where we’ve been and where we will move forward, together.

This project wouldn’t be possible without the generosity of Mike and Loretta Merewether. The entire VCCF team would like to give them our deepest gratitude for their support.

We’d like to give a special thank you to Ark Rozental and Everneu, as well as the VCCF team for everyone’s hard work, diligence, and creativity that they brought to the project.

We invite you to join us in writing the next chapter of Ventura County’s story—one filled with hope, connection, and acts of kindness that lift us all.