View the full case study of our Capital Trees brand refresh and 15th anniversary branding on our website: https://sidestudio.work/capital-trees/
KM: How has your 15th Anniversary year and one year with your new brand been?
AP: It has been an exciting time for Capital Trees! Our 15th Anniversary gave us a natural opportunity to celebrate how far the organization has come, but the new brand also helped us look forward and communicate more clearly about where we are going.
It has been especially energizing to have a brand that feels so aligned with who Capital Trees is today and where we are headed. It has given us new language, new tools, and even new confidence in how we talk about our work.
What I’ve especially appreciated is how well the brand reflects the breadth of what we do. Capital Trees isn’t simply about planting trees or creating beautiful spaces. We build and steward public greenspaces that improve the environment, strengthen communities, and create places where people can connect with nature and with one another. The new brand has given us a stronger, more consistent way to tell that story.
From an advancement perspective, it has also given us a really useful foundation for talking with donors, corporate partners, volunteers, and people who may just be discovering Capital Trees for the first time.
KM: We just worked on your Corporate Partnership Guide together, are there any highlights of that program you want to call out?
AP: Working with SIDE Studio on the Corporate Partnership Guide gave us an opportunity to continue deepening our use of the new brand. You helped us think not only about how the guide should look, but how we could communicate the different opportunities for involvement in a way that was clear, inviting, and connected to the larger Capital Trees story.
One of the things we wanted the Corporate Partnership program to demonstrate is that there are many ways for a company to engage with Capital Trees.
Financial support is certainly important—it allows us to build and care for public greenspaces throughout Richmond—but partnership can go well beyond writing a check. Companies can bring employees together for volunteer workdays, support educational programs and events, sponsor our Speaker Series, or engage with a particular project or area of our work that aligns with their interests.
The new Corporate Partnership Guide gives us a much better way to start those conversations. Rather than approaching every company with the same opportunity, we can ask: What matters to you? Where do your community priorities intersect with our work? That makes the partnership much more meaningful.
KM: Beyond fundraising, what role does Corporate Partnership play in building community around Capital Tree's mission?
AP: Corporate partners can become some of our best ambassadors.
When employees spend a morning working alongside our horticulture manager, staff, and experienced volunteers, attend one of our programs, or see a greenspace their company helped support, they develop a much more personal connection to the work. They understand that these aren’t simply landscaping projects—they are public spaces that belong to the community and contribute to a healthier, more connected Richmond.
Those experiences also introduce Capital Trees to people who might not otherwise encounter us. Someone may first meet us through a company volunteer day and later attend an event, bring their family to one of our spaces, volunteer again, or become a donor themselves. That ripple effect is an important part of building a community around the mission.
KM: What are some initiatives or priorities that Capital Trees is especially excited about over the coming year? Is there any upcoming work, campaign, or advocacy effort you'd love people to know more about?
AP: There is a lot ahead. We are continuing to steward the greenspaces Capital Trees has already created while also looking toward the next generation of projects in Richmond.
We’re especially excited about opportunities to expand our work into new areas of the city, including a future greenspace project in Scott’s Addition, while continuing to think about the tremendous potential of Richmond’s waterfront.
Education and engagement are also becoming an increasingly important part of our work. This fall, for example, we’ll host Dr. Glynn Percival, an internationally recognized expert on urban tree health, for a special program presented in partnership with Bartlett Tree Experts. Programs like this give us an opportunity to connect the science behind healthy urban landscapes with homeowners, landscape professionals, community partners, and the broader public.
Ultimately, we want more people to understand not only that public greenspaces are beautiful, but that they are vital—and that all of us have a role in helping them thrive.
KM: How can people continue supporting Capital Trees?
AP: There are so many ways to be part of Capital Trees, and giving is only one of them.
People can volunteer with us, attend a program or event, invite us to speak at a company Lunch & Learn, visit and enjoy one of our greenspaces, learn about and advocate for the value of green infrastructure in their own communities, introduce someone new to our work, become a corporate partner, or make a financial contribution. And simply following our work, subscribing to our newsletter, and sharing our story helps introduce more people to the importance of public greenspace.
One of the things I love about advancement is that it isn’t just about fundraising—it is about building relationships and creating different ways for people to participate in a mission they care about. Whether someone gives their time, their expertise, their voice, or their financial support, they become part of the community that makes this work possible.
There are plenty of ways to be part of Capital Trees’ work in Richmond: