As of December 2012, DVQ Studio has closed. Gretchen and Emily are pursuing new adventures, which you can read about in our original closing announcement. Thank you to the many clients, colleagues, family members, and friends who supported us during DVQ's six years. Going forward, Gretchen will take freelance projects on a limited basis and can be reached at gretchenmdevault@gmail.com. Emily is seeking opportunities in the San Francisco area and can be reached at hello@emilysf.com.
To the friends of DVQ Studio,We have happy-sad news. Our lives are taking us to new adventures, and this fall will be your last chance to work with the team known as DVQ Studio. We will close the business at the end of 2012. We remain committed to the idea that communications can evolve culture, and this decision will in no way affect current projects. We will be working as usual through the end of the year. We wanted to share the news now because the changes in our lives are too big...
From the look and feel of your materials to the stories you share with potential donors, your organization's identity matters. Strong identities go beyond the basics of program descriptions and describing what your organization does. They engage in your audiences in a compelling story about why your organization exists and how it uniquely makes change.Join us on May 16, 2012 for an interactive session that explores the fundamentals of a strong identity and shares practices and tools to move...
After a year of continued growth and powerful grassroots change, LINC Community Revitalization wanted its 2011 annual report to go beyond the usual financial reports and program data. We helped them develop an overall theme for the report, identify some of their most compelling stories from 2011, write much of the content, and design it all as a useful ongoing communications tool. Download the report and learn how LINC makes vital change in West Michigan.
As DVQ Studio celebrates its five year anniversary, we're evolving how and where we work, with two special announcements: Out and aboutTwo dreams sit at the heart of DVQ Studio: to shape our community by supporting its change agents and to change business by working differently. Particularly with the latter, we have used DVQ as a lab of sorts. We attempt work/life balance with our four-day workweek. We play music and write poetry as passionately as write copy and design brands. We...
Some of the most gratifying work we do is to help bring an organization's message into focus. Many highly effective nonprofits can miss years of awareness building and fundraising opportunities simply because they fail to frame their purpose and why it matters. They are often so busy talking about *what* they do that they miss the bigger story of their unique impact and how they make it happen.
We are excited to share that Arbor Circle will be no such example as they roll out their new...
After 40 years of highly effective work in the community helping women who face alcoholism and addiction, Our Hope Association was at a turning point that called for a bolder, bigger menu of services and an effort to reach more women beyond Grand Rapids. DVQ Studio was invited to share in Our Hope's journey as the incredibly talented staff and dedicated board took on the task of re-imagining Our Hope's future.
The compelling service offerings that resulted from this work called for an equally...
Emily Stoddard Furrow was invited to write the inaugural essay for "Voices," a new feature of the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network of Grand Rapids. In it, she challenged individuals and organizations to ask: Will we be a community of socialites or a social change agents? Click on over to YNPN's site to give it a read.
By now, it's no secret that we love Drupal at DVQ Studio. It's the most powerful open-source content management system around (sit down, Wordpress) for nonprofits seeking the kind of dynamic, feature-rich websites today's audiences demand. With turn-key forums, blogs, event calendars, and even option for donor management integration, every nonprofit should consider placing Drupal at the center of their technology hub.
And so it was for Pierce Cedar Creek Institute, whose previous site was a...
The merger of D.A. Blodgett and St. John's Home brought together an array of services for families and children, and with it, the websites and technology needed to support those services. DVQ Studio was engaged to create a new website that would encompass the newly merged organization, its new brand and its many layers of content geared to donors, clients, and the broader community.
We worked with the D.A. Blodgett-St. John's team to create a website that would feature dynamic content about...
