And you thought branding was just for Proctor & Gamble

Part 1

The Importance of Branding For Non-Profits

Many non-profits think that branding is reserved for Fortune 500 companies, or that branding is the exclusive domain of the private sector.  But savvy non-profits, large and small, realize the power of a genuine brand to influence development, thus enabling them to fulfill their mission.  Because they’re realistic about the intensely competitive philanthropic landscape, they make brand-building a priority in their strategic plan. They know that failure to create a genuine brand will have a negative impact on the most crucial aspect of non-profit life: fundraising. Therefore, they are adopting and applying the principles of branding that have long been employed by the private sector.

One of the challenges non-profits face in the quest to win hearts, minds and market share is their own in-bred bias against self-promotion. Nonprofiteers often consider activities like branding to be crassly commercial: something to be shunned; incompatible with their mandate, and an inappropriate or unnecessary expenditure of the organization’s dollars.  Branding and marketing are dirty words reserved for profit-driven corporations. It doesn’t sync with the lofty goals and missions of nonprofits.

However, unless you are a relevant, credible brand you will always be like Sisyphus…pushing the fundraising boulder uphill. Nonprofits who fail to build and nurture their brands risk languishing, or worse yet, laboring in obscurity.  The fact is:  people give to organizations they know, trust and like.

Often, too, there is a sense of entitlement among those who work for non-profits: “we do good work, so you should donate .”  But this attitude is out of touch with reality. Without brand value and awareness, nonprofits will not get their piece of the development pie. In the end, they risk jeopardizing their own mission. Nonprofits need to take branding seriously for the same reason Proctor & Gamble brands soap and dishwashing detergent: because consumers always have choices.

Wilesmith Advertising | Design is a integrated marketing firm focused on brand design, brand identity systems and integrated marketing communications for non-profit organizations.