Media Innovation Competition Award Recipients
The 2024 Media Innovation Competition celebrates the outstanding accomplishments of member rescue missions and ministries in both print and online media. By acknowledging their significant advancements and innovative contributions, we shine a spotlight on the impactful content created by Citygate Network members.
This prestigious event sets a high standard for the industry and inspires others to push boundaries in media innovation. Join us in honoring these exceptional individuals and organizations as we applaud their commitment to excellence and their transformative contributions to the media landscape.
ANNUAL REPORTS
Budget category: More than $5 million
Award of Excellence: Sharing A Message of Hope: 2023 Annual Report
Union Gospel Mission — Inland Northwest | Spokane, Washington
Vendor/Designer: Union Gospel Mission Team
Judge’s Comments: The creative size of this annual report packs a punch, utilizing strong visuals, including maps, infographics, and graphs, interspersed with images and text. With an innovative blend of warm content and bold photography, it appeals to a variety of stakeholders, whether financial donors, volunteers, or the community at large. The report comprehensively covers all the bases with great organization and consistent branding.
Award of Merit: Your Impact Transforms Lives: 2023 Annual Report
Springs Rescue Mission | Colorado Springs, Colorado
Vendor/Designer: Springs Rescue Mission — Cameron Moix & Ashton Maddox
ANNUAL REPORTS
Budget category: Up to $5 million
Award of Excellence: Every Life Has A Purpose: 2022 Annual Report
Victory Mission + Ministry | Springfield, Missouri
Vendor/Designer: Victory Mission + Ministry — Mindy McDonald
Judge’s Comments: With fantastic branding and visual elements, the clean layout and use of strong colors in this annual report make it feel encouraging and motivating. It delivers valuable information to stakeholders with transparency by featuring engaging photos, text, and graphic statistics, while also incorporating specific prayer points for each of the programs.
Award of Merit: Your Mission, Your Impact: 2023 Annual Report
Modesto Gospel Mission | Modesto, California
Vendor/Designer: Modesto Gospel Mission — Tom Matthew
GENERAL BROCHURES
Budget category: More than $5 million
Award of Excellence: Thanksgiving Paper Plate
The Rescue Mission | Fort Wayne, Indiana
Vendor/Designer: The Rescue Mission — Blake Douglas
Judge’s Comments: This piece is a powerful and creative piece with the unexpected paper plate unfolding out of a Thanksgiving-themed brochure. The colors and tones, use of white space, and highly engaging text all lend themselves to a strongly branded and beautifully executed home run brochure with a clear call to action.
Award of Merit: Good Samaritan Sponsor
Springs Rescue Mission | Colorado Springs, Colorado
Vendor/Designer: Springs Rescue Mission — Cameron Moix & Ashton Maddox
GENERAL BROCHURES
Budget category: Up to $5 million
Award of Excellence: General Brochure
Long Beach Rescue Mission | Long Beach, California
Vendor/Designer: Jeff Riley, Rubix & Joel Lueb, Bigger Dot
Judge’s Comments: The creative folder approach in combination with beautiful photography, amazing composition, visual depth, and monochromatic lighting all provoke a powerful response from the reader. The brochure shares a strong message, providing a strong contrast between need and provision, while simultaneously offering the promise of hope in desperate circumstances.
Award of Merit: Mission Overview
Kokomo Rescue Mission | Kokomo, Indiana
Vendor/Designer: Kokomo Rescue Mission — Kasey Woolslare
NEWSLETTERS/MAGAZINES
Budget category: More than $5 million
Award of Excellence: Living by the Light, Fall 2023
Judge’s Comments: The clever newsletter name demonstrates strong branding that entices the reader in to explore the excellent storytelling with mission updates, opportunities to engage, event announcements, and real stories and milestones. The clean layout, excellent choice of typography, and beautiful photos all give the piece an overall visual appeal.
Award of Merit: MTM Newsletter, December 2023
Mel Trotter Ministries | Grand Rapids, Michigan
Vendor/Designer: Mel Trotter Ministries — Hannah Miedema
NEWSLETTERS/MAGAZINES
Budget category: Up to $5 million
Award of Excellence: Real Change, July 2023
Redwood Gospel Missions | Santa Rosa, California
Vendor/Designer: Oneicity
Judge’s Comments: This brochure utilizes a clean layout, with strategic use of white space, to offer a warm feel that gives the material room to breathe. Well-organized content and compelling themes engage the reader, providing calls to action and valuable updates about happenings at the mission, as well as enlightening stories of transformed lives.
Award of Merit: Hope Lives Here, Summer 2023
Philly House | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Vendor/Designer: Jen Li Designs
PHOTOGRAPHS
Budget category: More than $5 million
Award of Excellence: "Forgotten to Found"
Phoenix Rescue Mission | Phoenix, Arizona
Photographer: Scott Streble
Judge’s Comments: This photograph captures an unpublicized, vulnerable moment that truly represents so much of what Citygate Network members do in reaching out to the lost and the least with compassionate and dignity. With the anonymous recipient’s face cloaked in darkness, the image has strong composition, both artistically and technically, without looking staged.
Award of Merit: "Blessed Family"
City Rescue Mission | Jacksonville, Florida
Photographer: BDI
PHOTOGRAPHS
Budget category: Up to $5 million
Award of Excellence: "Hopeful Eyes"
Oliver Gospel Mission | Columbia, South Carolina
Photographer: David Uttley
Judge’s Comments: This one member mission swept the entire photography category! The strong composition of the pictures submitted demonstrates technical mastery that leaves the viewer emotionally impacted. The angle of the camera along with the color palettes and tones bring intensity to the images, making them seem to come right out of the page.
SHORT VIDEOS
Budget category: More than $5 million
Award of Excellence: "Hope. Healing. Rescue."
Light of Life Rescue Mission | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Vendor/Producer/Director: Pitt Street Creative — Jordan Kepner
Judge’s Comments: The short video’s energetic pace and music, as well as the opening use of scripture, all confirm the work the mission does and celebrate those it serves. The variety of camera angles, including bird’s eye view, direct, and candid, all capture great shots and nicely incorporate impactful statistics that effectively communicate the various facets of the ministry.
SHORT VIDEOS
Budget category: Up to $5 million
Award of Excellence: "Save a Life, Secure a Future"
Modesto Gospel Mission | Modesto, CA
Vendor/Producer/Director: Cristian Muñoz
Judge’s Comments: This visually cohesive video offers a clear and compelling message toward a powerful message of hope. The changing font color creates impact, and the strategic ending effectively channels the viewer forward into next steps.
EXTENDED VIDEOS
Budget category: More than $5 million
Award of Excellence: "Liz’s Restoration Story"
Knox Area Rescue Ministries | Knoxville, Tennessee
Vendor/Producer/Director: Westfall Gold
Judge’s Comments: This powerful testimonial utilizes organized storytelling to capture the journey of addiction, including the impact, the restoration process, the support system, and the resulting redemption. The transitions, camera angles, musical accompaniment, and compelling visuals all contribute to the strong emotional impact that evokes not only a response of compassion, but of hope.
EXTENDED VIDEOS
Budget category: Up to $5 million
Award of Excellence: "Gospel Village: A Story of Hope" Documentary Trailer
Gospel Inc. | Lakeland, Florida
Vendor/Producer/Director: Gospel Inc. & The Collection Media
Judge’s Comments: The creative audio and video aspects of this documentary trailer dynamically capture moments, sights, sounds, smells, and feelings that brilliantly draw the viewer in to a strong picture of beauty in brokenness. By incorporating the community and city officials into the stories and images, the response to homelessness becomes more than just a mission issue.
WEBSITE
Budget category: More than $5 million
Miracle Hill Ministries | Greenville, South Carolina
Vendor/Designer: Miracle Hill Ministries — Susan Pottberg & Engenius
Judge’s Comments: Clients, donors, and community members can all navigate this website with ease. It loads quickly and responsively across devices and browsers and offers an educational use of statistics for branding, messaging, and informational purposes. Social media and app features have strong invitations, and the video montage provides a great overview of the organization’s scope of services and ministry.
Evansville Rescue Mission | Evansville, Indiana
Vendor/Designer: BDI
WEBSITE
Budget category: Up to $5 million
Outreach | Indianapolis, Indiana
Vendor/Designer: Hello This Is Jeff Design
Judge’s Comments: This website radiates personality, interspersing an abbreviated amount of powerful and poignant text with strong visuals and video. Thanks to well laid out Information and innovative features, the viewer can immediately engage and connect in a variety of ways. Navigation across the site offers quick response times and a positive user experience.
Butte Rescue Mission | Butte, Montana
Vendor/Designer: Zealot Branding
SOCIAL MEDIA
Budget category: More than $5 million
New Life Center | Fargo, North Dakota
Social Media Manager: New Life Center — Lauren Torkelson & Andrea Feigum
Judge’s Comments: The social media employed by this member mission engages visitors with great storytelling and innovative content that celebrates guests, volunteers, and the community. The use of various fonts and highlighted text and the “featured” pins present different information in an attractive and eye-catching way. The sites include strong branding and a great use of Scripture.
Award of Merit: @SpringsRescueMission
www.facebook.com/springsrescuemission/
Instagram @springsrescuemission
Springs Rescue Mission | Colorado Springs, Colorado
Social Media Manager: Springs Rescue Mission Communications Team
SOCIAL MEDIA
Budget category: Up to $5 million
Award of Excellence: @SpringfieldVictoryMission
www.facebook.com/SpringfieldVictoryMission
Instagram @springfieldvictorymission
Victory Mission + Ministry | Springfield, Missouri
Social Media Manager: Victory Mission + Ministry — Silas Garrison
Judge’s Comments: This member mission sets a benchmark for excellence in social media marketing, creating interactive sites that celebrate guests and events and spreading awareness about homelessness and ways to get involved. The grateful and positive messaging represents the organization well and supports the strong branding throughout the site.
Award of Merit: @butterescuemission
www.facebook.com/ButteRescueMission
Instagram @butterescuemission
Butte Rescue Mission | Butte, Montana
Social Media Manager: Butte Rescue Mission — Tatum Curry
LOGO
Budget category: More than $5 million
Award of Excellence: Kids Ninja Challenge
Miracle Hill Ministries | Greenville, South Carolina
Vendor/Designer: Miracle Hill Ministries — Susan Pottberg
Judge’s Comments: The Kids Ninja Challenge logo illustrates exactly what it represents in a fun and creative way. Simple and full of vitality, it shows movement and originality, specific to the event.
Award of Merit: Art + Experience Auction
Mel Trotter Ministries | Grand Rapids, Michigan
Vendor/Designer: Mel Trotter Ministries — Hannah Miedema
LOGO
Budget category: Up to $5 million
Award of Excellence: Outreach, End Youth Homelessness
Outreach | Indianapolis, Indiana
Vendor/Designer: Hello This Is Jeff Design
Judge’s Comments: This logo shows strong branding, providing a memorable and succinct visual of what the organization does. The cross stands out with a nice choice of font and typography.
Award of Merit: Hope for Modesto
Modesto Gospel Mission | Modesto, California
Vendor/Designer: Modesto Gospel Mission — Tom Matthew
Honorable Distinction
Honorable Distinction: 100th Anniversary Photo Book
City Union Mission | Kansas City, Missouri
Vendor/Producer/Director: City Union Mission Team