What sets your nonprofit apart from others like yours?

There are more than 1.5 million nonprofits in the US alone, according to the National Center for Charitable Statistics. This means you must ask yourself: How does your mission stand out among organizations with similar goals?

For example: let’s say your nonprofit is dedicated to helping families who need housing. A simple Google search will reveal pages and pages of organizations who offer help with finding affordable housing. With so many like-minded nonprofits out there, it's easy for yours to get overshadowed. Of course, a cause is not a competition, but in order to meet your goals, you have to identify key traits that make your organization unique. Your self-assurance when establishing your brand’s niche will be invaluable in creating a movement that people will jump to support.

Establishing a strong, recognizable brand is essential for standing out from the others and properly promoting your goals. So dig deep and decide what it is that makes your approach special. Maybe you have a narrower focus, or you incorporate a religious element. Whatever it is, identify it and build it into your brand’s creation.

Consider the following questions when establishing your brand:

What matters to your nonprofit?

What do you want to be known for?

How are you different from other nonprofits with similar missions?

Who is your target audience?

What outlets can you reach your target demographic?

Once you've brainstormed with your team using these questions, you can start to create a marketing plan for getting your brand out there. Knowing your target demographic and what impression you hope to make on them, you can decide on an approach that will work for you.

Along with a unique mission, it’s important to have a unique branding strategy. Do your homework and ensure that your logo will stand out and easily communicate your message. Go over your outreach plans and your online presence, and compare them to your peers. Above all, put your mission statement front and center in order to reach the audience you want to inspire.

Be consistent

Consistency is one of the most important elements of branding, whether it's your website, social media, email, or a direct marketing campaign. You have to create and share a consistent voice to ensure your organization is easy to spot in comparison to others.

Here are a few examples:

Develop a short and catchy key message that describes your cause to help donors know what you do.

Consider how you want to come across in your writing. Do you prefer to sound upbeat, serious, personable, trendy, or authoritative? Work with your team to build a consensus on your voice. Know what you are, and what you aren't.

Use a logo color scheme across all marketing channels.

If you find that you and your team need support, consider working with a marketing/communications team. A third party entity that specializes in this type of work can allow you and your team to do what you do best while not having to worry about the marketing and branding side of things. People like myself and my team at Universal Events Inc. are specialized professionals who handle all of these back-end tasks for you. Food for thought!