Why Branding is needed for non profit and social impact work Fourthleap August 31, 2021
Why Branding is needed for non profit and social impact work

WHAT IS BRANDING?

A brand is not a logo. A brand is not a product. A brand is not a promise. A brand is not the sum of all the impressions it makes on an audience. A brand is a result–it’s a person’s gut feeling about a product, service or company. A brand is your reputation, it is who you are what you stand for. Branding is as vital to the success of a business as having financial coherence, having a vision for the future, or having quality employees.

There is usually the misconception that Branding is only useful and vital for corporate or business profit organizations when in actual sense non profit organisations also need branding and even more than profit making organisations because they tend to have larger audiences as their target to communicate too.

However, a non profit/social impact organisation as the name implies is a not for profit organisation that does not earn any profit for its owners instead the organization donates the money it receives to help fund the organization’s objectives and goals towards social impact and development to communities .

NEED FOR BRANDING FOR SOCIAL IMPACT/NON PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS

As earlier stated, branding is not exclusively for profit making organisations/ business as every organisation needs an identity hence why branding is important for all. Non profits organisations really need a strong brand that will communicate their values, objectives and mission. As a social impact / non profit organisation, talking about your programmes, implementation, who you serve e.t.c is good but more importantly introducing your organisation, its brand and what you stand for is essential, that way it will be easier to convince your audience to listen more and even contribute to your projects. Chances that you recognize the logos of brands you see everyday are high. For example, everyone knows the Coca cola logo or the iconic Apple logo. Their branding is strong and distinctive enough that you may also instinctively trust those brands because you know them, and they’re familiar, so you might be more likely to pick something with their brands than one you’ve never heard of. And although you might think this kind of brand recognition is only for big companies, the truth is it’s just as applicable to your nonprofits. when your organisation is properly well represented and unique, you will tend to attract an audience which can lead to donations e.t.c.

After all, you will recognize the colours and fonts used by the Red Cross, your materials should be just as recognizable and just as cohesive. All of this ties into one overarching concept: nonprofit branding. Branding is, essentially, a way of telling a story about yourself to strangers. Branding your nonprofit boils down to the visual and written way you communicate who you are and what you do. It’s a way to communicate the cause you work towards, and the approach you take towards this cause. And the story you tell depends on many different factors. The colors you pick can help tell your audience if you’re modern or outdated. A font can show that you’re a caring, hands on nonprofit or a clinical, research-based organization.

Although you might wonder why it’s necessary to focus on branding when you have so many other projects going on, having a strong brand is crucial to distinguish yourself from your competition. In an increasingly crowded sector, utilizing your brand to tell the best story about yourself is possibly one of the easiest ways to differentiate yourself from other organizations in order to attract donations, sponsorship and even top talent.
In both cases, if they buy into the story you are telling about your nonprofit, they can buy into you and even partner just as they would to any business. More so than other industries, nonprofits need to be considered in their branding in order to make sure that they are presenting themselves in a way that is appropriate for their overall goals. Many nonprofits rely on donations or sponsorships, so it’s important to create a brand that is robust enough for multiple purposes — most commonly fundraising, activation, and impact. It’s also really important to consider audience buy in when developing your brand identity.

In Conclusion, Branding is an essential aspect for all businesses as it is very necessary to state your values and mission as a company either as a profit or non profitable organization in order to achieve the set goals and objectives of the firm 

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