Branding is an essential part of running a successful nonprofit. It’s how donors, supporters, volunteers, and people less familiar with your nonprofit understand what you do at a fundamental level. Essentially, nonprofit branding creates your first impression and continues to influence how others perceive your organization.
While you probably already incorporate a branding strategy in your marketing materials, events, and fundraising efforts, it might be missing from other important aspects of your nonprofit. For example, your ambassador program (or dedicated group of recruited peer-to-peer fundraisers) is an ideal opportunity to include branding.
Why brand your ambassador program?
Ambassador programs already have great potential for success, mostly because they expand your network of personal relationships. These personal connections can have an enormous impact on fundraising. In fact, according to The Giving Experience Study by OneCause, 54% of first-time donors said they contributed because they wanted to support the person who asked them.
The effectiveness of “social giving,” or when someone donates because of a personal relationship or community connection, means that ambassador programs can really make a difference in your nonprofit’s fundraising efforts.
This impact can go even further if the experience is branded because you’ll represent your nonprofit in the best way possible. By better branding your ambassadors' experience, you’ll strengthen your relationships while also empowering them to fundraise more effectively.
To get started, we recommend these tips:
Because you likely already brand other experiences in your nonprofit, applying these principles to your ambassador program should be easy. Spending that bit of extra time can make a world of difference, both to improve the ambassador experience and to secure more donations.
Ensure that your website reflects your brand.
Before you get started branding your ambassador program, make sure your nonprofit’s digital headquarters and visual identity reflect your brand. Ideally, you can reuse the same brand elements on your website for your ambassador materials for a consistent experience. For this reason, ensure that your website has the most up-to-date elements.
Include these elements on your website to build a brand:
Logo: Your logo will likely be the most shared image among your supporters and ambassadors, so be sure it conveys what you do. Plus, a memorable logo can take your nonprofit far. Use striking colors and a dynamic design so that anyone who sees it can recognize it later on.
Mission: Prominently feature your mission statement on your homepage and throughout your website. Remember, your mission should be at the center of your brand. Be sure that all elements incorporate your mission in one way or another.
Typography: The fonts that you use on your website might seem like a minor detail, but they can be very indicative of your nonprofit’s tone. While a nonprofit that focuses on children might use a handwritten font, a scientific research organization might prefer something more formal. Whatever typography you pick, use it consistently throughout your website.
Color scheme: Your nonprofit’s color scheme can play a big role in influencing how others perceive your organization. Try to pick colors that coordinate with the emotion or theme you want to convey. For example, green is typically associated with environmental causes, while yellow is used for children’s organizations.
With your website fully branded, your ambassadors will have a reliable touch point to reference if they have questions about your brand or your nonprofit in general. Additionally, your ambassadors will be able to direct donors to a fully branded, aesthetically pleasing, and informative website to donate and engage with your work.
And remember, brand consistency is key no matter the context. Ambassadors will likely engage with your main website, separate campaign pages, social media content, and more. Every touch point your ambassadors have with your nonprofit should be clearly branded.
Create a branded donation form.
Your ambassadors rely on your donation form to secure support for your mission, so don’t neglect it when updating your branding. Maintaining brand consistency across the entire donor journey has several long-term benefits for donor retention and increasing your nonprofit’s visibility.
Here’s why you should create a branded donation form:
Increased trust: A branded donation form signals to a donor that they are contributing to your organization and no one else. When they see your logo, color scheme, and other brand elements, donors feel more comfortable, connected, and trust giving you their payment information. This level of trust is essential for virtual fundraising, especially if you’re hoping to build long-term relationships.
More recognizable: Did you know that donors need to interact with your brand 5-7 times in order to remember it? Creating a branded donation form gives your donors an additional opportunity to interact with your brand, increasing the likelihood that they will remember your organization down the line.
Highly shareable: Visually appealing or eye-catching donation pages are likely to be shared more often within individual networks. Additionally, among your ambassadors, a branded donation form might even generate more excitement, especially if ambassadors run their own pages and have customization options.
Creating a branded donation form also allows you to incorporate unique elements into the fundraising process. For instance, let’s say you want to include an automatic thank you message to send to donors after they contribute. With a branded donation form, you can ensure that this message pops up or arrives in the donor’s inbox — whatever you think is best!
Host ambassador events.
Because your ambassadors will be representing your brand, they’ll need to be familiar with your branding guidelines. For this reason, host ambassador events and regular check-ins in order to keep your ambassador team up-to-date on brand standards, new templates, and any upcoming fundraising initiatives.
Try to plan a variety of activities to keep your ambassadors engaged. These activities could include:
Brainstorming fundraising ideas: If your ambassadors are assisting with a long-term project like a capital campaign or year-long fundraising push towards your holiday gala, take some time to brainstorm different fundraising ideas they could organize throughout the year. This way, you can easily offer hands-on support in the early planning stages.
Creating teams: For some types of events, you might encourage your ambassadors to form teams to work more collaboratively. Creating these teams in person can give everyone a chance to get to know one another before they get started planning.
Strategizing for the year: Your ambassadors might play a crucial role in your nonprofit’s overall fundraising strategy or help grow your guest list for your annual gala. Regardless of what your ambassadors are doing, it’s important to get their input on how to be as successful as possible. Plus, getting their feedback can help ambassadors feel more valued and appreciated.
Gathering all of your ambassadors together also allows them to get a glimpse of the inner workings of your nonprofit, which is important for them to know as representatives of your work. Being at your facility, especially if you have a branded environment, can give ambassadors a more tangible understanding of your brand.
Provide a toolkit for your ambassadors.
Because your ambassadors are in close contact with your supporters, you want them to be well-prepared and confident in their fundraising interactions. One way to ensure your ambassadors are set up for success is to provide them with a fully branded toolkit they can use throughout the campaign or program. An ambassador toolkit should include:
Description of strategy: It’s likely that you launched your ambassador program to take on a specific project and your ambassadors will likely need some guidance. Include a description of the strategy they should use and the brand guidelines they should follow.
Email and social media templates: Include some templates that your ambassadors can use in emails or on social media to reach out to people in their networks, especially if your ambassadors will be leading an online fundraising campaign or trying to get supporters to sign up for an event. This will make their job much easier and will ensure that your messaging is on brand!
Branded merchandise: Your ambassadors are putting in a lot of work for your nonprofit, so why not provide them with some free merch? Throw in a t-shirt or travel mug so that your ambassadors can represent your brand wherever they go.
Nonprofit annual report: Your annual report is a concise and engaging summary of everything your organization has accomplished in the past year, and it’s a fantastic resource for ambassadors. Provide ambassadors with a copy of your report so that they can use it as a reference.
Whether your ambassadors are running your nonprofit awareness campaign, collecting RSVPs for an upcoming event, or generating donations and excitement for your gala, be sure they have all the tools they need to feel supported.
Branding your ambassador program creates a better experience for your ambassadors and helps you connect with your supporters in a more memorable way. While incorporating some brand elements into your ambassador program might take a little extra time, it can help set your ambassadors up for success, all while refining your brand even further.
This post was contributed by Kelly Velasquez-Hague, who brings over 20 years of fundraising, nonprofit management, and sales/marketing experience to her role as the Director of Content Marketing for OneCause. As a member of the OneCause sales and marketing team, Kelly manages all of the company’s content strategy and execution. She is passionate about empowering great missions and loves that her current role allows her to continue to help nonprofits reach new donors raise more funds for their cause.