Why the name change?
At its best, a name should positively reflect the heart and work of an organization. Ace Hoops—later to become Ace in the City—served us so well during our years providing direct service programming to youth in South Minneapolis. In our organizational transition to placemaking, however, our listening work strongly suggested that the name Ace in the City no longer provided the same clarity and confidence with the churches and community stakeholders we were partnering with.
“What’s with the name? How does it relate to your work?” “Do you only work with churches in the city?” “Do you think you’re the solution—you’re bringing the ‘ace’—to our issues?”
Confusing at its best.
Conflicting and even condescending at its worst.
It was time for a change.
Why *this* name?
Names and logos and brands are highly subjective, which has made this process challenging, but we wanted to land with a name that felt true to who we are and where we’re going. A name that communicates our heart and our work.
FLOURISH
When you cultivate belonging well—our mission from the very beginning—things flourish. We want to see churches flourish. Community organizations flourish. Neighbors and neighborhoods flourish. Flourish is the word that best captures the vision—the fruit—of our work.
PLACEMAKING
While placemaking can look a little different in various contexts, it is a descriptive word that should anchor us. No more confusion, we hope. We are community placemakers—reimagining space and how we inhabit it. And while changing names is a BIG DEAL, the heart of Ace will always be the center of our placemaking name.
COLLECTIVE
Collaboration has been a core value from our genesis. Flourishing happens best as we both offer our best AND receive the best from others. And so that ancient proverb rings true: If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.
When all is said and done, it is our belief and hope that our new name best captures WHY we exist (so that all can flourish), WHAT we do (placemaking), and HOW we will go about it (collectively).
So what’s next?
We know it will take some time (for us too!), but practice using our new name. Similar to how we oftentimes referred to ourselves simply as “Ace,” we anticipate using “Flourish” as our first name, if you will. With that said—and as you talk about our work with others, especially those unfamiliar with us—using our full name will provide the most clarity and confidence.
Flourish Placemaking Collective.
The next few months will be very busy for us, as you might expect. We’ll be working with our brand developers to put together a new website. We will be communicating the change with our broader Flourish community, ensuring all the appropriate parties (IRS, our bank, our partners, etc.) are informed.
Ace in the City will remain as a DBA to ensure a smooth transition from our generous giving community and we will be working to ensure folks who use our Ace website or emails are directed to the new and appropriate places. (Note: For now, and until we communicate otherwise, you can still contact us at our Ace emails addresses.)
As we sort out and set up our new name for success, it is our hope to have a new logo and website up and running by September. (Fingers crossed!)