Here’s the Problem
Last week, the Chronicle of Philanthropy published something that backs up what we’ve been teaching for years: Nonprofits often struggle not because they lack a worthy mission, but because they lack a bold brand strategy.
Michelle Flores Vryn wrote about York County Shelter Programs, a Maine nonprofit that closed after 45 years—not because of scandal or mismanagement, but because when government funding disappeared, they couldn’t rally donor support fast enough. Her conclusion: “When a bank falters, politicians and the public debate regulation. When a nonprofit collapses, they debate whether it should exist at all.“
And if you’re reading this, you probably have a worry that your brand might not stand up in a real crisis.
Read This If…
- Your year-end appeal is in 6 weeks and you’re concerned about standing out
- You lost government funding and need to rally donors NOW
- Your board keeps saying “improve our brand/marketing” but don’t know what that actually means
- You’re competing with every other organization for the same exhausted donors
- You know you need “brand work” but have no idea where to start, or if you can afford it
Still here? Good. Because we’re about to give you practical help, and not just theory.
The Data That Make This Moment Urgent
The Chronicle article makes three points: nonprofits are the only sector where being unknown is acceptable (40% have zero advertising budget), invisibility is deadly (the sector operates in a “blind spot of national consciousness”), and you must show up both in your community AND where you can build your legitimacy.
Here’s why this matters RIGHT NOW. The Urban Institute’s 2025 survey found:
- 1 in 3 nonprofits experienced government funding disruptions in early 2025
- 29% had to reduce staff
- 68% anticipate INCREASED demand for services
- Organizations lost an average of 42% of their revenue from government sources
You’re being asked to do more with less, while competing for attention with every other organization facing the same crisis.
We Know You’re Exhausted
We know this feels like one more impossible thing on an already impossible list.
Here’s the good news: You don’t need to do everything. You need to do ONE thing: Strengthen your Brand.
The five strategies below build brand strength whether you’re running an urgent campaign in 6 weeks or planning for long-term resilience. Pick the ONE that feels most urgent or most doable.
You just need to start.
5 Ways to Strengthen Your Brand Right Now
(Pick One)
1. Map How Your Audiences Actually Experience You
Why this matters: Most organizations operate on assumptions. One of our school clients offered multiple open houses thinking more opportunities meant better yield. Their customized journey mapping revealed the opposite—that too many options actually hurt conversions.
What this looks like: Journey mapping helps you see your organization through your audiences’ eyes. Together, we look at:
- The current state: Every step your audience takes, from awareness through engagement
- High points: Where they feel excitement, connection, ease
- Low points: Where they experience friction, confusion, drop off
- Opportunities: How friction points can become trust building moments
- The future state: What you want audiences to KNOW, FEEL, and DO
✏️ Try this quick exercise : Pick one audience (first-time donors or prospective families). Write out every step of their journey from awareness to first gift/enrollment. For each step note: What do they experience? What might frustrate them? Where are you losing people?
2. Clarify Your Message for This Moment
Why this matters: In a crisis, clarity wins. Generic messaging and abstract ideas kill conversions. Specific messaging moves people.
What this looks like: Our Minute Message Model uses four message types that have helped clients collectively raise over a billion dollars the past 5 years alone.
- Belief Message: Your rallying cry
- Problem Message: The gap you’re filling
- Impact Message: What happens when you fulfill your mission
- Detail Message: Specific, doable ways to join you
Here’s how the Problem Message can be adapted for crisis:
Instead of: More families than ever are struggling to afford healthy food due to budget cuts.
Try talking about the problem you help solve: Food pantries were designed for temporary emergencies like a job loss, a medical crisis, a short term gap. But what we’re seeing now isn’t temporary. Families are working fulltime and still can’t afford groceries because wages haven’t kept up with food costs. Traditional food assistance wasn’t built for this reality. That’s why we exist: we believe in a sustainable food system where working families don’t have to choose between rent and dinner.
And then add the crisis context: Before funding cuts, we served 800 families weekly. Now we can only serve 500, while 1,200 families are on our waitlist. Your gift of $100 provides a week of groceries for one family, directly closing this gap.
The difference: You’re explaining the gap in the system that you were created to fill, THEN showing how the crisis has widened it. You’re also building trust with your donor by showing exactly what their money will do, and giving them the gift of knowing they made a tangible difference.
✏️ A simple rewrite test: Rewrite your last donor appeal using this framework: Lead with your rallying cry (Belief), quantify the gap (Problem), share one honest impact story (Impact), and give one specific action (Detail). Test it on someone outside fundraising. If they can repeat back what you do and why it matters, your message is clear.
3. Build Donor Relationships on Shared Values
(Not Just Wealth)
Why this matters: Donors give because of what they believe, not their demographics. Yet most organizations segment their donors by giving capacity and wonder why loyalty is dropping.
What this looks like: We map donors by their motivations and values, not wealth or zip code. So, instead of “major donor tier” and “annual donor tier,” you might segment by:
- The Leader: Cares deeply about growing their professional reputation
- The Visionary: Cares deeply about leaving a legacy of impact
- The Dreamer: Cares deeply about the potential of what they can help their community achieve
- The Survivor: Cares deeply about improving conditions because of lived experience
When you understand their “why,” you can invite each donor authentically in a way that taps their heart. And their heart is where their values live.
💬 Start with a conversation: List your top 10 of your most loyal donors. Next to each name, write the value that drives their giving (not their capacity). If you don’t know, call them and ask: “What drew you to our work? What keeps you engaged?” You’ll be amazed by what you learn.
Then challenge yourself to articulate what they value, in a phrase or a sentence, based on their responses. Most organizations can create 3-5 value types, with all their donors falling into one or more.
4. Audit Your Website for Brand Clarity
Why this matters: Your website is often the first—and sometimes only—impression people have of your work. If it doesn’t immediately communicate your value, and how you’re different, you’ve lost them.
What this looks like: We assess websites for brand strength, not just design. We evaluate your website’s brand strength by asking these questions:
- Who you are: Within 15 seconds, can a stranger tell what problem you solve and for whom?
- What makes you different: If someone compared your homepage to your top competitor’s, why would they choose you?
- Consistent storytelling: Would three different staff members describe your mission the same way your website does?
- Urgency: Is it obvious how to give and why they should give NOW vs. next month?
Quick case study: A regional symphony came to us with a problem: their current website was designed for the 20% of visitors who were loyal patrons and not the 80% who were brand new and had never been to a classical music concert. So we got to work by redesigning it with brand clarity for newcomers. The results: 74% increase in visitors, mobile bounce rate dropped significantly, sales conversions increased, and Spanish language visitors doubled, helping our client reach entirely new audiences.
The lesson? Your website shouldn’t be designed only for the insiders who already love you. It should be designed for the people you have yet to meet—the ones who don’t yet know why you matter.
👀 Do the 15-second test: Show your homepage to someone who’s never heard of you. After 15 seconds, take it away. Ask: “What does this organization do and why should I care?” If they can’t answer clearly, your website and brand needs work.
5. Build a Comprehensive Brand Strategy
(The Long Game That Pays Off)
Why this matters: Tactical fixes help immediately. But real brand strength—the kind that gives you “flexibility to pivot, take risks, and show up in crises“—comes from creating and committing to a comprehensive strategy. It’s the difference between patching holes and building a new roof.
What this looks like: A brand foundation strong enough to carry you through any storm. That means:
- Brand positioning that clarifies who you are and how you’re different
- Messaging that works everywhere (from donor conversations to your website to your board meetings)
- A look and feel people recognize the second they see you
- A clear plan so your brand shows up consistently in every conversation and touchpoint
Quick case study: A law foundation came to us misunderstood and seen as traditional and insular when they’d evolved into a social justice leader. Through comprehensive brand work, we identified what makes them unique and created a bold new name (literally a new word), positioning (“Fund Justice. Change the World.”), and identity that gave them clarity for bolder decisions. The rebrand helped them create an entirely new category, streamline operations, and attract more financial and collaborator support.
⚡ Ask yourself: If we’d had strong brand infrastructure a year ago—clear positioning, consistent messaging, values-based donor relationships—would we be in a stronger place today?
- If the answer is yes, it’s time to stop treating brand as “someday” work.
- If the answer is “I don’t know,” that’s also your answer. You need to find out.
Here’s the Truth About Brand in Crisis
We started Mission Minded because we saw organizations doing brilliant work who nevertheless struggled—not because their mission wasn’t important or appealing, but because their brand was unclear and uninviting. Their audiences didn’t understand what made them irreplaceable.
This problem has never been more threatening to your organization. The Urban data confirms it. The Philanthropy article names it. You’re living it.
But here’s what we also know: This is fixable.
Not with some flashy new designs. Not with more social media posts. But with strategic brand building that creates the infrastructure to weather any storm.
You don’t need to do all five strategies above. You need to do ONE.
- Maybe that’s clarifying your crisis message for your year-end appeal
(do this if year end is in 6 weeks) - Maybe it’s mapping your donor journey to find where you’re losing people
(do this if you’re seeing drop off but don’t know why) - Maybe it’s auditing your website for clarity
(do this if people keep asking “what do you actually do?”) - Or maybe it’s time for the big strategic work that builds lasting infrastructure
(do this if you’re tired of patching holes and ready to build a solid foundation)
The organizations that survive this moment despite funding cuts, donor fatigue, increased demand, and competition will be the ones that invest in brand now. Not someday. Now.
What Happens Next?
If you’re DIY-ing this:
- Pick ONE of the five strategies above
- Do the exercises this week (invite in the right colleagues to join you!)
- See what you learn
- Decide if you need to go deeper
If you want our help:
- For quick direction: Book a 25-minute brand health call. We’ll tell you which of these five will give you the biggest return for your situation. No pitch, just help.
- For tools to use yourself: Download our free guides and webinar recordings that target your specific challenge. Take what helps.
- For a bigger project: Let’s chat longer about your specific challenge. Whether you need messaging for an urgent campaign, journey mapping to fix enrollment, or powerful brand strategy for long term resilience. We’ll tell you honestly whether it’s right for your timeline and budget, or if you should start smaller.
What’s one thing you’ll do differently this week?
Mission Minded helps nonprofits, foundations, and schools build unapologetically bold brands, strategies, and campaigns that stand out—and get results.
For more than 20 years, we’ve helped clients rally donors in moments of crisis, raise billions, and deepen their impact. No tepid ideas. No cookie-cutter solutions. Just powerful strategy and creativity that actually moves people.
If your organization is navigating funding cuts, donor fatigue, or rising demand, we’ll help you create the clarity and brand resilience you need to thrive.