If people don’t know what your organization does and the impact it has, why should they give your money, join, volunteer, or use your services? Well, branding tells them why. It’s an investment in communicating value.
“For a small nonprofit working on a limited budget, every dollar spent on marketing equates to a dollar that isn’t spent on the organization’s core mission.”
Wrong!
Brand Visibility
That unfortunate paragraph was the start of a Pensacola News Journal story about the very generous donation to a nonprofit in Pensacola, FL. of $100,000 worth of branding work by idgroup.
The founder of Chain Reaction, the lucky nonprofit, expects the organization’s membership will triple over the coming years as a result of the branding effort. She also thinks her staff and volunteers will be able to devote more time to their overall goal.
How is that a loss to the organization’s core mission? Well, it’s not. The real lead should have been, “For a small nonprofit working on a limited budget, every dollar spent on targeted marketing can equate to multiple dollars to spend on the organization’s core mission.”
The services donated by idgroup allowed the nonprofit “to be more visible in the community, so that it can ultimately do more good for the community,” Kristin Fairchild, Chain Reaction’s founder, said.
The visibility was achieved through a new brand strategy and website as well as radio and TV ads, and billboards, among other things, all of which are important parts of getting your nonprofit’s message out and bringing in donations.
Brand Identity
But, based on other comments in the article, I’m willing to bet that the biggest value for Chain Reaction was establishing its brand identity, something that nonprofits often take for granted. As Fairchild said, determining your core mission sounds simple but putting it into words is difficult. With the guidance of professionals, it took Chain Reaction three months of talking with stakeholders to home in on its core mission: teen leadership.
Three months for an organization founded 11 years ago to determine its core mission. Not at all uncommon and one reason that nonprofits should take a serious and regular look at their missions, visions, values, and programs. Time, technology, funding, and demographics all change, subtly changing the way organizations operate and what they are achieving.
A brand review allows you to re-focus and, once focused, showcase your organization’s real strengths and value. Building awareness of those strengths and of the value your organization has can inspire support of all kinds.
Now, how is that “money not spent on your organization’s core mission?”
