Nuru International

The Problem

Nuru International had built something that worked. Their locally-led model was creating lasting change in some of the world's toughest environments. But their brand told a completely different story.

The organization's identity was anchored in its founder's military background—a scratchy logo with a flame that screamed "peacekeeping operation" instead of agricultural development. Funders heard "conflict zones" and "war zones," missing the point entirely. Donors thought they were funding a military group. Partners couldn't see what made Nuru different from every other international NGO.

The confusion went deeper. People fundamentally misunderstood Nuru's structure, assuming it was a traditional headquarters with field offices. The reality was radically different: each country entity operated autonomously as its own legal organization with independent boards and fundraising capacity. But the website and communications didn't reflect this. Prospective funders compared Nuru's cost-per-impact to competitors running simpler models, missing that Nuru was building institutions designed to outlast any funding cycle.

When stakeholders had an hour-long conversation with the Nuro team, everything clicked. But that wasn't scalable. The website didn't serve donors, partners, or local leaders. The organization needed a brand that made their revolutionary model impossible to miss.

Our Solution

We rebuilt Nuru's brand to reflect what they actually do: support independent local organizations that create lasting change in the world's most challenging environments.

The rebrand clarified their positioning as capacity builders working in fragile, climate-vulnerable regions. We introduced clear terminology for the collective structure and made their seven-year commitment central to the story. The new messaging emphasized local leadership, independent entities, and structured exit strategies—proving sustainability from day one. We designed a modern logo system that positioned Nuru International as the backbone of a movement, with sub-logos for each country organization reinforcing their independence within a unified brand.

The website brought everything together. We created a structure serving multiple audiences: donors understanding impact, partners evaluating technical capacity, and local teams accessing resources. The subdomain system gave each country organization its own digital presence while maintaining the collective brand. We built on WordPress so Nuru could easily maintain it as they scale.

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