Rebecca Stutley, Executive Vice President, Brand, Storytelling and Communications, Kids Help Phone Canada

BEYOND THE LOGO: HOW A BRAND EVOLUTION POWERED A $300M+ FUNDRAISING CAMPAIGN

Kids Help Phone is Canada’s only 24/7 e-mental health service, offering free, confidential support to young people 24/7. In 2025 alone, young people connected with KHP more than 3.7 million times over phone, text, social media, and resources on KidsHelpPhone.ca. As demand surged, the organization evolved rapidly—but its brand no longer reflected the full scope, nuance, and complexity of what it had become.

In this keynote, Rebecca Stutley shares the inside story of KHP’s brand transformation—from a service-led identity to a human-centred platform that embraces the full spectrum of young people’s experiences, from everyday struggles to moments of crisis. She unpacks how the team reframed their positioning to better reflect real emotional journeys, modernized their storytelling, and aligned the organization around a unified narrative.

The result: a brand built not just to drive awareness, but to deepen relevance, unlock connection, and power one of the most ambitious campaigns in the organization’s history—a $300M+ fundraising effort. Rebecca will explore how KHP turned brand into a strategic growth engine, translating insight and authenticity into record-setting engagement and impact.

Beth Brodovsky, President, Iris Creative

There was a time when writing, design, web, video, events and strategy were different jobs. Today, technology has put more capabilities at our fingertips—and more expectations on our plates.

For nonprofit marketers, the job hasn't just gotten busier. It's fundamentally changed.

In this session, Beth Brodovsky will look at the rise of the Slash/Marketer, why having more tools hasn't necessarily made the work easier, and what it takes to build capacity when no one person can possibly master everything now expected of them.

We'll also explore a question Iris has been asking this year: What kind of support do nonprofit marketers actually need now?

Panelists:

• Medha Nanal, Principal Advisor & Systems Architect, Top Cloud Consulting
• Liana Nathan, Director, The Ursinus Fund, Ursinus College
  
• Beth Ann Spiegel, Marketing & Development Manager, Shore Medical Center
• Justin Wandro, Chief Impact Officer, Good News Rescue Mission
  

Artificial intelligence is changing the way nonprofits create content, engage supporters, and manage increasingly complex communications. But along with new opportunities come important questions.

How can AI help overextended marketing and development teams without sacrificing quality or authenticity? What tasks are worth automating—and which still require human judgment? How do you protect your organization's voice and values while taking advantage of new technology? And how do you respond when leadership assumes AI is a shortcut to doing more with fewer people?

Join a cross-sector panel of nonprofit communication leaders for an honest conversation about how they're navigating AI today. We'll explore real-world experiences, differing perspectives, and the practical challenges of balancing innovation with strategy, ethics, and brand integrity.

Pro-Bono Executive Director, Independence Historical Trust
President, McCormick Taylor, Inc.

The name of an organization is one of its most important brand assets, yet it is often chosen for reasons that have little to do with its purpose, audience, or long-term goals. Sometimes it's rooted in a founder, a service, or history. Over time, however, that same name may create confusion or no longer reflect who the organization has become.

Renaming is rarely simple. Opinions are strong, emotions run deep, and every option comes with tradeoffs.

In this session, Tom Caramanico will share real-world experiences from organizations that successfully changed their names, as well as projects that ultimately decided not to. You'll gain insight into how organizations evaluate the need for a name change, build consensus, and determine when changing—or staying the same—is the right decision.

Beth Brodovsky, President, Iris Creative & Meghan Reilly, Art Director, Iris Creative

Accessibility isn't something you add to a website at the end of a project—it's something you build into your brand from the beginning. Every decision you make about your brand, from color palettes and typography to graphic style and templates, shapes how people experience your communications across every channel.

In this session, Beth Brodovsky and Iris Creative Art Director Meghan Reilly will share how thoughtful brand decisions create more accessible, inclusive communications. You'll learn why accessibility is a brand issue, not just a website requirement, and how to build brand standards that make it easier to create communications that are beautiful, usable, and inclusive from the start.