Building Impact Fundraising Capacity

The following article originally appeared in The NonProfit Times Live from bbcon newsletter. To subscribe to a future newsletter, visit http://www.thenonprofittimes.com/enewsletters/

Branding is more than just a logo. It is the image and impression that sits in someone's mind when your organization's name is mentioned.

Speaking during bbcon 2013, Blackbaud's Conference for Nonprofits in National Harbor, Md., Jamie Forbes of Opus Advisers and Alexandra Urbanowski of New Hampshire Public Radio helped attendees understand the value of building a brand within the nonprofit space and how it can impact fundraising.

New Hampshire Public Radio (NHPR) recently completed a rebranding project. With an outdated brand that didn't represent the diversity of programming and multi-platform approach that NHPR was taking, the organization needed a brand that better represented their mission and vision. They came up with a new logo and look and feel that not only captured the station's heritage, it also was more in keeping with the organization's new direction.

Outcomes included audience growth, brand and programming alignment, investment in multi-platform content delivery (mobile apps, web-only content, podcasting, and social media) and ultimately, donor and fundraising growth.

They shared the following tips with attendees:

• All organizations can benefit from strong branding. Brands that are represented consistent with the organization's mission have an easier time focusing and building audience.
• Branding is more than great visuals. It's the way your constituents describe to others your organization and its mission.
• Measurement is essential to understand your impact. Activities must support priorities, so it is imperative to define key metrics that drive your organization and create plans that are focused on driving those metrics.
• Develop tools that work for you. Not every organization is going to be successful at launching a social media campaign. Understanding your audience and the organization's mission will help define the tools you use to communicate.
• Focus on storytelling. Everyone has their own stories and personal connections to the mission. If a brand is really strong, those stories weave together in a way that communicates what that brand is all about.

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