Branding & Collateral

Do you refer to your nonprofit or foundation as a savior, as a partner, or as a bridge? Use this step to present your organization as a collaborative partner, not a hero.

• Familiarize yourself with the Harvard University’s Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations Nonprofit Brand IDEA framework: brand integrity, brand democracy, brand ethics, and brand affinity. Think about how you can apply it to building and managing your brand.

• Reflect on how you are branding the work that you do and who you are impacting.

• Take the time to interact on an individual level with a wide array of community members to ensure that your organization’s branding and mission statement is in line with their diverse set of values.

Learn More: Why Brand Equity is Essential for Nonprofit Organizations

From imagery to logos, the materials you use to represent your nonprofit brand should show a collaboration, not a one-sided body that acts on behalf or in charge of the community.

• Understand the difference between visual and idea-based community collaboration and physical goods collaboration — both are essential to creating an authentic brand that supports and works alongside the community to inspire change.

• When outsourcing a logo or a flyer, try to use Black and minority artists and creators from within your community to bring your vision to life.

• Consider establishing partnerships with local Black and minority-owned businesses to commission marketing/branding collateral, whether it’s printing pamphlets or creating “swag bags” for your events.

Learn More: Nonprofit Branding: Complete Guide to Building a Strong Nonprofit Brand in 2022

Learn More: Crowdsourced Black Comms Creatives Database

Learn More: Marketing and Communications Planning for Nonprofit Organizations

Are you showcasing the aspirations of the people you serve or are you highlighting their deficits? An image can go a long way in guiding people’s perceptions and opinions.

• Don’t let images take a backseat to the words on the page. You spent weeks and weeks preparing the report — there's thoughtful language, you’ve vetted everything, it reads great. Now, all you need to do is slap on some images and you’re good to go, right? Wrong. The image selection process should happen alongside the writing process — it’s essential for all components of your communications to be vetted.

• Use ethical approaches to photography. Find or commission actual images of community partners. This requires an extra step — approval to use the picture from both the image-taker and the subject — but it’s worth it. Give credit and compensation to the photographer.

• Avoid perpetuating stereotypes through images. Biases and perceptions are influenced by the images and the associated text. Be aware of who you are presenting as the “default”, “good”, or “normal”. For example, if you have text about an “All American” event, consider associating that with an image of patriotic people that are of color. If you have text about the implications of poverty, consider the diversity of communities who find themselves in poverty.

Learn More: Is Image Diversity Affecting Your Nonprofit Branding?

Learn More: Diversity and inclusion in images

It’s not enough to say your brand is about helping “all people.” An organization that prides itself on its diversity, equity, and inclusion is a brand that understands its responsibility to be outspoken about the barriers people of color face.

• Evaluate your current branding. Be transparent about where it falls short of your internal and external commitments to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

• Don’t shy away from being direct in your anti-racist messaging. Now is the time to be clear and concise in your values, mission, and directives.

• Incorporate anti-racist messaging within multiple levels of your communications branding strategy. Denouncing racism from the get-go is a great first step, but there are a variety of ways in which that message can be repeated within your language, anecdotes, and imagery.

Learn More: Writing with an antiracist lens

Learn More: Conducting research through an anti-racism lens

Your organization has the opportunity to support communities, cities, and vendors that are Black, Latino, American Indian, or other people of color. The branding materials you select is a direct investment in that community.

• Use your marketing to highlight the work of Black, Latino, American Indian, or other people of color.

• Use Black and minority-owned businesses and vendors for things like events (food, beverage, dessert, etc.) and branding materials (reports, pamphlets, logos, etc.).

• If your event is virtual, consider creative ways to highlight your community members.

Learn More: 6 Reasons to Support Black-Owned Businesses

From print to video to audio, your organization can reach a diverse audience simply by creating branding and collateral for them on their preferred platform.

• Establish a direct line of communication to your community to get a better understanding of what types of media they prefer.

• When reaching out to the community, don’t just create flyers or send emailers — consider doing podcasts, Instagram, Live Q&As, guest newsletters, etc. The more content you can push out into the world, the more eyeballs you’ll get.

• Consider using innovative technology and new social media sites to extend your reach and elevate your platform.

Learn More: Innovative Marketing From Nonprofits Committed To Diversity, Inclusion, And Lifting Black Voices

Learn More: 7 Marketing Ideas for Nonprofits in 2022

If your marketing is only produced in English, you risk missing a big slice of the pie. A multi-lingual approach is key to establishing equitable communication channels. Connecting with the community and listening to feedback straight from the source is one of the most impactful ways to begin combating racism.

• Make sure staff members within your communications department are fluent in the language of the community.

• All advertising, promotional and event materials should be accessible. Be sure to offer them in the primary language of the community, both digitally and in print.

• Invest in translation in order to create a feedback loop with community stakeholders.

Learn More: Language Justice Toolkit