JCP: Branding the Jewish Community Project in Downtown NYC

When the co-founder of The Jewish Community Project (JCP) reached out to rayogram for a creative strategy to launch a new cultural institution in lower Manhattan, we jumped. JCP asked for a comprehensive approach to share their aspiration to be a modern community but still rich in values, culture and tradition.

JCP is a nonprofit organization serving the emerging needs of one of New York’s most engaged and growing Jewish communities. JCP began as a communal response to the need for community and connection, and is now an institution with an annual budget of more than $5M and a staff of sixty; it sustains outreach to over 3,000 households and 700 families. There is robust holiday and worship programming, a Hebrew school, and youth and parenting programs.

After an extensive discovery including interviews with key stakeholders (including JCP leadership, staff, board members and donors) we decided on the creative strategy’s concrete deliverables. We designed a branding system and designed the community center signage to illustrate JCP is a place to explore, learn and celebrate. We designed programming brochures, fundraising materials, gala invitations, an electronic newsletter, a website and a comprehensive constituent relationship management system. Our brand identity gives JCP both a sense of history and a contemporary vibe. We helped them find their location, designed the storefront signage, and consulted on how best to communicate JCP as a place to ‘learn, explore and celebrate’. 

Finally, we created ​Shmuse​, a quarterly magazine giving voice to the thriving community. was conceived to connect the JCP community and celebrate its downtown NYC neighborhood. We worked closely with JCP to craft the magazine’s format and editorial calendar, writing, copyediting, and commissioning stories, illustrations and photography.

Our strategic partnership with JCP resulted in a sustainable strategy that still communicates the organization’s values and ambitions to its community. It has helped to recruit staff, increase enrollment in key programs, collect key metrics, and build JCP’s donor base.