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Chicago-fying Year Up’s Local Image

"The impact here is not just a pretty website or one that gets clicks. This offering could change what we do. We could grow to serve more students because of the traffic to our landing page, more students go through the program, they get better jobs, there's more economic impact to the city of Chicago. Thank you all for your time and energy. It’s outstanding."

Andrea Vaughn

Director of Business Development, Year Up

Services We Provided

Day of Service - Full-scale program management of a skills-based day, week, or month of service.

Even as an established and successful national organization, making a name for yourself in a new market can be difficult! Year Up Chicago – a workforce development nonprofit that engages young adults in intensive training, professional development programs, and internships – is navigating just that challenge. The Year Up team came to Charles Schwab and partner Common Impact with the goal of better articulating the organization’s differentiators and elevating its visibility and brand awareness in Chicago as a means to increase impact, thought leadership opportunities, media coverage, and funding. It was a perfect fit for the Schwab Pro Bono Challenge.

After honing in on Year Up Chicago’s core marketing and branding needs, the team of Charles Schwab skills-based volunteers researched other Chicago workforce development organizations and brainstormed ways for Year Up to better spotlight its incredible programs. The team determined that “Chicago-fying” Year Up’s presence was key. The Schwabbies then developed the wireframe and a draft design for a new Year Up Chicago landing page – complete with stars from the Chicago flag – which they presented a week later.

The Year Up Chicago staff was thrilled by the clear direction and Chicago-specific solutions the Charles Schwab team provided and how much time the Pro Bono Challenge saved them in developing a plan that will create real, significant value for their organization.