From Groupon: $2,000 for a “9-Day African Volunteering Trip” to Zambia.  It’s discounted from the “regular” price of $3,500.  Points of interest include reading with students in a schoolhouse and dining with Zambian families.  The NGO sponsoring the trip is Spark Ventures out of Chicago.

The trip also rounds out with visits to cultural sites, Victoria Falls and a safari.

We can only hope that the organizers of this trip are following the Standards of Excellence in Short-Term Mission.

A group of 30 individuals representing 21 organizations worked together for two days, drawing on examples of the most transformative work from their own experience and their collective vision for the future. Their collaboration identified categories and basic principles that are key to excellent WASH programs, expressed in the form of “Principles of Excellence in WASH.”

We hope that this aspirational document will lay groundwork for the development of helpful tools and standards, and will provide common language and understanding, both in Accord’s community of Christian relief and development practitioners and the sector as a whole.
We welcome your thoughts and comments on this Document.

AERDO has been growing in its awareness of the vast network of efforts by Christians to end poverty through the vehicles of relief and development organizations, churches, and individuals.

Last year the AERDO membership unanimously agreed to change the mission and vision of the organization:
Vision Statement: Mobilizing and equipping the Christian community to end poverty.
Mission Statement: AERDO is a catalyst for learning, collaboration and building Christ- centered unity around the shared vision of eliminating poverty. AERDO serves Christian organizations and churches involved in this vision to achieve the highest standards, principles and effectiveness in relief and development.

Rationale for change:
“AERDO” is a difficult name to position. It doesn’t mean anything, is a bit awkward and requires a lot of explanation. “AERDO” reflects an identity that hinders our mission and vision.

Brand Characteristics
We want people to ascribe the following attributes to our network:
Christian – The Lordship of Jesus Christ is at the center of who we are and what we do.
Relational – We promote collaboration and build unity. We are relationship-centric.
Insightful – As a convening agent, we are in a position to see what others might miss.
Servant Leader – We work with and honor the gifts each participant brings to the table.
World-Class – We promote excellence and provide the tools to achieve the highest standards, principles and effectiveness.
Leadership-Focused – We focus on leaders as catalysts for change

Considerations

The Board and name change team looked for the following in a name:

• Name inclusive of broader Christian Community
• Able to leverage equity with names beginning in “A” (though we explored many areas)
• Goes beyond describing who we are in a functional way to evoke the brand characteristics (Christian, relational, insightful, servant leader, world-class)
• Keep it simple!

The Process

• June: Enlisted support of World Vision staff
  Bonnie Jensen, Director of Brand Strategy (background with corporate and product naming efforts)
• June: Assembled naming committee
  Chad Hayward , AERDO Deborah Benson, Operation Blessing
  David Derr, World Vision Gerardine Luongo, CURE Intl
  Scott Todd, Compassion Bonnie Jensen, World Vision (Facilitator)
• June: Created Brief documents strategic goal and parameters for new name
• July: Committee approved Creative Brief, discussion began
• August: Committee brainstormed multiple rounds with over 100 name possibilities
• August: Committee narrowed broad group to 19 names for in-depth discussion. List narrowed further to 8 candidates for preliminary trademark and URL research
• August: Selected top 2 for Board presentation
• September: After much discussion and prayer, AERDO Board unanimously settled on “Accord” with tagline “Empowering the Christian Community to End Poverty”.
• September: A design firm is retained. Seven logo directions/options are considered.
• October: A logo is chosen.

The Name: “Accord”

• A highly evocative name
• Evokes sense of unity, strength and inclusiveness – NGOs and churches working in accord to end poverty
• Biblical reference – working “in accordance” infers following standards/best practices

The Logo

The mark (below) incorporates unique symbolism. Individual pieces are woven together as fabric. The strength of each thread lends itself to the strength of the organization and combined they become useful in many ways. The type treatment is strong and professional, establishing trust. The color palette is modular, allowing for a variety of applications.