How to Brand a Nonprofit

Yes, your nonprofit needs a brand

Standing out from the crowd is a critical need for nonprofit organizations. This can be particularly difficult when you consider there are more than a million nonprofits around the world and you are competing with hundreds, if not thousands in your own community. That’s why strategically branding a nonprofit is the first step in setting your mission apart from others, making meaningful connections with constituents and donors, and ensuring the world has a name and an identity to associate with all the good work you do.

Branding a nonprofit will help you develop trust with your stakeholders, establish you as an authority in your field of expertise, and highlight the incredible importance of your mission. The trick to building an effective brand identity is to do it right the first time so it can support your organization throughout its growth and evolution. Here are six crucial elements you need to get the process started and build a nonprofit brand that will differentiate your organization, leaving plenty of room for development and change without forcing you to rework it down the road.

1. A strong brand can help nonprofits attract and retain donors. According to a survey by Nonprofit Marketing Guide, 87% of donors said they were more likely to donate to a charity that had a professional and well-designed website, and 84% said they were more likely to donate to a charity that had clear and consistent branding. (Source: Nonprofit Marketing Guide)
2. Good branding can help nonprofits stand out in a crowded marketplace. According to a survey by Network for Good, 69% of respondents said that strong branding helped them differentiate their organization from others in their field. (Source: Network for Good)
3. A strong brand can help nonprofits build trust and credibility with their stakeholders. According to a survey by Nonprofit Marketing Guide, 74% of donors said they were more likely to trust a charity that had clear and consistent branding. (Source: Nonprofit Marketing Guide)
4. Good branding can help nonprofits increase their visibility and reach. According to a survey by Network for Good, 57% of respondents said that strong branding helped them increase their visibility and reach. (Source: Network for Good)

1) Define Your Purpose

You know your mission well, but you may not be communicating it in a way others can easily understand. Defining your organization’s purpose is critical because it helps you focus on what’s most important to your organization and eliminate the distractions that can pull your attention away from your reason for being. 

It also enables donors, clients and other stakeholders to quickly understand why your nonprofit deserves their support. If you’re not laser-focused on what your organization does and who it helps, then you won’t be able to form cohesive messaging or create strong branding that differentiates you, engages your stakeholders and inspires volunteers. Defining your brand is about more than just creating an eye-catching logo. If you want your brand identity — the way people think about and perceive your organization — to resonate with potential donors, then it has to reflect who you are at heart, not simply the image of yourself that you hope others will see.

2) Identify Your Target Audience

Just like every other business, it is critical for nonprofits to identify their target audiences. Most of your marketing efforts will be aimed at reaching these people, which makes understanding what moves them and why they want to be part of the work you are doing the foundation of how you position your brand. By creating a profile of the people you help, as well as profiles of your donors and your volunteers, you can define what your nonprofit needs to say to different audiences. It also helps determine where you should advertise and what kind of outreach is likely to be most effective.

3) Create your brand messages and communication guidelines

Before your nonprofit can start being recognized and building a strong brand, you need a name that tells your story. This is more than just an SEO play: the more memorable and distinctive your name, and the better it fits your mission, goals and objectives, the easier it will be for people to find you. Once you’ve settled on a name for your nonprofit — and made sure it’s available—it’s time to develop cohesive messaging.

Branding a nonprofit is more than a nice logo. It’s important to have a well-established set of brand messages. These are your mission and vision statements, values and story, as well as statements describing the work you do and the value you deliver. Think of your organization as a person and define how that individual would speak and act if they were discussing the mission with a donor or a volunteer.

If you haven’t yet, consider speaking with a branding agency or an expert who can help you articulate your organization’s purpose (we’d love to help!). You will also need to establish guidelines for brand-driven writing style and tone for advertising, press releases, digital and social media.

4) Design a visual identity

It’s true, a picture does speak a thousand words, maybe even more. If your messaging is one side of a coin, your visual identity is definitely the other and is equally important to communicate your brand in a unique and recognizable way. This identity should include a logo, typography, a color scheme, and be part of the overall theme that reinforces who you are and the people you serve. The goal of branding is consistency; if you only had one shot at making a first impression, it would be best if you present yourself in a consistent way throughout all your materials. 

You can use your logo, colors, fonts, ad illustrations across all collateral, digital media, donor relations, and printed pieces so people know exactly what they’re getting when they see your logo. Its purpose is to reassure your audience that whatever is in front of them is coming from you. If people are putting their trust in your nonprofit because of how professional everything looks, then that gives them another reason to believe in and support your work.

5) Define your audience experience

Defining your audience experience is a valuable and strategic step in branding a nonprofit. You want people to have a consistent experience with your organization, its staff and volunteers. Every interaction should serve your brand in a positive way and support the promises you have made in your communication materials.

Start by considering how your different groups of stakeholders should feel when they interact with your team. When a donor or volunteer works with you, consider the range of emotions you want them associating with your nonprofit brand. Perhaps they should feel inspired and motivated, or professional and confident. Human actions and decisions are heavily guided by emotion, making your audience’s experience a cornerstone of your success and incredibly important to get right. 

From there, you need to dig deeper, defining the types of interactions you want people to have on different channels and in different environments — from face-to-face conversations, to visiting your website, to reaching out on Facebook messenger. Do this exercise for every audience you define — people who need your help, donors, community partners. Defining the experience will inform what kind of resources you need to actually create the experience you envision. This will also lead you to a better understanding of the brand assets you need to develop. This will include everything from brochures, to email signatures, to telephone scripts, to social media guidelines.

6) Consistency is key

When branding a nonprofit, it’s important that every aspect of your messaging — including your organization’s name, logo, tagline and website — is consistent across all platforms. Consistency is more than a matter of professionalism. It takes multiple impressions to get people to notice a brand or message, and even more to get them to engage with you. If you are inconsistent in your branded communications, it takes more impressions (all of which come at a cost) to get your message across. That can be an expensive misstep, especially when one considers the limited nonprofit budgets.

Consistency helps people remember you. While you want your brand message to be memorable enough for people to recall easily, though, it shouldn’t be overbearing or feel pushy. It also shouldn’t detract from your mission. 

If someone sees your newsletter one week and then sees an ad featuring a different logo or slogan in another publication, they won’t put the two things together. Even worse, they may begin questioning your credibility or wondering whether you’re a legitimate organization. Consistency is more than just a brand promise. It’s important for establishing trust among your stakeholders. It’s about making an informed choice about how you look, how you sound and what you say.