Written by an industry insider with 25 years of experi
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments ix
About the Author xi
Introduction: How This Book Can Transform Your Fundraising xiii
Part One The Money-Losing Nonprofit Brand
How Branding Often Goes Wrong for Nonprofit Organizations
1 How and Why Commercial-Style Branding Can Torpedo
Your Organization 3
Why the New Brand Didn’t Work 10
How Commercial Branding Works 13
Summary 17
2 Branding in the Real World 19
There is a Better Way to Brand 21
3 What Branding Work Can Do to Fundraising Revenue 25
If You Change Your Logo 28
If You Change Your Graphic Standards 29
If You Change Your Copy Standards 31
If You Change Your Organization’s Name 32
If You Change Your Cause Identification 35
4 We're Being Brandjacked: A Guide to Survival 41
Brandjacking Warning Sign 1: The New Brand is Not Aimed at Your Donors 43
Brandjacking Warning Sign 2: The New Brand Requires You to Abandon Your Donors 44
Brandjacking Warning Sign 3: The Work is Not Grounded in Donor Behavior 48
Brandjacking Warning Sign 4: The New Brand Describes Your Cause in a Symbolic Way 50
Brandjacking Warning Sign 5: The New Brand Requires Absolute Consistency 52
Brandjacking Warning Sign 6: The New Brand is Design—and Little Else 53
5 Why Branding Matters, and Why It Makes No Difference 57
Aunt Edna 60
Part Two Your Call to Action
How Your Cause Connects with Donors and Brings
Your Brand into Their Lives
6 The Seven Elements of a Fundraising Offer 67
Element 1: A Problem 69
Element 2: A Solution 71
Element 3: Cost 74
Element 4: Urgency 75
Element 5: Donor Context 76
Element 6: Donor Benefits 81
Element 7: Emotion 82
7 Your Fundraising Offer from the Inside Out 89
A Fundraising Offer is Specific 90
A Fundraising Offer is Believable 95
A Fundraising Offer is Bite-Sized for Donors and Flexible 97
A Fundraising Offer Has a Sense of Leverage 101
A Fundraising Offer is Defensible 102
8 Great Fundraising Offers in the Real World 105
Child Sponsorship 105
Sponsorship Lite 106
Food Bank Leverage Offer 107
Shipping 107
Matching Funds 108
Catalog 109
Part Three Your Fundraising Icon
The Image that Reminds Donors
Why They Give to You
9 The Visual Foundation of Your Brand 113
Your Icon Has a Clear Focal Point 118
Your Icon is a Person 119
Your Icon is Focused on the Face 121
Your Icon is One Person, Not a Group 122
Your Icon is a Picture of Unmet Need 123
Your Icon is a Photo, Not an Illustration 126
How I Lost My Perspective and Got It Back Again 127
10 How to Find and Refine Your Fundraising Icon 131
Step 1: Find a Hypothesis 133
Step 2: Put Aside Your Preferences and Winnow 134
Step 3: Use Direct-Response Testing 138
Part Four The Donor-Focused Nonprofit
How to Become Your Donors’ Favorite Cause
11 Leprosy or Hansen’s Disease? What Donors Need to Know 143
Five Ways Nonprofits Drive Away Their Donors 147
12 Communicating as if Donors Mattered 155
Donor-Focused Stories 159
Reporting Back: Set Yourself Apart 163
Donor Control over Communication 169
Appropriate Design 170
How to Measure Donor Communication 173
13 The Structure of a Donor-Focused Nonprofit 177
A Well-Run Nonprofit is Aligned around Fundraising Goals 180
A Well-Run Nonprofit is Not Run by Committees 182
A Well-Run Nonprofit Doesn’t Have a Marketing Department 184
A Well-Run Nonprofit Has a Plan for Every Donor 189
A Well-Run Nonprofit Has Its Donor Data Act Together 191
A Well-Run Nonprofit is Donor Connected 192
14 The Culture of the Donor-Focused Organization 195
A Donor-Focused Nonprofit is Investment Oriented 199
A Donor-Focused Nonprofit Has a Fact-Based Culture 202
A Donor-Focused Nonprofit Doesn’t Treat All Donors the Same 207
A Donor-Focused Nonprofit Has a Culture of Thankfulness 209
A Donor-Focused Nonprofit Sees Fundraising as Part of Its Mission 210
Appendix A The Donor Bill of Rights and the Money-Raising Brand 215
Appendix B Suggested Reading for Fundraisers 219
Index 221
