Brands have tremendous reach and widespread potential. And they are not confined to toothpaste, coffee or soda. A strong nonprofit brand presence does more than just resonate with constituents. It connects staff, board members, donors and volunteers to the values and mission of the organization. From American Red Cross to Charity Water, successful charities owe a lot to the development of a powerful brand. A strong brand is more than just a name. It’s the essence of an organization.

Your nonprofit brand is much more strategically significant than you might realize. All your programs and services are required to deliver on the promise of the brand, on the expectations that a particular supporter or set of constituents has regarding your nonprofit, its reputation, and what they expect when they give money, donate their time or seek out services. A brand is a relationship between donors and a nonprofit, between supporters and a cause, and, like all relationships, it requires investment to get significant returns. Nonprofits, like for-profits, can harness the power and rewards that come from having a strong and unique brand.

Below are a few tips to help you create a strong brand for your nonprofit.

1. Unique. The brand must grab people’s attention. For example, social media allows your nonprofit to have a presence on many networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and Change.org. However, these networking sites will only let you customize your pages within certain parameters. Usually, they display their own logo along your profile and pages. Therefore, your brand needs to be unique. The user should be able to set apart your brand within a few seconds of visiting your pages.
2. Emotional connection. Your brand should trigger a positive emotional response. The world is full of distractions and linking your brand with an emotion helps etch a nonprofit into peoples’ minds. Branding should evoke in supporters thoughts and emotions associated with the work of your nonprofit. Supporters create positive expectations based on previous experiences with your organization. If your brand can trigger those positive emotions, supporters will be more likely to make a donation, volunteer their time and spread the word about your nonprofit. The more supporters associate your brand with a positive experience, the more the value of your brand (and organization) increases.
3. Consistency. Consistency is of the utmost importance when attempting to pair a certain look and feel with an organization. Using a consistent brand is an essential element for building a strong brand as it enables supporters to easily remember your nonprofit, its qualities and what they cherish about it. The Red Cross is a good example of brand management. The organization was born in 1881 and has consistently displayed the mark with the same emblem for over 130 years.
4. Select the right keywords and images. The selection of words and images to distinguish your nonprofit is one of the first steps in a branding strategy. The words and images chosen to represent your organization are often crucial to the success of your branding efforts.
5. Commitment to your brand. Include your logo and tag-line on all interaction that occurs on behalf of the organization. Every brochure, annual report, e-newsletter, wall post and photo should exude the nonprofit’s brand.
6. Keep it simple. Although a brand should be eye-catching, avoid clutter. The most recognizable brands use just one or two words in stylized text over a plain background; think Oxfam International, Save the Children and Autism Speaks.

A good nonprofit brand is, at a minimum,  unique, pleasing to the eye and ear, easy to remember and evocative of the work it does.  A strong brand identity benefits your nonprofit as it aligns supporters with your mission and can help deepen their commitment as donors, volunteers and advocates.

Related posts:

1. Making Social Media Work for Your Nonprofit
2. Twitter Tips for Sucessful Nonprofit Fundraising
3. List Your Nonprofit in the GuideStar Exchange
4. Formulating a Sucessful Social Media Strategy for Your Nonprofit
5. The Nonprofit Power User Guide to Google Docs