WHITGIFT FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES REBRAND TO RAISE UNDERSTANDING OF ITS CROYDON CARE AND EDUCATION MISSION

  • 423-year-old charity to transform brand to better engage Croydon communities
  • Charity to use full name of founder for first time and will be known as John Whitgift Foundation.

The Whitgift Foundation [www.johnwhitgiftfoundation.org] has undertaken a major revamp of its brand and how it communicates to enable the charity to better engage with the Croydon community it serves, as well as share its values and successes with its 1,000 staff.

The charity’s logo and visual identity has been given a complete overhaul and will be now known as ‘John Whitgift Foundation’ instead of ‘The Whitgift Foundation’ to reflect a firm commitment to the vision of the charity’s founder, Archbishop John Whitgift [1583-1604], to educate and care for the people of Croydon. 

As a 423-year-old charity, the John Whitgift Foundation still carries out his vision in Croydon through the land and assets he set aside under Queen Elizabeth I’s reign to generate income which the charity puts back into the community.

This work is still active across Croydon every day supporting thousands of the borough’s unpaid carers, caring for hundreds of older people - many of whom are nearing the end of their lives. It also runs three top-ranked independent schools, Old Palace of John Whitgift, Trinity and Whitgift Schools, at which 48% of students receive help with fees through bursaries, totalling £5million a year, and scholarships. This is one of the largest bursary support schemes in the UK.

Its other community projects across Croydon include work to tackle old-age loneliness and social isolation through to Capturing Croydon a new education programme for primary schools across the town which has won praise from the local MP Sarah Jones and teachers alike for its educational and community building benefit.

The charity will also seek to commemorate his life and legacy to Croydon in the town itself through art commissions, heritage trails, and resource packs for local schools are being explored.

Design agency, Tothepoint, was appointed to work with the visual look and feel and to define its mission and messaging, while Kallaway PR is working with the charity to develop new community engagement initiatives in Croydon.   

The rebrand seeks to tell the story of this ancient charity and its modern-day benefit in a contemporary manner more appealing to the communities it serves and the staff who work for the charity. 

The new logo will have an increased prominence on communications from its education and care providers helping present these services as being part of the work of the John Whitgift Foundation.

The brand work has refined the charity’s story, mission and its values to the community in a series of new publications and website which will be shared across Corydon.

Martin Corney, Chief Executive, John Whitgift Foundation, said: “The rebrand is important work to ensure we stay relevant and valued by the community we serve. Like all charities we need to refine how we communicate and improve understanding of our work.  The rebrand will reflect our heritage while using fresh, contemporary, images and language that better engage today’s audiences.”

“This will help our staff, who often work in unconnected areas of the charity fully appreciate our wider work and communicate what we do clearly. Outside the charity our audiences range from national Government to local Croydon children. The rebrand will help us engage them in a more purposeful manner and ultimately help how we continue to serve Croydon and its people.”

Catherine Shirley, Head of Marketing and Communications, John Whitgift Foundation, said:This year, we’ve put a great deal of thought into those details as we set out to evolve our brand into something fresh and modern, yet still true to the rich heritage and history it was built upon. It’s been a long journey, which has seen us ask ourselves some searching and challenging questions about our purpose, values, and the relevance they hold today. But once the dust had settled, we landed on something familiar, comforting, and enduring – community. Because whatever else may shift and change through time, community will always be at the heart of what we do.”

Ends 

Notes to Editors

www.johnwhitgiftfoundation.org 

About John Whitgift Foundation

John Whitgift Foundation is a leading education and care charity located in Croydon. We support people of all ages and backgrounds, bringing them together to inspire a sense of community in all that we do.

We have a unique history in Croydon thanks to the legacy of our Founder, Archbishop John Whitgift. In 1596, he laid the first two foundation stones of the Hospital of The Holy Trinity. In the same year, just yards down the road, he opened a school. Together, these two buildings would help him realise his founding vision to educate and care for the people of Croydon. This was his legacy. Today, more than 420 years on, he’d take great pride in the charitable work the John Whitgift Foundation carries out in his name. Because while much has changed since 1596, the values John Whitgift stood for then are as relevant today as they ever were; perhaps even more so.Our work covers three core areas:

Access to education 

As one of the largest bursary providers in the country, we grant thousands of young people access to an outstanding education at our foundation schools - Old Palace, Trinity, and Whitgift - that many could not otherwise afford. Currently we grant £5.7 million a year in bursaries, and to combine our scholarship awards, 48% of 3,200 students benefit from fee assistance.

Care for older people

Through our care homes and services, we give older people a true sense of community, comfort and joy in later life. We currently care for 100 older residents in sheltered living, residential or end of life nursing care and we offer 100 spaces for our 1596 Club day care service.

Supporting Croydon’s carers

We offer advice, information and a support network for Croydon’s carers – providing a welcome break from the isolation and exhaustion they can endure. Our Carers Information Service runs a dedicated Carers Support Centre, a drop in facility to provide practical support to carers, as well as health and wellbeing activities available to an estimated 34,000 carers in Croydon.