In our last post, my co-founder Zach talked about how external cultural and market forces can affect nonprofits while in the process of making major strategic changes to your organization’s approach. Though it can be stressful, the most exciting opportunities are the ones where an organization’s leadership sees an opportunity to widen their impact – and how to boldly step into a new vision and position with elevated brands and strategic plans.
Here at Mission Minded, our own re-brand offers the perfect example. We took a fresh look at our brand strategy because our services and their impact had expanded. and our reputation hadn’t kept pace. When we delved into the research and revisited what our clients love most about partnering with us, we recognized an opportunity. Our brand needed to take an even bigger leap to better align with our values and the cultural zeitgeist that shapes how we’re perceived.
Here’s how are just some of the cultural and market forces that shaped Mission Minded’s elevated brand and how we predict they’ll impact and shape foundational strategies for your organization.
All politics are national, and now all competition is, too
When we founded Mission Minded, we built our reputation — our brand — with geographic emphasis. (Shout out to our earliest supporters in San Francisco and then Denver!) This was true even though we’ve always been a fully remote team without a physical headquarters. Our “virtual” nature gave us an early advantage as national and international organizations recognized our expertise.
The market has evolved, and today we find dozens of comparison firms working in the space we helped create. Now you’ll find an abundance of strategic and creative expertise in the nonprofit and education sectors just one click away on the web. A nonprofit in Texas might be checking out websites of a strategy firm in Idaho, and another in New York. In that context, we knew the Mission Minded’s own brand had to stand for something more than brand expertise.
Many nonprofit organizations, and particularly post-secondary educational institutions, find themselves in a similar situation. Your earliest supporters and students may have come from a specific geographic territory. Your programs — your expertise — were likely the only game in town. But now the audiences most important for your future success can find dozens of alternate, similar providers via a search bar on Google.
More organizations are doing the same work. You may have been the trailblazer once, but now you’re just one in a field of copycats. The key questions: What makes you distinctive? What can you own that’s of value? Where’s the opportunity to leapfrog ahead?
Your audiences expect more
Another facet of our market that drove our brand’s evolution is the increased expertise and sophistication of our clients. Leaders and professionals working within nonprofits, foundations, associations, K-12 schools, and higher education have watched and learned, adopting branding and marketing strategies from the corporate world.
Twenty-five years ago, Mission Minded spent a lot of time educating leaders about what a nonprofit brand was and why brand mattered. Since then, the appreciation for the value and the necessity of a strong brand has grown. And, as referenced above, the wealth of free educational resources available allows anyone with an interest to research strategic frameworks, messaging best practices, and more. Today we can begin the conversation at a more advanced level. And we’ve seen our partnerships get stronger because our clients are bringing their own expertise and experience to the table.
That same trend applies to your organization, too, in two key ways.
First, because there’s so much knowledge and so many tools out there, other organizations in your space have likely strengthened their brands, developed savvier strategic plans, and executed compelling communications campaigns. The competition is stiffer. Which means, if you hope to invite more people into your cause or community, it’s more important than ever for you to stand apart and stand out.
Second, your audiences are coming to you more knowledgeable and educated about the work you do. They’ve scrolled through the stream of blog posts, podcasts, trend pieces, and advocacy content about your subject matter. They’re bringing you different questions and challenges than you may have received in the past. Your organizational strategies, communications approaches, and leadership style all need to reflect a changing relationship with your audiences.
It’s time to get clear on what DEI means for what you do
Black Lives Matter and other social change movements have successfully focused worldwide attention on the structural racism and injustice that permeate and persist in our culture.
Like many other organizations, Mission Minded reflected on how our work may contribute to and uphold harmful, racist, and marginalizing power dynamics. We made commitments to positive change and more equitable practices.
Our updated brand and messages further this commitment by uplifting collaboration and inclusion as central to our thinking. This expansion of the ways we share power and co-create with our clients and the communities they serve better activates our promise of equity. It also, quite frankly, is more relevant and impactful than simply signaling your solidarity with a policy statement.
I imagine that by now your nonprofit or school has been called upon to confront your own biases and inequities. From boardroom diversity to representation in marketing to recalibrating programs and operations, your foundational organizational strategies must reflect a commitment to equity and inclusivity that is woven into so much more than what you say — it must be what you do.
The strongest brands must deliver
One through-line of much of the above is that strategic branding has been a wildly successful way for nonprofits and schools to advance their missions. To further capitalize on its full potential, you have to see your brand as much more than marketing… it’s an organizational north star to guide your way.
At Mission Minded, we’ve been talking for years about brand activation. Strong brands should consider not just how they look and what they say, but also how they act and what they do. That’s why we grew our offerings to incorporate strategic planning and leadership coaching. They are the missing pieces you need to deliver on your visionary brand promise.
When aligned with your brand, your strategic plan will tell your organization’s story. You connect audiences to your impact and the mission you exist to achieve. You elevate and leverage your goals and outcomes instead of retelling the operational business of achieving them. With urgency and visionary thinking, you can inspire leaders and stakeholders alike, so they understand and embrace your work. They’ll be primed to revolutionize the way you think about and work toward impact.
And when you understand and feel excited about your own leadership style, your confidence soars. That’s when you’re best equipped to inspire and energize your community. One-on-one coaching helps leaders better step into their power. Leaders who recognize their expertise and find their fuel position themselves to achieve their mission in an evolving world.
One and Done Isn’t Enough
Too many organizations invest in brand strategy, but neglect ongoing brand execution. Rebranding isn’t a one-time strategic initiative. It kicks off a new way of thinking and being. It makes you ask “What if?” every day. “How I can show up even more on-brand than yesterday?” When you ask “What if?” constantly, change becomes normal.
That’s why we will also continue to evolve and expand our visual identity following this first phase of our launch. Expect our visual identity to change. Expect all of our materials and communications to become even bolder, gutsy, and more energizing over time.
Gutsy thinking that gets results
Mission Minded has identified a few more cultural trends we are seeing that are impacting nonprofit and education brands. Are you wrestling with how to meet this moment while living your values? Retaining and re-inspiring your staff? Rekindling trust with your most important audiences? Read Trust Matters: Cultural & Market Forces Driving Strategic Reinvention or watch our free webinar:
Cultural & Market Forces to Watch: What’s Driving the Strategic Reinvention Imperative?
Thursday, June 20, 2024
12:30-1:15 pm PT/3:30-4:15 pm ET
My co-founder Zach Hochstadt and I spotlighted the ways we see your landscape shifting. Your organization can leverage new opportunities to further your mission and impact, even as the leadership challenges you face keep evolving!
Let us be your partner in navigating this shifting landscape and spotlightling your path to greater impact. At Mission Minded, our vision is nonprofits and schools that make the world better have what they need to succeed.