Many charity executives equate an organization’s brand with its logo, a cool color palette, and a set of identity guidelines — making consistency the main objective. But that’s no longer enough in today’s competitive giving environment.
A strong brand helps people understand what you do, why it matters, and how they can help.
More than that, your brand is the promise you make to your audience. It is the heart and soul of your organization. It is also the experiences you create, the personality you convey, the messages and stories you deliver, and the identity you express. In short, your brand captures and communicates your mission and distinct culture.
Ideally, your organizational image builds pride and inspires staff, donors, board members, corporate sponsors, community partners, and — perhaps most important ― those you serve.
Before you update your brand, define your goals. Figure out the problems you want to solve and the opportunities you want to capitalize on and how best to use your new brand – before you invest precious time and money.
4 Steps to a Powerful New Brand
For a successful rebrand, I recommend taking the following steps:
- Do research
- This must include an audit of your communications materials, channels, technology, and processes, as well as in-depth interviews with your staff, trustees, donors, volunteers, beneficiaries, and others involved in your group.
- Look at similar organizations, including those you view as competition, and asses how the economy is affecting those your serve, your ability to deliver services, the level of giving from donors, and the availability of government grants as well as foundation grants.
- Analyze all the data and distill it into insights that reveal your organization’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
- Use the findings to determine what direction to take your brand.
- Create your brand strategy
- Define your purpose by answering these questions in one succinct statement: Who are we? What do we do? How do we do it? Why does it matter?
- Develop a summary that defines your organization’s personality, voice, and tone. Choose the typography, a color palette, and photos that represent the style you want to convey.
Your brand strategy should guide you as you develop messages about programs, services, and fundraising. It should help staff members create vibrant and compelling stories about your work.
Use insights gained from your communication audit to give shape to your brand’s voice and tone, both what you say and how you say it. For instance, you may want to sound humble but not invisible, confident but not arrogant, inspiring but not unrealistic.
- Apply your strategy
- Design all the marketing, communications, and fundraising materials.
- Retool internal processes and, if needed, technology, such as upgrading your donor communication or marketing software to allow for easy customization of web pages and emails.
- Implement your brand
- Launch the rebrand with staff and board first, and then the world!
Once your nonprofit has a new logo, the perfect tagline that reflects the work you do, and a shiny new set of guidelines, make the most of them to help you find and keep more donors and improve fundraising results. For the Children’s Center in Detroit, for example, its new brand strategy has helped fundraisers present a more consistent message to prospective donors.
Having goals for a rebrand before you start and developing a strategy will help you build a brand that:
- inspires donor trust and confidence in your organization
- helps you attract and keep donors
- forges new corporate and community partnerships
- positions your organization as a leading authority
- empowers your board and staff to spread the word about your mission
- strengthens your ability to attract top employees
It can even serve as a springboard to expand and grow.
R. Trent Thompson is president of Thompson & Company, a global brand strategy firm that works exclusively with nonprofit organizations.