Nonprofits today are thinking about their brands more and more, and that’s a good thing. They’re looking closely at the stories they’re telling, the experiences they’re creating, and the way people feel about them. Those perceptions, feelings, stories, and experiences all make up their brand in the minds of other people.
Nonprofits often say, “We need to rebrand,” or “Our brand is outdated and needs to be refreshed.” What they’re really saying is: “Something isn’t right, and we need to look at how we show and tell people what we’re all about.”
A clear, unified brand is a strong tool that can deepen connections with supporters, donors, funders, and partners. But what exactly is a “brand”, and how can you build a strong one?
What is a Brand?
Brand development can be complex—there are lots of moving and interconnected parts—from internal culture to external communications. An organization’s website is arguably the most important touchpoint where people’s perceptions are first formed—through the stories they tell, how they talk about their mission and purpose, and how they present themselves visually.
Here’s a clear way to look at how your organization develops its brand:
Your organization’s Mission and Vision create the basis for your existence. They speak to your purpose. That informs your Brand Strategy, which plays two key roles. One, it shapes your Brand Identity—what you look, sound, and feel like. Two, it guides Brand Experiences across every touchpoint. Together, they build people’s perception of you, their feelings about you, and any associations they have with your organization. All of this together is your Brand.
The word “brand” is both a noun and a verb. As a noun, it’s the perception someone has of your organization. If you exist as an organization, you already have a brand—it’s what your audience says it is. So for instance:
- “They’re great to work with.”
- “They’re stodgy and outdated.”
- “I have no idea what they do.”
- “They seem very… corporate.”
- “Seems like they’re only talking to major donors.”
- “They’re fighting for something I believe in.”
- “Nobody else is doing this.”
- “They make me feel like I’m actually making a difference.”
As a verb, it’s the work you put into building those perceptions. Brand development is a journey from intention to expression, from private truth to public perception. That could include:
- Choosing a color palette and design style that fits the issue areas you work in.
- Writing out how you want people to feel when they’re partnering, volunteering, donating, or supporting you—then making sure your values help drive those feelings.
- Banishing jargon from all your communications.
- Sending followup “Thank You” notes to every donor, no matter how much they give.
Start with Brand Strategy
Brand development shouldn’t be left to chance. Brand Strategy is a set of foundational strategies, decisions, and actions intentionally designed to make the right impression and create great experiences. Many organizations hire an outside brand strategist to lead this work because they’re often too close to their own organization. They hire someone to look holistically at the entire system and find out what people really think and feel. You may have heard the expression: “It’s impossible to read the label from inside the jar.” That’s exactly what we’re talking about.
For organizations wanting to get a handle on this—either before hiring outside help or starting the process on their own—here’s where you can start. As you’ll see, these foundations are all connected, and they influence how people understand your work and feel about your organization.
Your Core Brand
Your core brand is made up of your most deeply-held beliefs and shared human truths. Your organization’s mission and vision carry your purpose and reason for being. These make up the foundation for your Brand Strategy. Start with the “why” behind your work:
- Deeply-held Beliefs: Start with “We believe…” and write down your non-negotiables and the shared human truths that guide your work.
- Mission: Be clear who you serve and what you do for them. Don’t try to pack too many details into this statement. The more details you include, the less flexibility you’ll have to shift your strategies as the world changes. What parts of your mission statement need to be revised or reworked? Cut anything that clouds your message.
- Vision: Paint a vivid picture of the future. What does this new world look like? Use tangible and measurable details so people know it when they see or experience it.
- Origin Story: Your origin story is a direct link to your purpose. For some organizations, it’s a North Star that stays fixed. For others, it’s a story of progress, change, and growth. How does your own organization’s origin story keep you grounded and on the right path? How does it connect to your current story?
Next, move on to the specifics of how you achieve your mission:
- The Work We Do: This is one of the most important things for every organization to say clearly. It’s also an easy place to find jargon hiding, causing confusion for people outside your sector. Put yourself in the shoes of a journalist reporting only the facts. Be specific about what you do. Instead of saying “capacity building,” tell people what you specifically do to build skills, knowledge, or processes. Include the details of who you do this work for, what the outcomes are, what success looks like, and why this matters to your mission.
- Functional & Emotional Benefits: People are driven by logic and emotion. Showing both the functional and emotional benefits of your work creates depth for everyone who interacts with you. Functional benefits include things like the number of meals you distribute each year, who you partner with, how much money you give in grants, or the fact that you offer flexible volunteer schedules. Emotional benefits might include the feeling of hope in the face of climate anxiety, a sense of community and solidarity, safety and trust while making healthcare decisions, knowing you’re helping to end the cycle of poverty, or feeling valued for your contribution of time or money. Compelling brands connect to both the heart and mind.
- Strengths: One of the key things any organization must say clearly is why they are trusted to lead in a specific issue area. Your strengths can range from your past achievements to the specific qualities you look for in new hires, your network of funders, your unique approach or process, and more.
Your Audiences
Simply put, your audiences are the people you work with, partner with, and work on behalf of. They won’t all get an equal share of your attention or your messaging, but they’re all essential for your brand strategy. Once you identify your audiences, rank them in order of how important they are to achieving your mission and vision, creating primary and secondary audiences. Then, start brainstorming about each primary audience:
- Goals and challenges: What problems are your audiences trying to solve? What does it mean to them for your organization to help solve their challenges?
- Who are they? Think about demographics, like their job, the types of places they live, nationalities, language. Jot down anything that’s relevant to where, when, why, and how you connect with them.
- Beliefs: Think about their behaviors, values, beliefs, and attitudes. These can help you form deeper connections and serve them better.
- Value Exchange: Think about what each audience needs and what you have to offer them. Then, explore what each audience has that you need. This is the basis of forming a relationship that provides benefits both ways.
- Promises: For each audience, write out what you promise to them. Do you promise you’ll always be a reliable source of information? That you’ll be good stewards of their donations or funding? That you’ll always listen and advocate for their dignity?
Shape A Holistic Brand Experience
From here, your Brand Strategy drives how your organization presents itself—in visuals, words, tone, and across different touchpoints. Each of these influences people’s perceptions of your organization.
- Feelings first: The best place to start is by asking: “How do we want people to feel when they work with us?” You’re looking to influence someone’s experience, which is largely based on their feelings. Do you want them to feel valued, powerful, connected, safe, heard?
- Values second: Next, ask: “What must we value to create those feelings?” For example, to create feelings of safety and trust, you must value honesty, transparency, and clear communication in everything you do.
- Personality: Brand personality shows up in your voice and tone—how you sound when you speak and write. Are you warm and approachable? Bold and direct? Thoughtful and measured? Your personality should feel like a natural extension of your values and the feelings you want to create. List out these attributes. Focus on your ideal personality and attributes so you can compare them to your current communication style and make adjustments.
- Visual Expressions: Design elements carry their own emotional weight. To communicate urgency and power, you might use colors like red and black paired with a bold, sans-serif typeface in all caps. An educational organization might take a softer stance, using blues and classical serif typefaces. I’ve worked with educational organizations that use bright, vibrant, and joyful colors because they want people to see the joy in teaching and learning.
- Visual Storytelling: The photographs you use tell stories of their own. When you choose images that depict people with dignity and agency, for example, you’re making strategic brand decisions that reinforce and represent your beliefs.
Make It Real with Brand Touchpoints
Your brand strategy is most effective when it shows up consistently across major touchpoints where people are engaging with you:
- Website: Your website is perhaps your most important brand asset. Is it well-organized or cluttered? Can your content and resources be easily accessed and used on mobile devices? Does it reinforce the feelings and perceptions you wish to convey, or is it working against them? Do people quickly know who you are, what you do, what you’ve accomplished, and why it’s important?
- Donor experience: Do you make donors feel essential and appreciated, or is the experience transactional? How do you say “Thank you”?
- Email communication: Are your emails informative? How do you welcome a new subscriber? Do they build on your promises to your audience, or are they disorganized and try to cover all topics for all audiences?
- Everything else: Extend this thinking to how you handle in-person events, interviews, social media, annual reports, and more.
Keeping Your Brand Alive
Your brand is both what people say about you and the work you do to shape those perceptions. The noun—your brand—lives in the minds and hearts of everyone who encounters your organization. The verb—branding—is your ongoing commitment to being intentional about it in everything you do. Strong brands are built over time through consistent action that reinforces who you are and why your work matters.
About the Author
Paul Sternberg is the principal strategist, designer, and WordPress builder at Me&Paul, where he specializes in helping smaller nonprofits and social entrepreneurs clarify, communicate, and lead from their core brand. Drawing on almost two decades of agency leadership—including co-founding a digital agency and making the Inc. 5000 two years in a row—Paul guides organizations and teams through brand strategy, digital experience design, and website development that turns missions into meaning and momentum.