Branding for Non-Profits

I have long felt that branding is especially relevant for non-profit organizations. In Jim Collins’ Good to Great he speaks of the importance of branding in the social sector. He believes an organizations’ key link is their brand reputation, in order that both current and potential supporters believe not only in their mission, but the capacity to deliver on that mission and brand promise.

I have recently been working on a branding project for World Relief. Their vision is to relieve human suffering, poverty and hunger worldwide in the name of Jesus Christ. This new brand, named The World Relief NEXT Project, was created to attract the emerging and ‘next’ generation of people to bring hope to those most vulnerable around the world. These exhibits show the brand look-and-feel in initial design development.

I believe branding and design has enormous power to enhance the thing it represents and lift an organization from appearing ordinary to something extraordinary. Branding especially matters for non-profit organizations, and I believe more than marketing, it is defining and declaring a movement with meaning.