NONPROFIT BRANDING: It Hurts My Pride To Write This Post!

Posted on February 21, 2012 by nonprofitbrandingblog| Leave a comment

We have a rich assortment of nutritious goodies this week.

BLOG – Want to meet a woman who writes a blog like this? Her blog  is better than mine - a Super Resource! (You should read it regularly. My pride will recover. Your benefits will continue.)

PLUS: info on how you can purchase imprinted branding products at or below cost.

PLUS: introduction to some cool nonprofit vendors, consultants, suppliers of marketing images, a great inbound call center and more prime resources.

THERE’S MORE! Finally! Authoritative research about nonprofit branding – the concept, the controversy, the benefits and disadvantages. Glimpses follow…. Continue reading →

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Posted in BUYING: Production & Imprinting Info, CONTEXT: Tricks, Tips & Taboos, PROTECTION: Guarding & Repairing Brands, Uncategorized

NONPROFIT BRANDING: Another Inexcusable Branding Crisis. But A Good Lesson For All Nonprofits.

Posted on February 14, 2012 by nonprofitbrandingblog| 1 Comment

The nonprofit’s leadership was puzzled about  community indifference to its work.

Which was harder on the nonprofit’s leaders: learning they were themselves the cause of the branding problem? Or being embarrassed by an outsider?

Final question…does their misplaced marketing emphasis help identify a risk faced by your own organization?

This a story of a self-inflicted misfire of governance. Egos trumped mission. And undermined the brand. 

It can happen to any nonprofit. Read on….. Continue reading →

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Posted in CONTEXT: Tricks, Tips & Taboos, PROTECTION: Guarding & Repairing Brands

NONPROFIT BRANDING: More about Mary! Plus Komen! Plus changes to this blog….

Posted on February 7, 2012 by nonprofitbrandingblog| Leave a comment

“The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, But in ourselves, that we are underlings.”

Our pal Cassius, he of the “…lean and hungry look…” had an important point. (In addition to the point he stuck in Caesar’s back.) Nonprofits ARE underlings. Nearly every one. And thus, they are subject to victimization.

That realization came to me as I watched the unfolding events and crossfire of accusations during the ugly, unnecessary and destructive Komen/Planned Parenthood episode.

It does not matter who went overboard first or who threw the first punch or who was more aggressive or more deceptive or more righteous.  The blow-up in the first days of February was a symptom. There is also a disease.

I hold a contrarian view about the reason two proud and effective outfits got themselves into this mess. You may not see that viewpoint expressed elsewhere. So here it is……………………

Continue reading →

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Posted in CONTEXT: Tricks, Tips & Taboos, FUNDRAISING: Practice & Philosophy, PUBLIC RADIO: Marketing & Fundraising, Uncategorized

NONPROFIT BRANDING: Her Name Was Mary (Another Major Gift Anecdote)

Posted on January 31, 2012 by nonprofitbrandingblog| Leave a comment

How a Major Gift Un-Solicitation Produced $250,000!

The recent post about major gift programs (It’s Time to Pick High-Hanging Fruit!) confessed my own period of professional fear and self-deception. Fortunately, I got over myself.  Major Giving became the most enjoyable and the most productive aspect of my professional responsibility. That post offered two anecdotes to illustrate lessons I learned.

Today’s post is another anecdote. Another lesson. And a bigger irony. It tells how $250,000 came from not soliciting. And from refusing to accept a gift!

Her name was Mary. She demonstrates another key truth about major gift prospects. Continue reading →

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Posted in CONTEXT: Tricks, Tips & Taboos, FUNDRAISING: Practice & Philosophy, PUBLIC RADIO: Marketing & Fundraising, Uncategorized

NONPROFIT BRANDING: Reader Rebuttal to My Logo-Pen Rant

Posted on January 24, 2012 by nonprofitbrandingblog| Leave a comment

I think imprinted logo-pens are a waste of money for a nonprofit.  This opinion was expressed in an earlier post Cost, Impact and Use of Logo-Pens.

My friend Rob, a veteran promotional products salesman jumped on me for this heresy. In total disagreement, he challenged my thinking and disputed my conclusion. He also made several insightful suggestions. Rob is clearly on the side of the VisABILITY president Janice Gavan, my wife and newly acknowledged logo-pen advocate.

So, let’s explore the views Rob and Janice support. Then you decide which logic applies to your own branding program. Rob’s rebuttal to the original post starts this way:

 You are wrong , Janice is right! …if you pick the right pen for the job. Given the number of writing instruments out there.. how can you not pick the right pen? Continue reading →

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Posted in IMPACT: Market Response & Return On Investment, IMPLEMENTATION: Using Branding Products Effectively, PSYCHOLOGY: How Branding Products Build Affinity, Uncategorized

NONPROFIT BRANDING: It’s Time to Pick High-Hanging Fruit!

Posted on January 17, 2012 by nonprofitbrandingblog| 3 Comments

The best response to an uncertain economy? Focus on high-hanging fruit. 

Major Gift activity once terrified me.  I dug in my heels. Resisted participating in this aspect of my professional responsibility. Made up excuses. Refused to grow.  Whined a lot. Then, a board directive forced me to act.

I soon learned my fears and insecurities were unfounded. Major gift activity turned out to be fun for me and rewarding for my nonprofit.  Finally I realized personal involvement in cultivation and solicitation is a nonprofit’s most direct, most productive, most easily managed path to financial stability.

Here are two anecdotes from my experience to illustrate the key lesson I finally learned about harvesting High-Hanging Fruit……

Continue reading →

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Posted in CONTEXT: Tricks, Tips & Taboos, FUNDRAISING: Practice & Philosophy, PUBLIC RADIO: Marketing & Fundraising

NONPROFIT BRANDING: Communicate More and Better! Why? How?

Posted on January 10, 2012 by nonprofitbrandingblog| 2 Comments

We are exploring nonprofit management during a period of economic trauma. In the last post I said you should “…expect a drop in contributions from the marginally committed and from those with serious economic difficulties. One of the essential ways to respond to this is to increase your communication frequency. No matter how tight the budget, you now must communicate more and communicate better.”

Communicate more and  better! Why? How? Continue reading →

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Posted in CONTEXT: Tricks, Tips & Taboos, IMPLEMENTATION: Using Branding Products Effectively, PSYCHOLOGY: How Branding Products Build Affinity