This longtime nonprofit has new name but same important mission
The Kennewick-based nonprofit Columbia Industries changed its name effective March 13 to Columbia Ability Alliance. The new name better reflects the organization's mission, leaders said.
Courtesy Columbia Ability AllianceA Kennewick-based nonprofit with a long history in the Tri-Cities has changed its name to better reflect its mission. Columbia Industries is now Columbia Ability Alliance.
The change, made official on March 13, grew out of a strategic planning process.
“A cross-section of our team came together and one thing that came up was that our name wasn’t really resonating with the community,” said President and CEO Michael Novakovich.
Leaders eventually began working with a market research firm and a marketing firm, and surveyed stakeholders from clients to caregivers and business partners.
That work yielded the same feedback: the name was no longer a good fit.
“The response was pretty overwhelming that our current logo, our current brand was cold and corporate, and it wasn’t directly connected to our mission. People weren’t connecting the dots,” Novakovich said. “So, we went to work with that information and had some focus groups test out some different ideas and concepts and that helped refine it down to Columbia Ability Alliance and this new look and new feel.”
By keeping “Columbia,” the new name reflects the nonprofit’s home and heritage. “Ability” and “alliance” make reference to the nonprofit’s clients with unique abilities, and to its network of partners and the teamwork that makes the mission a reality, Novakovich said.
Columbia Ability Alliance worked with the market research and strategy company Sonar Insights and Focal Point Marketing on the rebranding process.
The cost of the work wasn’t made public.
Michael Novakovich, the president and CEO of Columbia Ability Alliance, poses with Deelani, Jella and Mark, graduates of the nonprofit’s Opportunity Kitchen program in July. (Courtesy Columbia Ability Alliance)
The new logo is in bright, welcoming colors, and features what appears to be three figures linked together. “One of the things that we love is people can apply their meaning to it,” Novakovich said, noting that he personally finds meaning in the infinity symbol woven throughout and in the symbolism of the three figures.
“We have the client, the community and Columbia Ability Alliance all working together. It really is this continuum,” he said.
The nonprofit started in 1963 as the United Cerebral Palsy Association of Benton and Franklin Counties. It’s grown into a robust and unique organization that supports and empowers people with disabilities and other challenges by providing everything from jobs to employment services, skills programs and a community center.
The nonprofit also operates multiple businesses that help support its mission.
It has about 200 employees and an annual budget of about $12.5 million.
Novakovich said he’s excited about the new name and brand moving forward.
“Our clients truly have unique abilities, and when we recognize those (abilities), I think there’s greater opportunity for us to make sure that we’re building an inclusive community and creating greater accessibility. That truly is what Columbia Industries has been all about and what Columbia Ability Alliance is about,” he said.
“The only way that we make that happen is by working together. That’s where the ‘alliance’ fits in. It’s through community partnerships. It’s through caregivers trusting us to develop programs and execute those programs. And then it’s community partners coming together to expand programs and open up employment opportunities and find ways for us to move the needle and build a better community for all of us to enjoy.”
Go to: columbiaabilityalliance.com.
