Brandraising: How Nonprofits Raise Visibility and Money Through Smart Communications [Hardcover]

Sarah Durham (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 21, 2009 | ISBN-10: 0470527536 | ISBN-13: 978-0470527535 | Edition: 1

In the current economic climate, nonprofits need to focus on ways to stand out from the crowd, win charitable dollars, and survive the downturn. Effective, mission-focused communications can help organizations build strong identities, heightened reputations, and increased fundraising capability. Brandraising outlines a mission-driven approach to communications and marketing, specifically designed to boost fundraising efforts. This book provides tools and guidance for nonprofits seeking to transform their communications and marketing through smart positioning, branding, campaigns, and materials that leverage solid strategy and great creative, with a unique focus on the intersection of communications and fundraising.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Sarah Durham, author of 2009's Brandraising, founded communications firm Big Duck in 1994 to help nonprofits raise money, gain visibility, and make effective use of social media. After 16 years, Big Duck continues to assist organizations from the Cancer Research Institute to the Women's Sports Foundation in building strong relationships with key constituents both online and off." (Fast Company, March 23, 2010)

From the Inside Flap

Brandraising

In today's uncertain marketplace, every nonprofit organization faces the same core challenge: how to demonstrate value and win charitable dollars with limited staff, budget, and communications experience.

Brandraising offers nonprofit leaders a proven approach to fundraising that puts the focus on marketing, branding, and communications. In this vital resource, Sarah Durham—an acclaimed nonprofit communications expert—reveals the importance of an integrated marketing and fundraising plan based on a foundation of clear mission and relevant strategy. She offers detailed, practical guidance for building a recognizable and meaningful brand, and developing a comprehensive, multi-level communications strategy.

Brandraising is a holistic approach to communications that involves everyone within the organization—board, staff leadership, volunteers, program staff and in some cases funders and donors. Readers will learn how to coordinate every aspect of their branding and communications efforts, from start to finish.

Durham shows how to boost fundraising, programs and advocacy efforts by

• Articulating an organizational profile: vision, mission, values, objectives, position, personality

• Developing a solid identity: visual platform, messaging platform

• Conducting smart outreach: online, print, in person, on air, mobile

• Moving beyond brandraising: measuring communications impact on programs, fundraising and advocacy, and sustaining successful communications as change occurs

The Brandraising method enables nonprofits to raise more money, reach a wider program audience, and maintain closer contact with legislators, the media, and the community.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass; 1 edition (December 21, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470527536
• ISBN-13: 978-0470527535
• Product Dimensions: 5.8 x 0.8 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #41,244 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #47 in Books > Business & Investing > Industries & Professions > Nonprofit Organizations & Charities

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great guide to strategic branding for nonprofit organizations, December 13, 2009

By 

B. McEwan "yellokat" (Brooklyn, NY USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Brandraising: How Nonprofits Raise Visibility and Money Through Smart Communications (Hardcover)

In Brandraising author Sarah Durham has adapted the core principals of corporate branding to apply specifically to nonprofit organizations and their communication and fund raising efforts. Her topic is particularly timely today, given that nonprofits are finding it increasingly difficult to raise money in the current economic climate.

The key concept here is that a clear strategy and distinctive organization identity must underlie every successful fund raising initiative. And, much like a barn raising on the frontier, the cooperation of everyone in a nonprofit group is required for success. Orchestrated collaboration, according to Durham, is what nonprofit branding is all about, and to highlight this connection she has coined the term "brandraising."

Durham advocates a three-tiered approach to nonprofit branding. Contrary to popular assumptions, branding is far more than an alluring logo or a clever tag line. It starts at the organization level with basic strategy. This is where the leadership takes time to consider the vision of the nonprofit, its mission, values, audiences and objectives. This stage is followed by the identity level, which includes the pieces that are most often associated with branding - the organization's visual identity and messages. The most tactical stage, which Durham calls the experiential level, defines the venues through which an organization interacts with its audiences, or customers. This includes online communication channels such as Facebook, mobile platforms available through smart phones, and traditional print, broadcast and in-person avenues.

Brandraising explains in detail how each of these levels is achieved, as well as how a new organizational identity is launched and maintained. It also acknowledges that some nonprofits will experience challenges associated with limited resources, and suggests ways to address them.

Overall this is a very good handbook that will provide thoughtful readers with a solid understanding of the strategic processes of nonprofit branding and communications. Depending on the resources, talents and inclinations of some organization leaders, it can also serve as a reliable guide to a do-it-yourself branding strategy that makes sense for the nonprofit sector.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must read if you are in marketing for nonprofits!, March 9, 2010

By 

Kristine Merz "Nonprofit markeing expert" (Rhode Island) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Brandraising: How Nonprofits Raise Visibility and Money Through Smart Communications (Hardcover)

This is a book that is long overdue in the nonprofit sector. Sarah is an expert voice in the nonprofit marketing community and has captured and organized every major concept you need to understand. Even if you are a seasoned pro, you will find this book valuable and if you are looking to gain understanding about the right way to go about marketing communication and Brandraising for a nonprofit, than look no further. You will go back to this book over and over to remind yourself to take the long view and really learn best practices for developing audience-centered marketing communication that will raise awareness, connect with donors and funders, and inspire action. Sarah does a great job at explaining what the core organization levels of marketing are and then connects them to visual identity, messaging, and the forms that communication take online, in print, mobile-you get the picture. So if you want it all in plain simple English and you think that branding does not apply to nonprofits, well get ready to have your eyes opened.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sound Advice for Nonprofit Leaders, February 16, 2010

By 

Jennifer W. Hinman "Jennie Winton, nonprofit ... (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Brandraising: How Nonprofits Raise Visibility and Money Through Smart Communications (Hardcover)

This is the book I wish I had written on how nonprofits can manage branding to help their organizations succeed! It should be required reading for all nonprofit professionals, regardless of job title, because it clearly and simply explains the importance of branding. Often a confounding subject for nonprofit leaders to master, the author makes the concept easy to understand and, more importantly, gives practical advice for how to manage a branding process. I have made this required reading for my nonprofit management graduate students, and will recommend it to our clients at Mission Minded as well.