Refreshing Your Nonprofit’s Brand
Many nonprofits have a strong name and reputation but still struggle with branding. Several have ventured into rebranding, but many choose to just “REFRESH.”
Top Reasons to Refresh:
- Logo, type, and/or palette looks outdated or old-fashioned
- Your look and tone are inconsistent with your agency’s brand personality
- Mission statement no longer describes what you do or how you do it in a distinct way
- Logo is being inconsistently utilized across medium
- Upgrading website, social media, and/or signage and want your communications to reflect your current brand strategy or a special anniversary
- Your logo is long/horizontal and gets reduced in social media square formats
- Developing a capital campaign or a special fundraising appeal, and want to retain branding equity, but make slight changes
Many of Growth for Good’s nonprofit clients have found that refreshing their brand improves their visibility and impact. Several claim their new look is attracting more talented employee applicants and donors.
We believe that this is because our branding process helps our clients develop a strong brand personality that resonates with their various audiences – clients, employees, and donors — on an emotional level that instills trust.
To start, we research the branding of our client’s competitors. This is essential to creating branding that differentiates nonprofits and makes a new brand more memorable.
Color theory should be applied to create a strong visual identity that conveys emotions. Research shows that color also increases brand recognition and can increase website conversion rates.
Take some time to assess your current brand and identify areas where you can make improvements. Before you head into a brand refresh, consider these key questions:
- Do you need a simple “evolution” like a fresh typographical treatment or rejuvenated graphic/icon?
- Do you need a true “revolution” with a rename, a new purpose statement, and/or a tagline that better defines your cause?
- Does your organization have a budget to work with a branding specialist to make our visuals appealing, effective, and consistent across our materials?
- Which stakeholders should be a part of developing our new branding to create ownership? Which staff, board, volunteers, and/or donors would find this process motivating?
- Do you have the staff, a lead volunteer, or a consultant to oversee this process and coordinate the necessary website, social media, enews, and communication material updates?
- Which part(s) of your name, past logo, or style are identifiable that should be preserved? Is there something that hurts or helps your reputation?
- How can your branding provide greater clarity on our mission? Do your graphics and photography express your success and vision for the best possible future?
- What colors, graphics, or photographic “look” has made you memorable or attractive? For example, do you use a color that’s not used by your competitors? Is there any part of your name or URL that is limiting, like “of New York City”? Are there other URLs that could be owned and redirected to increase search engine optimization?
If you are considering refreshing your nonprofit’s brand, please contact us to help you audit your communications. We would like to help you present your services and engage supporters in the most efficient and effective way possible. Click here to learn more about our marketing and fundraising services.
PHOTO CREDIT: Photo by Noah Näf and Markus Spiske on Unsplash
