Guest Post - Communicating Passion: The Art of Nonprofit Branding

It was 2008 when I began job hunting again after months at home as a new mom. My excitement was building at the chance to utilize my graphic design degree and help provide for my family. Whatever I did, I wanted it to be meaningful—a place to let my passion for the world be put to use.

Boy, did I find meaning. My first day on the job at Union Gospel Mission in Spokane, I joined my boss, Dave, on a photoshoot of a man named Clifford who was to be featured in our next newsletter. A dad of two young girls, he fought his way out of homelessness and addiction through UGM’s recovery program to become who they needed him to be. Every day, it seemed I was choking back tears as stories of life change were unfolding before me—and I was being paid to help tell these stories!? I couldn’t think of a better cause to put my design, branding, and photography skills to use.

(Clifford | 2009 | Past resident at Union Gospel Mission)

Simple and Strategic Communication

My guess is that if you’re reading this, you know this passion too. You wouldn’t be here if you didn’t want to expand the cause you’re giving hours of your life to. This is where the strength of a brand begins: it’s ignited with passion. But the power of passion is found when it’s simply and strategically communicated.

Have you ever heard someone give a speech or a sermon, and though you’re halfway through listening, you still aren’t sure where they’re going with it? They may speak with fervor and even intelligent language, but they keep circling around several topics and over-explaining. Then when you try to summarize the topic later, you can’t remember what the main idea was or if you even get it.

Brand messaging can be this way, especially for nonprofits. We want to share everything we do and say it all. We want to use every color of the rainbow! Who can blame us? But to build a strong, memorable presence, you must reign it in, narrow it down, then repeat simple messages over and over so the world gets it.

"But to build a strong, memorable presence, you must reign it in, narrow it down, then repeat simple messages over and over so the world gets it."  - Jessica Morgan, UGM Inland Northwest

Creating a Lasting Brand

My first year at UGM, I established a brand new visual identity for the organization including a logo, color palette, tagline, photo preset, and a high-quality typeface. I began the patient, strenuous journey of preaching the value of good branding, rallying leadership, and redesigning our website and materials to reflect the new us.

Many pushed back on the new brand standards I established—and some still do today. Because it’s hard to hold back the clutter of words and ideas that come with passion. It’s hard to be almost boringly repetitive on something you care about. But it’s worth it because people will hear and start to understand you better than ever.

It will be 15 years this fall since UGM rebranded, and it’s such a pleasure to see it all grown up, even more well-known, having tripled in staff and volunteers, with multiple new facilities, and reaching new cities throughout the Inland Northwest. Every year we refine and test new ways to make our brand simpler and clearer. Because the larger we get, the more succinct our brand needs to be—the more at risk we are for clutter and over-explaining. Below, I’ve provided some building blocks for shaping a simple, strong brand for your nonprofit.

Building Blocks for Your Brand

• Protect your visual identity by creating a brand standards manual. Your logo, colors, and photography should have boundaries. Make it clear to anyone creating materials what’s acceptable and what’s not. Your website, brochures, uniforms, and signs are not a place for self-expression, but brand-expression.
• Develop key brand language that everyone in the organization can use. You’re equipping people to describe what you’re all about. Eventually, your audience will start repeating it too. Here’s a simple structure for the kind of language you need: 
  • Tagline (8 words or less) – the most general yet on-point message about your cause.
  • 3-4 keywords that are specific, action-oriented, and categorize the services you offer. These words can be the infrastructure for your website, publications, blog articles, events, and presentations.
  • Short phrases that can be used under your keywords. These provide a slightly more detailed description of your services and more depth to your cause.
  • Calls-to-action to use at the end of emails, events, web pages, and social media posts. Create 5-8 phrases your team can pick from, depending on the channel, that give your audience a clear next step.
• Share authentic stories to show the truth behind your messaging. In the rise of AI, clickbait headlines, and review culture, testimonials hold more power than ever. The stories you share not only inspire your audience, but they provide credibility to your work.

Solid Branding Starts with Passion

I still think of Clifford’s story to this day. A few years ago, we reached out to him to see if he’d like to share his story once again in our fall campaign. With over fifteen years of sobriety, his family and career had grown in strength and stability. Seeing his daughters, now grown, reminded me of why I first wanted to work for a nonprofit: because of my passion to make the world better for family and loved ones.

(Clifford and his family | 2020)

Solid branding is ignited with passion. But how we channel and help others understand it will determine whether others will catch on—and get it.

James Bishop Co. Note: See Union Gospel Mission's brand (and life-changing ministry) in action!
Check out their Annual Report here.

 

Jessica Morgan

is the Director of Marketing and Communications for Union Gospel Mission Inland Northwest. She has been working in ministry marketing since 2009.