Thinking About Rebranding Your Nonprofit? 3 Tips for Success

When you think about the term “brand identity,” you might envision well-known corporate logos and slogans that reflect their personality or products. But nonprofits have just as much to gain from having a strong brand identity that reflects their purpose. Though you aren’t out to make a profit, you are competing with other nonprofits for donations. Therefore, your fundraising success and ability to enact lasting change depends on your ability to stand out from the crowd.

That being said, if your brand no longer represents your organization’s values, it’s important to address it as soon as possible by rebranding yourself. This can be even more challenging than determining your original branding because you have to redefine your nonprofit to your existing community.

Fortunately, you can skip the headaches by using the following nonprofit rebranding strategies. Let’s explore the essentials of the rebranding process so you can tell your story, reach new audiences, and reconnect with existing ones.

What is a nonprofit brand?

Your brand is a critical part of your marketing strategy. Essentially, it’s your nonprofit’s personality. Your brand not only includes visual elements like your logo but also more abstract elements, like your voice and the values that you present to the world. Having a well-defined brand is important because it creates an identity your donors can connect with, which makes them more likely to donate and remember your organization.

Critical aspects of a nonprofit brand

Though every nonprofit’s brand is different, there are some critical aspects of your brand identity that are must-haves, such as:

Nonprofit graphic design elements, such as a logo, color schemes, and a distinct typography style
Name
Slogan
Mission and vision statements
Story/background
Tone/voice

One component of your nonprofit’s brand that deserves special attention is your emotional tie with your supporters. One of the biggest donation turnoffs is the lack of an emotional connection with an organization. Your nonprofit is responsible for forging this connection, so remember this emotional component while designing your new brand. Ask yourself, “How can we create a brand that will draw our supporters in and communicate that we value them?”

It’s critical that your nonprofit keeps all of these elements consistent across all of your content and profiles. For instance, you should use the same color scheme on your website that you use on your email newsletter. Consistency will establish trust and professionalism with your community.

Also, keep track of your branding guidelines in a living document that you can update regularly. This keeps your staff on the same page when designing new content and allows you to evolve your brand over time.

3 Tips to Successfully Rebrand Your Nonprofit

Now that you have an idea of what to look for, let’s discuss some tips and tricks to effectively launch your nonprofit’s rebrand.

1. Gauge your position

If you’re undertaking a rebrand, it’s critical to understand what parts of your brand you want to change, why you’re changing it, and how you’ll achieve the desired impact. This will help you discern how extensive your rebrand will be. For instance, it’s very different to simply devise a new color scheme for your website than to completely update your mission statement and the direction of your cause.

2. Understand the implications

Once you’ve determined what to update and why, you should have a firm grasp of how these elements will come across to your audience. The best way to do this is to research your target audience and ask existing supporters for guidance.

To capture prospective supporters’ perspectives, you can use a focus group. Gather a group of people with similar interests or demographical information and gauge how they feel about your brand elements. Then, you can make the necessary adjustments and try again to see if your brand is more appealing.

Don’t forget to get feedback from existing supporters about your brand’s new direction. They know your organization better than most and can offer an outside perspective of what works and what doesn’t. Above all else, be sure to ask them if your new brand feels authentic and conveys your organization’s unique qualities, as that’s what will attract supporters to your nonprofit.

3. Invest in the right resources

Whether you’re optimizing your website or brainstorming a new slogan, remember to invest in the right resources to achieve your goals, such as:

A CMS: Using a website builder such as WordPress allows you to customize your website to reflect your brand’s color scheme and post unique content to your website.
Graphic design tools: According to Double the Donation, there are numerous affordable graphic design tools that people of any skill level can use, such as Canva, DesignMantic, and Pexels. Some of these tools even create a logo for you according to your parameters. Plus, many of these platforms have a nonprofit discount so you can stay within your budget.
A marketing team: If you don’t already have a marketing team to hone your brand, consider expanding your staff to accommodate one. Even if you just bring on an intern to run your social media accounts, having someone on your team devoted to maintaining and spreading your brand and tracking your progress will help you succeed.

These are only a few of the tools available to broaden your brand awareness and consistency. Choose your tools based on your nonprofit’s specific goals for your new brand. For instance, you should invest in a graphic design service if your main goal is to make a new logo, but perhaps you wouldn’t invest in a new CMS.

Wrapping Up

With so much on the line, there’s no doubt that launching a nonprofit rebrand can be stressful and daunting. If you don’t know which rebranding strategies are best for your organization, consider working with a nonprofit marketing agency.

According to Fifty & Fifty, a nonprofit marketing agency can help you rethink and revitalize your brand. They’ll help you revise your brand, create new content, and expand your digital presence. Not only will they work for you, but they’ll also work with you to make sure they’re appropriately and authentically capturing your voice.

No matter which ways you choose to transform your brand identity, ensure that one part stays the same: your organization’s drive to change the world. As long as that aspect shines through, you’ll find and inspire the right audience.

Javan Van Gronigen, Founder and Creative Director of Fifty & Fifty

As Founder and Creative Director of Fifty & Fifty, Javan is the tip of the proverbial spear. Javan started his digital design career 20 years ago as Art Director for what is now one of the world’s largest digital agencies (Mirum, a JWT Company). He then moved on to Invisible Children where he was responsible for managing the team and all digital assets through the entire historic Kony 2012 campaign. At Fifty & Fifty, Javan has participated in and led every project, including 300+ websites, campaigns, and brands.