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How A Strong Brand Will Help NGOs Raise Money for Haiti Relief

Posted by on January 15th, 2010
Posted in Blog, Nonprofit Copywriting, Nonprofit Fundraising    Tags: , , , , , , ,

If you want to help the people in need after the earthquake in Haiti you’ve no doubt already considered how to make a financial donation.   How did you choose which organization (NGO) to support?  I bet you chose one that you already knew.

A brand that helps people make quick and easy decisions about which product to choose or which organization to support when there are many choices.

When a brand stands for something clear and meaningful it has the best chance of being understood for what it really is. When you think disaster relief you probably think of the American Red Cross, one of the strongest nonprofit brands in the world. You may also think of Doctors Without Borders, the Salvation Army or MercyCorps.

Why? Because each of those organizations has invested in reinforcing that they are expert at helping people in times of crises.  Their key messages, images and appeals focus on the need and how their organization has the know-how to make a difference.  And they do this consistently, year round, in times of quiet and in times of disaster.  They built a reputation — just another word for brand — that stands for something and in times of disaster the pubic has the confidence to turn to these brands and trust them to do the best work with their donations.

The Haiti Education Foundation? St. Boniface Haiti Foundation? I’m sure they do good work, but I’ve never heard of them and so they aren’t the first groups I think of when planning how to donate to Haiti relief.

Even if your organization is not as large as the Red Cross or Salvation Army (and few are) you can still benefit from investing in having a clear brand. You’ll be making it easier for donors and volunteers to choose your organization when they seek to provide support to the people, animals or issues your organization serves.

Good luck. Now please make a donation to help the people in Haiti.  Choose the organization whose brand you trust most.

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Jennie Winton is a Founding Partner of Mission Minded, a 25-year marketing veteran sought for her expertise in branding nonprofit organizations, and a one-on-one leadership coach.

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