spending being scrutinized, fraternal benefit societies need
to protect their tax-exempt status and, therefore, their vitality. That means being recognized and understood by public
policymakers. And that starts with a recognizable and understandable name.
“Our goal is to rebrand fraternalism so that public policymakers know us better; by doing so, we make membership in
the association more relevant to members and, in turn, help
member societies make themselves more relevant to the millions of individuals who rely on them for both financial security and for facilitating community service activities,” says
Alliance President and CEO Joseph J. Annotti.
Catalyst for Change
In fall 2008, Aartrijk and Associates, a branding and public relations firm, performed a communications audit of the
association. A team of designers, writers, strategists and web
specialists reviewed various elements that communicated
the association’s brand: name, logo, tagline, stationery and
collateral, newsletters, member use of brand, search engine
optimization, blogs — even the appearance of the office and
employees. They were evaluated mainly for messaging, consistency, personality, professionalism and design strength.
The assessment, completed in February 2009, identified
numerous problems with the association’s name, logo, tag-
lines and web address. For instance, “National” and “Amer-
ica” are duplicative in National Fraternal Congress of America
while “Congress” can be confusing — especially with
members of Congress as a key association audience — and
can carry a negative connotation. The acronym, NFCA, also
caused issues: When conducting a web search using “NFCA,”
several other organizations also would pop up, including the
National Fastpitch Coaches Association, the National Family
Caregivers Association and the National Foundation for Celiac
Awareness. While these groups are not direct competitors, the
caregivers and Celiac awareness groups have public policy
initiatives that could further confuse legislators.
• September 2008 — Aartrijk and
Associates conducts communica-
tions audit
• February 2009 — Communica-
tions audit presented by Aartrijk;
notes challenges associated with
NFCA’s name, logo and tagline
and recommends a new brand
identity
• August 2009 — NFCA’s Board
of Directors deems rebranding is
necessary; requests proposal from
Aartrijk for rebranding project
• September 2009 — Aartrijk pres-
ents proposal to NFCA Board,
including 10 alternative names,
10 taglines, three logo options,
style guide and $24,000 rollout
plan
A New Name is Born
• November 2009 — NFCA
approves rebranding initiative,
appoints Branding Task Force
comprised of six communications
and public affairs professionals
from a variety of member societies
to guide and support Aartrijk
• December 2009 — Branding Task
Force establishes 14 parameters
for developing new name
• January 2010 — Aartrijk develops
60 possible names based on those
parameters; Branding Task Force
narrows choices to American
Fraternal Alliance and Fraternal
America, recommends American
Fraternal Alliance to the Board of
Directors
• March 2010 — Board prefers
American Fraternal Alliance and
suggests American Fraternal Asso-
ciation as another option; requests
polling members at NFCA Section
meetings
• April to June 2010 — Polls con-
ducted at all eight NFCA Section
meetings: 116 society representa-
tives vote for American Fraternal
Alliance, 45 for American Frater-
nal Association and nine for keep-
ing NFCA
• June 2010 — NFCA Board of
Directors supports the new name
• September 2010 —Members
unanimously vote in favor of the
American Fraternal Alliance name
at the NFCA Annual Meeting
• January 2011 — Rolls out new
name, logo and tagline
