Bullhorn Impact Report: Looking Out

Introduction

Bullhorn Impact Report

Understandably, most impact reports are introspective. They are a look back. A look at the progress made that most people would never see. The sweating over insurance policies, infrastructure upgrades, supply chain details. I love the look behind the curtain.

We had a different idea this time. When thinking about the creative direction for the report, the phrase “looking out” kept coming up. It meant different things to different people. Some pictured looking out across a playground for a child, others standing on a ridgeline marveling at natural beauty. The idea became an organizing principle for this report.

The first section is looking out at the great work our clients are doing. We spend considerable effort finding clients that are making a positive impact on the world. Our work helps them maximize their efforts. This section celebrates the rippling. The second section is about how we look out for each other. Our biggest improvements have been to the policies that make work better and more meaningful. And lastly, we talk about looking out for our communities. As a group and individually, we are working to make our communities more equitable, healthy, and livable.

Clients

Looking out for our clients

We partner with clients doing good work. Often this means we work with other B Corps, a global network of certified businesses benefitting all people, communities, and the planet. We also partner with nonprofits and organizations focused on a particular United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal (SDG).

Decorative image of UN Sustainable Development Goals represented as a range of colors arranged in a circle.

Igniting a Movement that Reads

Image of Johnathan Beatty, founder of I Love Books wearing I Love Books swag designed by Bullhorn Creative.

I Love Books is a social enterprise working tirelessly to give students of all ages and backgrounds better access to books. Through sales of branded gear, they can donate new books to schools and local organizations. We partnered with the startup through our Good Works program to reimagine a new brand identity that symbolizes and inspires a love of reading.

Bullhorn’s guidance propelled us forward, paving the way for growth and impact. What started as a dream became a reality.

- Jonathan Beatty, Founder, I Love Books

Sharing Food as Love

FoodChain is a nonprofit organization increasing access to locally sourced, fresh food for those who need it most. From unique programming in and out of the kitchen to aquaponic farming to outreach and education, they partner with the community to serve and empower people to know and love food. Through our Good Works program, we developed a new verbal identity and refined brand guidelines to help them confidently communicate their impact.

Turning Hardship into Relationships

Three collages of illustrated patterns for Common Good with text that reads We are Common Good.

Common Good is more than an after-school program. It’s a safe space for children and families in a low-income neighborhood to feel a sense of belonging through education, recreation, creativity, and meaningful relationships. We partnered with the organization through our Good Works program to develop a new brand identity that matches their innovative culture and influences more involvement from current and new constituents.

We've seen an increase in corporate partners, individual donations, community partners, program expansion and cohesion because we now know what our story is and we know how to tell it.

- Laura Gallaher, Co-founder, Common Good

Fighting for a Healthier Future

Green text over a blue circle that says, "We defend the people, communities, and natural resources of Kentucky."

Kentucky Resources Council pursues a future where the air is clean, the water is safe, and our natural resources are protected. The nonprofit and nonpartisan group of lawyers, policy experts, and advocates is the community’s only statewide public-interest environmental law and advocacy organization. Through our Good Works program, we partnered up to develop a new visual and verbal identity to help them build more awareness and stand stronger with citizens to fight for a healthier, more sustainable future for all.

We now have a stronger voice outside of the courtroom, which will help us magnify our reach and our impact across Kentucky.

- Ashley Wilmes, Executive Director, Kentucky Resources Council

We partner with clients doing good work

Unpolluting the Fashion Industry

Text that reads # clothes aren't trash on a green background

85% of clothing produced doesn’t get recycled. Helpsy intends to change that through wide-ranging programs, from individual recycling bins to industrial recycling. We helped them talk with their broad consumer base with a refined naming system, visual identity, and verbal guidelines.

Connecting Learners with Locals

Hand holding a phone viewing the TalkAbroad website designed by Bullhorn Creative

Arranged website design mockups from Bullhorn Creative for the TalkAbroad website.

TalkAbroad solves a long-standing problem in foreign language education. Their platform connects learners in the US to native speakers across the globe for real-world conversations and cultural exchange. We partnered with TalkAbroad to evolve their brand, developing a modern brand identity, brand voice, and website to reach the next generation of learners.

In the two years since our launch we've added 100+ enterprise clients and supported over 75,000 students in their language journey.

- Todd Nichols, CEO, TalkAbroad

Making Hunger Visible

4 half-circles arranged in single column. The bottom half-circle has an image of a child holding food inside it.

God’s Pantry Food Bank powers a network of partners to provide food for people across Central and Eastern Kentucky. Championing better access to food, they are on a mission to end hunger. We refined their visual identity and developed a new values-first verbal identity to help them clarify their mission and get more people involved.

Working with [Bullhorn] helped us understand the importance of a brand strategy. We are now more intentional about our voice, language and style across our service area.

- Anna M. Russell, Employee & Community Engagement Director, God's Pantry Food Bank

Closing the Gap between Brand and Culture

An open magazine with the text that reads People first on a blue background taking up the entire first page and text "Steadfast leaders" on blue background taking up the entire second page.

Sensiba is a B Corp-certified accounting and consulting firm on the West Coast. Known for a culture that puts people and communities first, their team helps companies navigate change, complexity, and sustainable growth. We helped Sensiba align their brand and culture, refining their name and building a brand identity around their internal motto: family, community, firm.

Solving a Massive Perception Problem

Waterfront tote bags on orange field on top of an image of the Waterfront Park Walking Bridge

The visionaries at Waterfront Park transformed industrial blight into one of Louisville’s most open, welcoming, and diverse places. We refined their name, visual and verbal identity, and website. We helped them improve wayfinding, uniforms, and a fundraising campaign to expand the park.

Our work with Bullhorn helped to re-position Waterfront Park to the public as a donor supported park. Their work was extraordinarily helpful at a time of critical need as we entered the COVID shutdown. The re-brand helped to ensure Waterfront Park could remain welcoming and accessible to everyone at a time when the community needed the park more than ever before.

- Deborah Bilitski, President, Waterfront Park

Bringing Energy to Light

Confluent Power generates renewable energy and delivers it to homes and businesses. Their business model — combining power generation with retail delivery — is designed to provide a more stable power supply from wind, solar, and other sustainable sources. We helped launch the new brand, naming the company and building a brand identity and website to introduce it to the world.

Reinventing the Snack Industry

Mockup of the Wyandot confetti pattern and text that reads Snacks bring people together

Screenshot of the upper right corner of a Wyandot Snacks web design mockup with a smiling child as the main focal point.

Wyandot Snacks is an 85-year-old company with a new outlook. They manufacture better-for-you snacks. We helped them show their new direction and recent B Corp certification through refined brand language and a new visual identity.

People

A collection of scattered polaroid photographs of Bullhorn team members and their families on a wood tabletop.

Looking out for each other

Over the past few years, we have implemented new policies and practices to multiply the impact on our people and of our work.

Distributed and flexible

In 2020, we moved to a distributed workplace. We went from two offices headquartered in Kentucky to being spread across three time zones and three states. We went from working at desks in an office to working in co-working spaces, coffee shops, our home offices, and even kids’ after-school activities. Bullhorn’s mentality and trust that we all are individuals with lives that know how to get work done has empowered us to take control of our schedules and make it work for us, our team members, and our families.

Bullhorn culture -- employees on vacation, sabbatical, and quiet, distributed office spaces.

PTO and rest

For a while now, our team has rested the last week of the year (amid the rush of multiple holidays). But we questioned if that was enough. In 2022, we declared another full week’s rest in July, improving our corporate rest policy. And for PTO, we moved from 20 days a year to unlimited days. By closing for two weeks and changing our time-off policy, we show our commitment to living sustainable lives.

Sabbaticals

Several team members dedicate a lot of years working at Bullhorn. We decided to acknowledge loyalty with a sabbatical. After working ten years at Bullhorn, we can take one month of paid leave. We can’t wait to hear upcoming stories of adventure and rest.

Healthcare coverage

It’s important to offer benefits that honor our people and keep them around. Also, inflation sucks. Previously our owners had the benefit of 100% healthcare insurance premium coverage while employees paid 50%. This is not equitable and can send the wrong message. So, we started covering 100% of the entire team’s premium.

What’s next

While we’ve made great strides to take care of our insides, there’s still work to do. We are trying to cut down on Friday meetings to allow for more individual focus time. We’re also focusing on career development and growth for individual team members and better mentorship opportunities.

Communities

Looking out for our communities

While we are proud of our work, it can sometimes feel indirect. It is hard to beat that feeling of working shoulder-to-shoulder with your neighbors. It is gratifying to look at what can be accomplished in a short amount of time.

Bullhorn team members Zack Graber, Brad Flowers, and Anne Dean Dotson volunteering at God's Pantry Food Bank.

Illustrated people side by side sharing a single medal around their neck.

Collective volunteering

We engage in the community by coordinating days to work together in small groups. This year we repacked bulk food (if you consider hot cocoa food like we do) for our local food bank. We also learned how to strip a bike for parts at a local nonprofit bike shop. In the past, we’ve planted trees, picked up trash, turned mulch, weeded, and delivered meals to people who couldn’t get out during the pandemic.

Individual volunteering

We also work in our community as individuals. We are paid eight hours per quarter to volunteer during the day. In our own time, we serve on boards that focus on health, transportation, food access, and youth development. And we host nonprofit board meetings in our office that isn’t used as much now that we are distributed.