Physical space can be a powerful way for nonprofits to tell their stories.
Not just origin stories and founding myths, but also stories of transformation,
reinvention, and renewal—in other words, both who an organization is and who it is becoming or aspires to be, and why it matters for the communities it serves.
That was the message of Saybrook Partners' recent webinar on Storytelling Through Architecture: Lessons for Nonprofits, hosted by the Yale Alumni Nonprofit Alliance.
Architect Celia Imrey (Saybrook’s partner in museum and exhibition design) and Saybrook senior consultant Arielle Gorin show how nonprofits can tell their stories through offices, meeting rooms, gathering spaces, and other aspects of their built environments.
In addition to analyzing transformative renovations by the Ford Foundation, the Harlem School of the Arts, and School Year Abroad, Celia and Arielle offer some practical tips for how nonprofits of any size can leverage the immersive power of their own physical spaces to communicate mission, values, and vision—something that is all the more timely as we begin to gather again.
To access the webinar, click here. The presentation begins in earnest at the 4:50 mark.