Our Brand
A clear, strong sense of brand unifies our community to achieve our mission.
Our Name: ServiceCorps
Service: Hard work in the service of others stretches us to discover our best selves in a way that service to self never can. We believe that service creates better leaders and better leaders create a better world.
Corps: Maturity and wisdom are achieved when we choose values over objects and the long-term over the ephemeral. We believe that there are no short-cuts to positive transformation. For us, the long-term impact is of our alumni community, The Corps. As more and more of our Fellows graduate to become Corps Members, our impact increases exponentially.
Service + Corps: Together, these words define a long-term, immersive service experience that has the power to transform the emerging professionals of today into the socially engaged leaders of tomorrow.
Our Tagline: "Leadership For Good"
Profit without purpose is like a ship without a rudder. Likewise, leadership in and of itself is neither positive nor negative. ServiceCorps is in the business of building better leaders--more socially conscious leaders.
Our Color: Glow Stick Green
Our color is taken from what might seem to be the most unlikely of sources, the Glow Stick. What seems like an ordinary object at first glance is actually an extraordinary little tool that has been used in countless police, fire, and rescue operations since it was first introduced in the the 1960s. For those most in need, often it was the light of the irrepressible Glow Stick that bridged the gulf between darkness and daylight. To us, Glow Stick Green reflects our people-centered army of change-agents that once turned on, can't turn off. One who gives (light), will give again.
Our Logo: Rambam's Ladder
ServiceCorps, Rambam's Ladder Logo
ServiceCorps' logo embodies the very essence of our mission-focused organization. It is the cornerstone of our brand equity and thus demands a high level of respect wherever it is intentional used. It is both powerful and subtle, iconic and intriguing.
Our logo, known as Rambam's Ladder, is a deconstructed 8-rung ladder that was inspired by Rabbi Moses Maimonides, (also known as the Rambam). Maimonides was a 12th century Jewish scholar who conceived of one of the earliest frameworks for philanthropy, known as the Eight Levels of Giving, . For Maimonides, the highest level of charitable giving enables the recipient to achieve self-sufficiency: "Teach a man to fish."
We believe that just as there are levels of charitable giving, there are also ascending levels of service. [We think of service not only in terms of physical service, but in terms of social impact more broadly: donations, volunteering, civic engagement, influence on networks, intrapreneurship, etc.]
For us, the highest level of service is that which is meaningful, habitual, increasing in quantity and sophistication over time, and is actively demonstrated as an example for others to emulate: "One who served will serve again."
The nonlinear nature of the Rambam's Ladder symbolizes the reinvented career path and the necessity of cross sector collaboration. As Sheryl Sandberg opined during a graduation speech, the career path is no longer a ladder, it's a "jungle gym." Wherever that path may lead, we believe that it should begin with service.
The Rambam's Ladder logo embodies the very essence of ServiceCorps' mission-focused organization. It is the cornerstone of our brand equity and thus demands a high level of respect wherever it is intentional used. It is both powerful and subtle, iconic and intriguing.
Rambam's Ladder
First Rung: “Unwilling, Prompted Social Impact” Social impact is given grudgingly, after being asked.
Second Rung: “Inadequate, Prompted Social Impact” Social impact is small, but is given cheerfully after being asked.
Third Rung: “Adequate, Prompted Social Impact” Social impact is meaningful, after being asked.
Fourth Rung: “Inconsistent Social Impact” Social impact is meaningful, but not consistent.
Fifth Rung: “Compound Social Impact” Social Impact is meaningful and habitual.
Sixth Rung: “Accelerating Compound Social Impact” Social Impact is meaningful, habitual, and increasing over time.
Seventh Rung: “Smart, Accelerating Compound Social Impact” Social Impact is meaningful, habitual, and increasing in quantity and sophistication over time.
Eighth Rung: “Exponential Compound Social Impact” Social Impact is meaningful, habitual, increasing in quantity and sophistication over time, and is actively demonstrated as an example for others to emulate.
Our Uniform: The Rambam's Ladder Patch and the 5th Pocket
When you think of uniform, what comes to mind? Perhaps the scrubs worn by doctors and nurses. Or the courtroom wigs and robes British judges and lawyers. Within the national service sector, the iconic red jackets of City Year comes to mind.
ServiceCorps is not like other organizations, nor is our uniform. The ServiceCorps uniform is a simple patch debossed with the Rambam's Ladder logo and sewed partially inside of the pants pocket (preferably on the 5th pocket when worn with pants that have such a pocket).
As the story goes, founder Matt Ronen was down to ServiceCorps' last $300 dollars, which he kept in his 5th pocket for an emergency. But when he reached for the money, it was gone. Matt felt horrible with the realization of the lonely struggle that lay ahead. Nonetheless, Matt sewed a patch onto his jeans, thus sealing the 5th pocket, and vowed to never let a future ServiceCorps member feel alone and without resources again.
Somehow, ServiceCorps persevered and today all Fellows wear the Rambam's Ladder patch on their pants as a personal reminder that the strength of ServiceCorps lies not in some finite emergency reserve, but in the bottomless power of the ServiceCorps network. Externally, the partially visible patch communicates to partners and beneficiaries that those who wear the Rambam's Ladder are putting service first.