3.15.2025
This is some text inside of a div block.
min read time
The 2025 Guide To Branding Your Non Profit Organization
Exploring the impact successful branding has for non profit organization's growth
written by:
Founder & Head of Growth
.svg)
Transform your brand with a memorable brand identity that captivates and inspires your audience, and sets you apart from your competition.
Stand out online with a stunning, conversion-focused, mobile-responsive custom website that increases brand visibility and converts visitors into customers.
Drive measurable growth with data-driven and ROI-focused digital marketing strategies that amplify your brand, attract the right audience, and convert clicks into customers.
Boost your visibility, rank high on Google, and outrank the competition with powerful SEO strategies designed to drive traffic, increase conversions, and grow your brand online.
Exploring the impact successful branding has for non profit organization's growth
Whether you are an established non-profit organization or a newly founded startup organization, an important aspect of your organization's success is your branding. While an argument can be made that your brand's service work is paramount to your branding, having a cohesive brand in place can help drive your brand's mission, engage with new communities that you serve, increase donations to your cause, and become a memorable player in an ever growing sea of not for profit organizations.
In our latest insight, we will cover innovative strategies that you can implement, as well as include insights from our Orlando branding agency to help you through the process.
Brand guidelines are the blueprint to your entire organization's brand. This serves as the master document that your organization and your team should reference, whether that be through digital marketing, social media, your website design or even speaking events and donor outreach campaigns.
Determining your organization's mission is the foundational step in crafting a compelling narrative. Your mission articulates the core purpose of your organization, outlining what you aspire to achieve and the values that drive your efforts. It serves as a guiding star, influencing decision-making processes and aligning your team's actions toward a common goal. This mission should be clear, concise, and resonate with both internal and external audiences. By defining your mission, you create a framework within which your organization operates, allowing you to communicate your intentions effectively and inspire others to join your cause.
Once your mission is established, the next essential step is to construct the story you want to tell. This story is not just about your organization; it encapsulates the journey you undertake to fulfill your mission. By highlighting key moments, challenges, and triumphs, you create an emotional connection with your audience, making your mission more relatable and impactful. Consider what experiences resonate with your target audience: whether it’s the struggles you’ve overcome, the people whose lives you’ve transformed, or the innovative solutions you’ve devised. A well-crafted narrative can elevate your mission from mere words to a vibrant call to action, drawing supporters and stakeholders closer to your vision while fostering a sense of shared identity and purpose.
We always ask our clients: "What do you want to be known for?" When asking yourself this, try to be descriptive, but also factual.
For example, you could be known for being a warm comforting resource for families after natural disasters, or a non-profit organization such as one of our clients Team Democracy, who brings together Americans from across all sides of the political aisle in support of free, safe, and fair elections.
With your mission established, move on to the visual aspects of your brand. Most often, these elements are the make or break of a brand. As humans, our brains are attracted to brands and items that interest us based on a personal connection, whether that be a particular color the brand uses, or the way their logo looks.
Different colors have different connotations, as displayed by this color-meaning chart by our friends at AWeber. Using this color chart, pick colors that are respective to your mission you described prior.
For fonts, it is a very similar story. Fonts that encompass harsh, jagged lines are often viewed as "not welcoming" or "stand-offish". Other fonts - like Sans Serif fonts - use glyphs with more of a free-flowing design which can be interpreted as more welcoming and comforting.
Advent Health is one of the largest leading hospitals in Central Florida, providing aid, comfort, and resources to millions of Floridians. As such, need to be taken serious but in the same respect, provide comfort.
Their logo is simple, yet authoritative. The blue's and lighter greens are calming, the simple fonts work well to create a friendly yet authoritative stance, and their subtle introduction of the cross apart of their brand mark pays subtle homage to their Seventh-Day Adventist Faith.
Contrasting their logo with this modified version created for this story only, you can visualize how the jagged lines of this font do not visually represent the same comfort. Fonts are important!
Once you understand the story that you want your brand to tell, selecting the appropriate fonts and colors will be easy.
Brand guides are a critical component of any company or non-profit organization. They provide specific guidelines that everyone can follow to maintain brand consistency across the internet, for vehicles or stationary items, and more.
When working with Craft & Code - an Orlando creative agency, for your not-for-profit branding, we will supply you with an official brand guide that is accessible for every member of your team to follow best practices in the representation of your non-profit organization.
Brand guides at a minimum should include your mission statement or vision, the approved typography (fonts) and brand colors, and acceptable use cases for your logo - such as vertical or horizontal logo variations, positive or negative use of the logo, amongst others.
Here's an example from TikTok For Business, who uses a variety of colors and creative fonts to forward their mission of content creation on their platform.
Additional considerations should be how your brand translates based on the application. Are you hosting or involved in a community event and need a display for your table or tent? How about the brochures that you are handing out - does the same logo work here? On your nonprofit's website - specific sizes and variations of your logo may be needed as well.
As your non-profit organization grows, so does your partner list. A brand kit is a quick reference resource that you can provide to partnering companies or organizations to promote your organization. Some partners may mention your organization via your logo in their email marketing campaign, create a blog post on their website, or even promote your newest partnership via paid social media advertising.
Providing your brand kit to your partners ensures that your brand remains consistent across the entire internet - reaching thousands of new eyes daily, and never distorted or misconstrued.
"The key here is consistency - in many cases, where brand guidelines are applied across all digital channels, studies show that revenue increases 24% on average," says Brandon Holt, one of our lead branding experts.
In some cases, non-profit organizations need to be more in tune with their branding than other industries. In most cases, not-for-profit organizations rely solely on donations, grants or scholarships, meaning that your brand needs to be robust enough for multiple purposes - most commonly fundraising, activation, and maximum impact.
Here are some additional tactics you can deploy to reinforce your brand and to maximize your impact on the large-audience scale:
Have your marketing team craft interactive social media activities that spark real conversations and involve audiences in meaningful exchanges tailored to your objectives.
Active participation in these events are guided by actionable insights drawn from audience engagement metrics. Your organization can then measure performance and adjust campaign language based on this feedback to ensure the content remains relevant and compelling to every mind.
In today’s digital landscape, your non-profit’s website serves as the central hub of your brand’s identity and outreach efforts. A thoughtfully designed and developed website not only amplifies your mission but also reinforces your brand, fostering deeper connections with your audience.
A well-branded website enhances credibility, builds trust, and ensures consistent messaging across all platforms, reinforcing your nonprofit’s mission and identity. It also improves user engagement with intuitive navigation and compelling visuals, ultimately driving more support, donations, and meaningful connections.
If your non-profit is planning on designing and developing a website, you should first read our latest article on Best Non-Profit Web Designs in 2025.
Nonprofit organizations can implement email marketing strategies to share updates and highlight recent accomplishments. By working with a skilled digital marketing agency crafting highly informative and high-converting email marketing campaigns can boost audience engagement, drive new donations, and grow your support.
An effective email approach keeps supporters informed about new programs and educational initiatives. Strategic messaging with clear subject lines builds a transparent culture and drives revenue growth while addressing community needs.
Take a look at some of our favorite non-profit email marketing campaigns here
Local events offer organizations a practical way to build community ties while reinforcing a clear branding strategy. Case studies reveal that groups like Oxfam effectively use a company logo on event materials and support animal welfare programs to create lasting connections with local residents.
Planners design events that encourage direct audience engagement and gather useful community feedback. Insights from case studies confirm that incorporating a prominent company logo and addressing animal-related causes during these events can improve reputation and foster genuine local support
.
Local events offer organizations a practical way to build community ties while reinforcing a clear branding strategy. Case studies reveal that groups like R.A.F.T For America effectively use an event to gather citizens from across the political spectrum together to experience a white-water rafting run - while these citizens have never been white-water rafting before.
This highly effective approach allows their supporters to experience new adventures while remembering the non-profit that was able to get them together for the experience.
No matter If you are an established nonprofit organization looking for a brand refresh, or if you are in the planning and research phase of starting your own non-profit, here are some of our favorite branding examples we absolutely love.
Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Florida provides essential services that remove barriers, strengthen families, and promote healing when children need healthcare. An extension of Mcdonald's, Ronald McDonald House Charities wisely use the red and yellow color palette similar to that of McDonalds, and includes Ronald's hand in their house brandmark to strengthen the relationship further.
This not only increases their recognizability but also helps them distinguish themselves from other not-for-profit organizations that provide similar services. Other details can be drawn from their memorable brandmark, such as the chimney smoke resembling a heart, or their warm and comforting colorways.
This non profit organization provides trauma-informed care right where they need it most - in their homes and their communities. Together For Youth empowers youth and their families to live safely, independently, and productively in their communities.
Their amazing brand pallet uses friendly, youthful and reassuring shades of purple, blue green, and yellow. Paired perfectly with custom iconography and a strong tagline "building stronger families and communities" -putting their core mission at the forefront and extremely memorable.
Girls on The Run Of Greater Knoxville inspires young girls of their limitless potential through evidence-based programs that increase their level of physical activity, imagine their possibilities, and confidently stand up for themselves and others.
Instantly, their brand image, design, storytelling and typography are thoughtful to the individuals that they serve. With clean yet slightly playful typography, femine-focused colors, and creative graphics and icons Girls On The Run Of Greater Knoxville is yet another perfect example of a nonprofit organization that has mastered its branding - with extreme attention to the perception of its brand.
Branding for non profits is so often overlooked with minimal attention, research and design put into the framework of the organization. Don't let your organizations branding be the hinderance to the great cause that you can provide - work with our team of not for profit branding experts.
Reach out to us to schedule a quick introduction call where our passionate branding experts can meet you, your team and learn about your wonderful cause.
Get valuable strategy, brand and technology insights, directly to your inbox weekly.
.svg)
.svg)
.svg)
