7 Essential Tips for Building a Strong Nonprofit Brand

7 ESSENTIAL TIPS FOR BUILDING A STRONG NONPROFIT BRAND

BRANDING Sound like something that’s strictly reserved for large for-profit enterprises

Branding is as important for nonprofit organizations as it is for businesses

STANDING OUT Branding can help your organization become memorable

Why is Nonprofit Branding Important?

INCREASED TRUST AND LOYALTY Creates a sense of organizational unity within the organization

FUNDRAISING AND INCREASED ENGAGEMENT Branding can help your organization become memorable

WHAT IS BRANDING? A brand is more than its visual identity: the name, the logo, and graphic design

NONPROFIT BRANDING Essential Tips for Building a Strong Nonprofit Brand       

See the Big Picture and Know Your Audience Create a Nonprofit Branding Guide Design an Impressive Logo Use Storytelling as a Tool Don’t Forget the Community Outreach Personalize Your Organization Don’t be Afraid to Innovate

1 SEE THE BIG PICTURE AND KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE

TAKE A STEP BACK Take some time, ideally together with your team, to  Review your mission and vision statement.  Reflect on your successes and learnings.  Brainstorm with your team about what your organization means to each one of you.  Get in touch with donors, volunteers, Board, and other stakeholders and gather their inputs too.  Review your goals and any organizational strategy documents you have.

2 CREATE A NONPROFIT BRANDING GUIDE

CONSISTENCY IS KEY An organization can only build a strong brand if its voice, visuals, and approach are congruous  Keep Your Branding And Logo Consistent On Your Website  Media Channels (Whichever One You Use)  Infographics  Newsletters  Brochures  Flyers  Emails And More

Review your current print and digital content. If your branding is not cohesive, make it a plan to make adjustments

3 DESIGN AN IMPRESSIVE LOGO

BRANDING IS NOT ABOUT THE LOGO People remember and recognize you  Recall what your nonprofit’s mission and vision are  Summarize your goals in a couple of words  Brainstorm colors, symbols, images, or words that best represent your organization  Use white/negative space to create a balance of elements  Your logo can also be typographic

4 USE STORYTELLING AS A TOOL

CONVINCES THE HEAD AND TOUCHES THE HEART Nonprofit is transparent, clear, and communicative with your supporters and donors  You can build your brand  Help your audience understand the context  Help you build meaningful relationships with your audience  Creates trust and credibility, and helps your nonprofit stand out

TELL AUTHENTIC STORIES

X Three quick storytelling tips

Today’s audience can easily differentiate between a sales pitch and a genuine story

ALL SHAPES AND FORMS Don’t forget about visual storytelling, particularly the video

ALWAYS HAVE A CENTRAL CHARACTER A central character (the hero) is usually a beneficiary of your organizatio

5 DON’T FORGET THE COMMUNITY OUTREACH

COST-EFFECTIVE WAYS Personalization has been the go-to strategy for organizations

 Personalization within the nonprofit sector can take many forms  Personalize your appeal as much as possible  Don’t just write a check to the school  Use peer-to-peer fundraising  Personalize and humanize their organizations

6 PERSONALIZE YOUR ORGANIZATION

PERSONALIZING Reach a lot of people and spread the word about your nonprofit

 Investing in physical community outreach activities  Make it come ‘alive’ with your supporters, donors, and community  Show a commitment to the community  Attract supporters and donors who care deeply

7 DON’T BE AFRAID TO INNOVATE

DOING SOMETHING DIFFERENT Want your brand to be recognizable, talked about, and in people’s minds  Submit thought pieces, editorials, and letters to the editor of a local newspaper;  Adopt new technologies and strategies;  Drive conversations on social media platforms;  Conduct research related to your mission;  Create great content and disseminate it widely;  Encourage ideas sharing and conversations within your nonprofit.

CREATING STRONG NONPROFIT BRANDING IS HARD WORK

Check out our Nonprofit Blog for more ideas, and don’t forget to try out Donorbox as your online fundraising software

READ THE ENTIRE BLOG

www.donorbox.org/non profit-blog/building-astrong-nonprofit-brand/