Branding & Marketing for Non-Profits
Nonprofits Benefit from Branding and Marketing Strategies
Habitat for Humanity, Hub & Soul Music Series, Lighthouse, and Lincoln Parks Foundation. One thing they all have in common is that they are nonprofit organizations in Lincoln, Nebraska that are committed to making a difference in our community. What else do they have in common? When these organizations needed help in branding & marketing for non-profits, they hired Eleanor Creative in Lincoln, Nebraska for our experience.
More and more nonprofits are seeing how branding and marketing can be very beneficial in elevating your organization’s social issues, partnering with other industries to support common causes, growing awareness for services connected to your brand, and fundraising. Nonprofit leaders understand that with greater visibility, strong positioning among competitors, and brand awareness among audiences can translate into funds raised for the organization. We are excited to show how we helped our nonprofit clients achieve their goals through unique branding and marketing tactics.
What is in a Nonprofit Brand?
When you think of nonprofit brands, your first thought is their logo, right? A brand is more than the name, logo, and graphic design used by a nonprofit organization. A brand is the “what and why” of your organization. Branding your nonprofit involves the way you communicate with consumers. It’s how you tell your story about who you are and what you do, the causes you support, and the approach you take in helping those causes.
Your brand includes many different elements. For example, the selection of colors is important as it lets your audience know if you are current or if you are stuck in the past. The font or letter style and messaging can indicate your nonprofit is compassionate with boots-on-the-ground involvement or a more structured, behind the scenes organization. It’s necessary to take all of these factors into consideration to ensure your organization’s brand has the right look, feel, and voice. Eleanor Creative has years of experience working with many companies to develop new brands or refresh and rebrand existing ones.
How Important is Marketing for Nonprofits?
There are many different audiences that nonprofit organizations are continually trying to reach. Figuring out the right marketing to use for communicating your message can involve a number of objectives, such as:
- Keep audiences aware of your mission and goals
- Build your donor base and generate new revenue
- Tell existing donors about your success and impact
- Create and strengthen relationships with other organizations
- Make the media your friend
Promote awareness about events
When determining which marketing strategies will work best for your nonprofit brand, you need to consider the best way to reach each audience. With our nonprofit clients, we look at digital and traditional marketing and together determine which ones will be the most cost effective and beneficial.
- Website
- Social Media
- E-Newsletters
- SEO
- Direct mail
- Billboard
- TV
- Radio
No one strategy will reach all audiences. It’s best to consider multiple strategies to achieve your objectives.
How Eleanor Creative Helps Lincoln Nonprofits
Hub & Soul Music Series
The Eleanor team loves music, so the Hub & Soul Music Series was a perfect fit for us. Everything about offering a community music event free to the public rang true to our core. We had the privilege of working with the Hub & Soul team from the ground up, starting with the overall planning, then created the various pieces necessary to promote the music events. Our team came up with the name, developed the mood board and logo, designed posters, banners, and event signage, created a website and maintained its content, wrote social media copy, designed the volunteer T-shirt logo, and created programs, food menu signs, and table tents. It was a labor of love! And sometimes with the events we create, we get the joy of working at it and supporting our community.
Lighthouse
For Lighthouse, Eleanor’s team jumped at the idea of helping to gain awareness and support for their 30th Anniversary Gala. Lighthouse provides a safe harbor for teens in the Lincoln community who are at-risk for many unhealthy behaviors. As we began our process for the 30th Anniversary we realized that Lighthouse could benefit from a brand refresh. We walked through the rebranding process with the Lighthouse team and presented a fresh new look and feel for the organization. In addition to their new brand, we focused on creating the right look for their 30th Anniversary Gala, developed a donor booklet, designed a new website, refreshed their social media content, billboard designs, and created a video series that tells the story of Lighthouse.
Cascade Fountain
Lincoln Parks Foundation and Lincoln Parks & Recreation Department wanted to raise funds to repair and sustain Cascade Fountain which was built in 1978 to honor Nebraska’s retired teachers. Eleanor’s team is very excited and honored to be a part of helping to restore this historical icon in Lincoln. Our team started by designing the mood board and logo, followed by creating campaign materials including a presentation packet with inserts and a separate brochure piece. Additional projects involved developing a campaign video and creating and implementing a social media strategy.
Habitat for Humanity of Lincoln
Habitat for Humanity of Lincoln wanted to create a signature event that might appeal to a broader demographic. Eleanor Creative came up with the idea of hosting a New Year’s Eve gala and the team at Habit loved the idea but had never done an event of that size. So the Eleanor team put on their event planning hats and dusted off their dancing shoes. We came up with the event name – Gatsby Gives — and from there began developing a period-style logo harkening back to speakeasy days. Eleanor assisted with the venue selection, created and designed the event logo, multi-page sponsorship booklet, event invitation, newspaper ad, envelope, and wrote copy for the social media campaign.
One thing you’ll find with Eleanor Creative is that you are more than a project and we put our heart into your nonprofit organization needs. We get involved. We brand with love. We are champions of your organization, and we truly love working with nonprofits!
If your nonprofit needs a brand makeover or help with marketing an event, let us know how we can help support your efforts.
Reimagine your brand with Eleanor Creative.
