How to brand your non-profit oranization

Branding for a non-profit organization may not seem ultimately as important as branding for a profit organization would, as in a for profit organization you depend on your branding to eventually bring in and bring back customers (thus sustaining the life of your business). Branding is equally important in a nonprofit organization as well though (depending on what you hold as important can even be more important). A well branded nonprofit organization will have more success with raising funds and ultimately be able to help more people through the use of those funds.

So how does one go about branding their nonprofit organization? The process is similar to building a for-profit brand name. The most important part of your branding is going to be the name of your organization. This is how people will recognize you and eventually learn to put their trust in you so it is important you pick a unique name that is going to let people know exactly who you are.

Because the name of your organization holds so much importance and will eventually tell people how much trust they can put in you, it is best if you decide on a name with a team. Gathering as a team you write down your goals for your organization, and how you individually see those goals. You may be surprised that the little guy in the corner may be the one to have the most unique perspective on your goals; you will never know this though if you don't invite him in. Your title does not necessarily have to reflect where your company is headed so long as it is unique and people can easily remember it. For example the Amber Alert, does not necessarily tell you it was designed to immediately notify the public when a child goes missing, but was instead named after one of those children who when missing. Naming your organization after the founder, or the person who gave you the idea for the organization, may help people to remember you better in the future.

After naming your organization it would be helpful to come up with a logo. This logo will identify you to donors and recipients, and can even be used to help further your donations. For example the Breast Cancer Society has the logo of a pink ribbon. This pink ribbon is now immediately recognized in society as being related to the Breast Cancer society and the more often people see this logo, or symbol, the more often they are going to think of that organization, especially at times of donation.

After naming you organization, and deciding on a logo, decide on a spokes person. Many for profit organizations use celebrities to lure the customers in (such as Anna Nicole and Trim Spa) and many nonprofit organizations do the same. However, where using a celebrity may help increase sales greatly in a for profit organization, it may be more beneficial for you to name as your spokesperson someone who can identify on a more personal level with the public in general, and who has had to experience the help your organization will be giving. For instance, in raising funds for the Amber Alert, Amber standing in front of an audience telling her story is going to do more good than having someone like a young Dakota Fanning standing up and telling someone Else's story. Though as a celebrity Dakota Fanning may be admired, having not experienced the problem herself, she will not touch on your donors emotions in the same way.

Once your organization has been named, a logo has been designed, and a spokesperson elected, then it is time to get out and do some public relations (as far as the branding of the organization goes). Your spokesperson will need to spend most of their time and energy getting themselves into the media, getting your story told, and helping people to recognize who you are. The more avenues of media you can use the better. Your public relations team needs to be working hard to make sure your spokesperson not only appears in ads and in the paper, but in television and radio interviews, magazines, and events as well.

Branding your nonprofit organization is very important to the future of your organization. No matter the good you are capable of doing, if you don't have a strong brand name you will not get the trust from the public, or the funding necessary to accomplish that good.

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