Movementum Moment – Episode 7
When you tell someone your nonprofit’s name do they know who you are? Even more important can they state in one sentence what you do?
From my experience, many nonprofits take a narrow approach to brand management by seeing it primarily as a tool for fundraising. However, a growing number are moving beyond that approach to explore the wider, strategic role that a brand can play.
The four primary reasons your brand strategy is critical to your long-term success are first, a strong brand helps you stand out from the crowd and makes your organization memorable. Second, your brand is critical to building trust within your target market. Third, it will help increase engagement and build stronger demand for supporters and donors. And finally, a strong brand brings together all of the pieces of the organization aligning the internal identity and external images providing consistency, increased awareness, and common support from all constituents.
Creating a strong brand builds on your nonprofit’s vision and creates a clear path you intend to take now and in the future that clearly conveys who you are. It must be simple and clear in effectively telling your message about what makes you unique. The perception someone has about your nonprofit is based on all of the touchpoints they experience when learning about or dealing with your organization. It’s based on the equity your brand creates through messages, outreach, participation, and all forms of marketing.
The three main components of creating a strong and consistent brand include your brand positioning, personality, and identity. All of these must be in synch. Your brand positioning must answer the questions of who, how, and why. It must clearly state who you serve, how you solve their problem and why you can do it better than anyone else. Your brand personality must build on the character traits that are consistent with your organization’s value and primary traits such as sincerity or excitement. And finally, your brand identifiers such as your logo, color choices, and other forms of visual representations must resonate with your audience.
You must make your nonprofits brand tangible in the eyes of your supporters. And no matter where they see your nonprofit’s message; whether it’s on a sign, social media, or by meeting one of your board members, it must remain consistent. Remember, it’s about building trust to drive increased awareness, engagement, and yes, donations.
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