Many successful nonprofit organizations have recognizable branding. For example, if someone was to mention the World Wildlife Fund, you would probably imagine their memorable panda logo. The same thing goes for Habitat for Humanity or Save the Children. The branding behind these nonprofits has become so recognizable that just by saying the name, you instantly think of their iconic logos.
However, branding encompasses a lot more than just logos. Effective nonprofit branding is the way that you tell the world about your story and your mission, primarily through visuals and writing. It is one of the most effective ways for strangers to your cause to learn ways to grab the attention of strangers to your brand and make the case for why your work matters.
As you develop your nonprofit’s brand, prioritize how it will be represented in your digital strategy because newcomers to your nonprofit are most likely to interact with your work online. This way, you can ensure that your branding materials are consistent across your different marketing channels.
Not only can strong branding make you memorable, but it can also increase your visibility. If you’re running a big fundraising campaign, for instance, spreading the word using branded merchandise can help you resonate with a wider audience.
Branding is a powerful tool that can bring your nonprofit to the next level, but you want to do it right. Here are 5 things to consider when creating your nonprofit’s brand:
Overall, it’s essential that you carefully and strategically design a recognizable (and timeless) brand for your nonprofit. The longer that you can keep the same logo around, the more likely that it will become strongly associated with your brand. It is especially helpful for your team members to include all of your specifications in a brand guide. Compiling everything in one place will save you time and money during web projects.
Your Story
Although you may be eager to jump into designing your visual brand assets, digging into the core of your nonprofit before getting started will ensure that your final product is truly aligned with your organization. Plus, you’ll save time and money because you won’t have to go back and redesign your branding after discovering it doesn’t truly reflect your organization.
So what exactly is at the core of your nonprofit? Your story.
Telling your story in a concise and memorable way is more difficult than it might seem. Your mission statement is a great place to start, but when telling your story, you want to do more than just say what you’re doing — you also want to explain why. Here are some questions to ask when developing your story:
- Who is my nonprofit helping?
- What inspired my nonprofit to help?
- How has my nonprofit made a difference?
- What is most important for my audience to know?
We are naturally more inclined to listen to and remember a good story than we are a list of facts or an isolated call-to-action. By centering your story in your nonprofit’s brand, you increase the likelihood that your audience will listen.
Ultimately, there are lots of ways that you could tell your story. If you’re working with people, perhaps centering these beneficiaries in your story would be best. Or, if the founder of your nonprofit has a lot of visibility in the community, explaining their inspiration might be more effective. No one knows your nonprofit’s story better than you, so trust your own intuition!
Text
Now that you have an idea of how you want to tell your story, you can start writing about it. The way that you write about your cause and your organization says a lot about your nonprofit, and the type of language you use can determine the personality that you convey to the world. For example, using more casual language might make you seem more approachable while something more formal would make you seem authoritative and professional.
Well-written, engaging, and informative text is important no matter where it appears. Everything you write and disseminate should align with your brand and your story. This consistency shows donors, volunteers, and supporters that you’re a trustworthy organization that is focused on its goals.
According to Kanopi’s guide to the donor journey, potential supporters go through a research phase to learn more about the recipients of their donations. When they come across your nonprofit’s website, direct mailings, fundraising pages, or even social media profiles, the text on those pages is essentially your sales pitch. As you’re writing your materials, answer the question, “Why should someone support my organization?” Focusing your writing around this central question keeps all of your text relevant and meaningful.
Lastly, consider design features like font, font color, and text size. It’s best to pick a particular style that you like and stick with it. And don’t forget to be mindful of grammar and spelling!
Visuals
When you think of an organization’s brand, the first thing that probably comes to mind is the visuals. The logo, graphics, and color scheme that an organization uses can become distinctly tied to their work. This DNL OmniMedia guide on nonprofit branding can help you create a comprehensive brand guide to help all of your team members stay on brand when they’re making new content.
Eye-catching visuals are essential to building your brand. Here are some tips for creating effective visuals:
- Match your visuals to the emotion you want to invoke: The saying, “A picture is worth a thousand words” holds true when it comes to your nonprofit’s visuals. Be sure to include images that encourage your supporters to take action.
- Pick a color scheme: A dedicated color scheme helps you maintain cohesion across your brand while also adding some visual interest. Choose three to five main colors with a similar number of coordinating accent colors to give your visuals some personality. Also be sure that your colors have enough contrast. Not only does a high enough contrast make your text easier to read, but it’s also essential for your site’s accessibility.
- Have some variety, but not too much: With your logo, it’s a good idea to have different options that you can use for a variety of marketing channels (i.e. a printed variation, a digital variation, etc.). Try sticking with the same font but cycling through your color scheme or varying the size of your logo depending on where it appears. You may also consider using a logo generator.
Be prepared to adapt your visuals as the marketing landscape continues to change. Infographics, for example, have become a very popular way for nonprofits and activist organizations to convey their message on visual platforms like Instagram. You could use infographics on your own social media accounts to teach others about your cause.
Marketing Channels
As you craft your text and design your visuals, consider how you plan to disseminate your materials. The marketing channels that you use influence the tone you use or which visuals you select. Let’s take a look at some of your options:
- Email: Your nonprofit’s email campaigns should include a mix of visuals and text. Make sure that your subject line is interesting to increase open rates.
- Text: Text message campaigns are largely going to lack visuals. Keep your content straight to the point and make it as easy as possible for supporters to engage.
- Social media: Although it can vary depending on the platform, social media is a very visual channel. Images, interesting videos, and lots of creativity can help you stand out online.
- Direct mail: Whether you’re sending a fundraising letter or an event invitation, straightforward text and a clear call-to-action will serve you well here.
- Website: Your website brings it all together. Think of your site as the central hub to which all of your other channels should direct supporters. Include your best images and text, and make your story front and center.
Although you will want to vary your approach for each marketing channel, it’s also important that you maintain consistency across each platform. This way, donors will always know that they are in the right place because they will recognize your brand.
Audience
Understanding your target audience and their motivations is another important part of designing your brand. After all, your branding is designed with them in mind.
While you might have a primary audience in mind, remember that different audiences require different approaches. One benefit of taking a multi-channel marketing approach is that you can appeal to different audiences based on which channel they are most likely to use. For example, while direct mail might resonate better with an older demographic, launching a crowdfunding campaign on your social media accounts might better connect with a younger audience.
You could also vary your approach depending on how engaged a potential supporter is with your organization. Perhaps you have some educational content for supporters who are in the research phase and some giving-oriented content for donors who have already demonstrated their support for your organization.
No matter how you divide it, keeping your audience in mind as you develop your brand ensures that your marketing will connect with your base.
Your brand is one of the most important tools you can use to build stronger relationships with your supporters and to spread awareness about your cause. Remember, your brand is the best way to reflect everything that your nonprofit is about. Use it as an opportunity to forge new connections and unleash your creativity.
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Guest Post by Carl Diesing
Carl Diesing, Managing Director – Carl co-founded DNL OmniMedia in 2006 and has grown the team to accommodate clients with on-going web development projects. Together DNL OmniMedia has worked with over 100 organizations to assist them with accomplishing their online goals. As Managing Director of DNL OmniMedia, Carl works with nonprofits and their technology to foster fundraising, create awareness, cure disease, and solve social issues. Carl lives in the Hudson Valley with his wife Sarah and their two children Charlie and Evelyn.
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