Nonprofit Taglines: Hands Down, The Easiest Way to Communicate Your Brand

Let’s face it: nothing is more vital to your nonprofit’s marketing impact than your brand.

As you probably already know, branding communicates your organization’s unique identity and value through consistent messaging and a specific “look and feel,” so your audiences recognize that it is your nonprofit reaching out to them.

Most importantly, strong branding cleverly combines quality, consistency and authenticity so donors, volunteers and other key audiences can become further engaged.

Brand + Tagline = Your Organizational Icon

A tagline is the absolute “heart” of your nonprofit’s brand, so it should always be developed strategically, conveyed clearly and delivered consistently. It also should be such a natural extension of your organization’s name that the two are always intricately linked.

It’s crucial for nonprofits to make sure their taglines are always represented and featured prominently in all print collateral as well as digital communications, including websites, emails and presentations. When a tagline works, it has the potential to become a permanent symbol of your organization, raising your brand from the ordinary to the unforgettable.

Here are a few things to keep in mind when developing a nonprofit tagline:

• Your tagline should work well as a lead-in to your positioning statement.
• Your tagline must convey your nonprofit’s or program’s impact or value.
• Your tagline should be unique and specific to your A tagline should not be easily transferable to another organization; otherwise, it’s just a “me-too” phrase. Yes, differentiation is tough, but it’s also the name of the game.
• Make it broadly accessible and memorable; avoid jargon and acronyms.
• Your tagline should make an emotional connection.
• It should clearly complement your organization’s name without duplicating it.
• Your tagline should be authentic, distinct and powerful.

Some Final Advice

Before you start your own tagline brainstorming session, it’s smart to review taglines of competitive organizations. Never launch your tagline before testing it out with stakeholders. Try to get feedback from at least 10-15 members of key audiences. With this approach, you may discover they don’t understand the proposed tagline or that you don’t feel comfortable with it yourself.

Finally, before you launch, make sure you absolutely love your tagline and will be happy with using it for several years to come. If it remains relevant and powerful, it may even last for decades.