Are you hiding your message from your donors?

Are you hiding your message from your donors? In today’s environment, it is more critical than ever to have your communications be as crisp and targeted as possible. In his article, The Dance of the Four Veils, Tom Ahern describes the hinderances to communications. I would add a fourth veil: that of poor design, a [...]

SEMINAR LESSONS: Benefits of Branding for Nonprofits

Nonprofits can focus their message, appear more professional and attract donors when they have a strong brand. These were the key points I made in a workshop at the Support Center for Nonprofit Management yesterday. The 3-hour session helped nonprofits to understand the essential steps in the branding process which include: Conducting Research, Developing Your [...]

Use Icons to Tell Complex Stories

GreenDepot’s use of icons to explain the environmental benefits of their various products can serve as a model for nonprofits in telling a complex story. Each of their products features a strip of icons above the description to indicate the eco attributes they possess. You can then click to find out more about each attribute – [...]

BRANDING: ESSAY – The Allure of Logos

The logo is caught in a strange land, somewhere between the mark of a proud craftsman, and our post-modern notion of the brand as the fulfillment of a promise. Like a poem, that can encapsulate an amalgam of image, emotion and metaphor, the logo embodies a dream-like notion between what is and what can be. 

IDEAS: Valuing Intellectual Capital

Why don’t nonprofits value intellectual capital, particularly marketing expertise, when it can prove crucial to the success of their cause? I encountered that question when I learned about a nonprofit organization that was planning a campaign to raise $300,000 for food pantries and safety net social services, as well as to engage the community in [...]