How to Build a Strong Nonprofit Identity
January 18, 2018 | Read Time: 2 minutes
An organization’s brand is more than a sharp logo and well-defined communications. “A compelling brand captures and communicates your mission and distinct culture,” says nonprofit-branding consultant Trent Thompson. “It’s the experiences you create, the personality you convey, the messages and stories you deliver, and the identity you express,” he asserts in an article he wrote for The Chronicle called “8 Behaviors a Nonprofit Should Master.”
A strong brand plays a central role in any nonprofit’s efforts to advance its mission. To help you strengthen yours, we’ve gathered articles, checklists, and case studies that outline the characteristics of a powerful organizational identity and how to develop a compelling brand.
-
Advice
6 Steps to a Better Nonprofit Brand
Identify your core audience, establish an emotional connection, create a tagline and talking points, and be consistent on every communication channel. -
Advice4 Ways to Persuade Trustees to Invest in Marketing
Speak in terms your board members understand; use data to show the connection between awareness, advertising, and greater giving; and compare your revenue to that of your competitors -
Advice
Steps to Take Before — and After — You Rebrand Your Nonprofit
Start by conducting research and thinking through your strategy. -
AdviceA Tool Kit for Creating a Powerful Visual Identity
Two branding strategists offer advice on the key questions to ask and the elements to consider in designing logos and communications that attract and engage donors. -
Advice8 Behaviors a Nonprofit Should Master
Here’s how to communicate your mission and distinct culture. -
Opinion
Opinion: Reaping Big Rewards by Doing the Unexpected
The nonprofit Share Our Strength doubled its revenue by putting money into building its brand. But to do that, it had to make a tough choice: Feed fewer children for a while to feed many more later. -
NewsAdvocacy Group Shows How Rebranding Can Rebuild Momentum
After success in antismoking battles, the Truth Initiative bets on a new messaging strategy and a media push to win the war. -
Advice
When Board Members Get in the Way of a Great Redesign
Organizations should be grateful to their hardworking board members, but too often those trustees overreach and can have a negative impact on decision making, especially true when it comes to marketing, design, and communications.
