Every organization has to stand out in a meaningful way to be successful.  This is no less true of nonprofit organizations than any other.  Nonprofits must gain the support of donors, volunteers, partners, funders, served communities, staff persons, elected officials, journalists and many others.  The principles of branding — the art and science of standing out in a meaningful way — are essential.

The need for better branding is often an “aha moment” realized in the pursuit of a narrower goal:

• We need more donors.
• Our elevator speech isn’t working.
• The logo looks dated.
• We need a new website.
• No one has heard of us.
• Our main brochure lacks punch.
• Our messaging seems too inconsistent.
• The tagline just doesn’t capture us.
• We need to do more fill-in-the-blank-new-marketing-activity.
• We seem to be falling behind other groups.
• Why is it so hard to describe what we do? 

A well-articulated brand makes just about everything you do more compelling to those whose support you need.

Successful branding in nonprofit organizations has challenges.  Mission statements must be boiled down.  Small budgets have to act like big budgets.  Diverse constituencies need to be brought into alignment.  Activities need to be measured and evaluated.  Obstacles to implementation must be overcome.  And, at the end of the day the branding effort needs to respect the dual bottom lines — the mission of the organization and the ability to attract the financial resources needed to accomplish it.

The good news is that, whether you realize it or not, you already know the essence of your "brand proposition."  That’s the first step to creating a stronger brand.