Times are changing—rapidly! Are your messages keeping up? The echoes of COVID-19 still linger, the ongoing nationwide reckoning with racism pushes forward, and American politics invite weekly whiplash. Not to mention the number of people changing jobs and cities, resulting in organizational changes whether you want them or not. No matter your organization’s mission, the
Category: Brand Strategy
Find More Happiness at Work Using Your Values
As you plan how you want your next year to go, put your values front and center. So many of us who work for value-driven organizations miss the opportunity to think deeply about our personal values and how those may or may not align with our daily reality. We try to separate our personal lives
Out-Of-Office Emails That Are On-Brand
With Thanksgiving and Winter Break around the corner, your out-of-office email is one simple yet powerful touch-point you can take advantage of to communicate your organization’s brand and values. When we think about where or how we can activate our brand, we often first look towards our formal communications, digital platforms, and fundraising events. But
How to Get People Excited About Your New Brand
For your brand to be successful, it must do more than just stand out — it needs to invite in. A strong brand strategy, fresh and relevant messaging, and a true-to-you visual identity are all key steps in drawing more people to your work. And when it’s time to delight your community with your new
What’s So Special About You?
In my town, we have a coalition called Community Organizations Active in Disaster. It’s a group of nonprofit and government organizations that is incredibly helpful as we navigate earthquakes, wildfires and, sadly, shootings. It works because each agency knows what makes them different from the others, so when disaster strikes they each have a specific
7 Questions To Make Your Messaging More Inclusive
If your organization has made the serious and authentic commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, it’s time to make sure your communications reflect your mission, vision, and values—and your understanding of the work ahead. Yet it’s not uncommon for even the most committed and well-intentioned communicator to inadvertently reinforce negative stereotypes that perpetuate racism, exclusion,
Three Nonprofit Brands That Stand Out and What You Can Learn from Each
Brand is just another word for reputation and every organization has one by default, whether or not you manage it well or how your logo looks. Your brand lives in the minds of your audiences. It’s the culmination of their experiences of how you sound, how you look, how you act, and what you do.
Why Training Your People To Be On Brand is One of the Smartest Things You Can Do
If the pandemic has taught us anything (and surely it has illuminated a lot), it’s to take stock of what’s really important. To strip away the excess and lean into what we value most. For many individuals, it’s a stark reminder of the value of loved ones and community, of kindness and empathy, of equity
The 10 Stages of Changing Your Organization’s Name
Adopting a new name is hard work. It requires that you pursue the right strategy, AND it demands that you also prepare your staff, board, and stakeholders for the emotional stages that lie ahead. We all expect that it requires skills such as research, strategy, and creativity to launch a new name, but what many
The 4 Stories Your Organization Should be Able to Tell
There’s no question that stories are essential to your organization’s success. Our brains are wired to be drawn to narrative. We are far more likely to remember and reshare an anecdote than a data point. And yet, it’s hard to know what stories to tell. Nonprofits have been guilty of promoting narratives that perpetuate stereotypes,