ECCCM renames to represent expanded service area

February 2024, the board of directors of Eastern Catawba Cooperative Christian Ministry, Inc. (ECCCM) unanimously voted to change its name to Ashure Ministry. In August of 2023, the board shared the results of their strategic planning process. They faithfully wrestled with several new realities for the ministry, including their expanding service area. To acknowledge and address the community’s growing needs and affirm their goal of serving more clients through high-quality crisis and food assistance, one of their strategic goals includes increasing the knowledge and understanding the community has for the mission and work of the ministry.

To accomplish this goal, the board recognized the need for a renaming and rebranding process for the ministry. First and foremost, ECCCM includes “Eastern Catawba” in the name. As their service areas expanded to all of Catawba County, it was important to establish a name that didn’t cause potential clients to question their ability to access services. Clients come first. Other reasons for changing their name included some misconceptions revealed in the listening process for their Strategic Plan. A significant number of constituents and stakeholders either didn’t know what ECCCM represented or confused them with another local nonprofit.

In August, a strong team of ECCCM supporters brought their creativity and passion for the ministry to the table as the renaming team. They took their role seriously and cautiously, knowing that something like a name change would create feelings of excitement and anxiety. Through a process of elimination, they used three variables to go from 100+ name ideas to the final. Most importantly, these variables include the word’s meaning and connection to the Christian faith. Secondly, the availability of URLs and social media accounts was considered. Finally, knowing that people would shorten the name, it was critical that it could stand alone