5Although this term is usually used when discussing profit businesses, branding is equally as essential for nonprofits. Your brand is what comes to people’s mind when your organization is brought up. This affects your fund sourcing endeavours, your engagement and your public image.  The efforts you put into shaping and fixing up how people see your organization is Brand management.

Nonprofits and for-profits obviously have separate objectives, but then again, there are numerous brand tactics that are useful to both parties. These brand tactics can assist you in building new relationships and solidifying the ones already in your grasp. It is, however, possible you might already be utilizing one or more of these approaches. 

1. Stand out

Why should your organization be at the receiving end of aid rather than another?

That’s the question that pushes distinction. It’s impressive that there are lots of nonprofits dealing with societal issues; nonetheless, this also translates to foundations and donors having a wide array of choices to choose from to offer their assistance. And that is why it’s crucial to ensure your organization stands out.

If you happen to be the solitary nonprofit tackling a particular challenge, this is quite simple to do. Many organizations however have to deal with the issue of differentiating themselves from similar organizations. Look at the cause of giving everyone clean water for instance- hundreds of nonprofits exist in this area.

A way to distinguish your organization’s work is by highlighting its differences, like:

  • Your work location– Are you the only nonprofit working in a particular region?
  • Your approach- Is your problem solving strategy distinct from others?
  • Your aim – Do you have a particular objective that other organizations are not working at?

For instance, Bright Pink- a breast and ovarian health awareness organization- distinctively provides an assessment quiz to assist people to understand their possibilities of cancer. 

In this area, they are among the few organizations expressly concerned with early detection, and the competence to swiftly evaluate cancer risk online by way of a quiz that assists visitors keep them in mind as a valuable resource.

2. Give your Organization a Personal Feel

Personalization has turned into a core brand tactic for numerous organisations and businesses. Take Chipotle for example, people love that they get to supervise and decide everything their Chipotle meal is comprised of. This tactic is not new but it only recently started getting adopted by nonprofits.

Possibly, the most evident example of personalization is peer-to-peer fundraising. Supporters can set up their own page, feature their own images, tell their individual stories and reach out to their own family and friend. Initial adopters such as charity water and pencils of promise have shown that letting people create their personal campaigns can produce remarkable fundraising outcomes.

Another way to achieve personalization is by offering donors an array of programs or projects to contribute to. Through Kiva, for instance, donors get to decided who they give a microloan to and Moncus Park gives various choices to donors who wish to order assistance. Supporters are able to give an unconstrained gift or direct that their funds be put into selected projects. 

If you’re searching for additional touchpoints for sponsors, you should look at your communication approach. Do you create content tracks for particular supporter groups? Design donor personas and develop tailored communications to assist each person feel the content you offer is customised to their prior actions as well as their interests. 

3. Relatability

The ability to relate to another individual is vital to creating a bond, and it’s also as vital that your benefactors can relate to themselves and the persons you give assistance.

If a person picks interest in your mission, they are likely to go to your website’s how “you can help” page. If all they see there are details and pictures of big donors and celebrities, they may (subconsciously or consciously) assume you don’t need their help because they don’t have loads of money or fame.  But if your “how to help “page shows small fundraisers, donors and volunteers, it gives the impression that anyone can support your cause. 

It’s essential to display that anyone can be influential to your cause. Utilize your blog, website and social media to showcase persons contributing to your mission.

In the instance below:

Charity: water appreciates their fundraisers in a thank you message on Valentine’s Day.

Being relatable also shows up when you discuss the people your projects assist. A possible supporter may not feel they share anything with a man living in your homeless shelter until you talk about how he’s a father who was laid off during the recession. Information like this can facilitate people’s relatibility to your organization’s helpees. 

4. Draw on the Emotions 

Appealing to your supporters driving emotions can immensely help in tearing down indifference and inaction. This goes hand in hand with the notion of relatibility.  For instance, when people are able to connect with and relate to natural disaster victims, they can feel the victim’s pain and insecurity. Sympathy is a major propeller of charitable contribution. 

You can also emphasize the positive feelings that result from lending a helping hand. This might be shown through feature posts or supporter testimonials on your blog that spotlight donors and volunteers. Demonstrate to your audience that supporting your cause is emotionally fulfilling for benefactors as well. 

5. Be an Innovative Lead

Lastly, placing your organization as an innovative and advancing nonprofit can be an efficient brand tactic. Although there are individuals who would rather support more conventional or traditional charities, implementing fresh approaches can pull in people who probably weren’t previously interested in your cause. 

For instance, Because International’s brand mainly focuses on innovation as a theme. They have even integrated it into their goal – to apply innovation to improve things. Their program – a 2017 Classy Award recipient- The Shoe That Grows, is a creation that increases by five sizes, lasting for about five years. 

If innovative leading is a core element of your nonprofit branding, look at what moves you can make to enhance it and make sure your audience sees you as a front runner in your sector. 

Your organization has a brand regardless if you have been deliberately growing or not. The impressions and notions people have regarding your nonprofit can influence your engagement, integrity and fundraising. Look at how you can apply some of these brand tactics for nonprofits to impact how the public sees your organization.