For the last several years, I’ve been a judge at the IAPD/IPRA annual conference’s Agency Showcase Awards, which highlights marketing and communications from parks and recreation agencies in Illinois.
This year my category was Marketing Campaigns, which ranged from event marketing to promoting special programs and initiatives. While I was reviewing the competition entries, I noticed several common threads in the most effective campaigns.
They make SMART goals
The agencies that saw the best returns created SMART goals. Most importantly, their goals were measurable (the M in SMART) and trackable.
They know their audience
Agencies with successful campaigns got to know their audience by doing customer research online and offline, checking demographic data in Facebook and utilizing customer surveys.
They track their data
Rather than tracking anything and everything, agencies tracked the data that was most relevant to them, such as website visits, social media reach, response to events, discount redemptions, visibility of out of home advertising, email campaign clicks and opens, and increase in email list size.
They use the data wisely
The campaigns that were most successful in their outreach used data to inform their campaigns. For example, one agency saw a decline in attendance in their events, so they launched a campaign specifically to increase event participation and it worked—attendance increased by 30%.
Are you utilizing these techniques in your marketing campaigns? Are there any other characteristics that effective campaigns share?
Congratulations, you did it—you made it through #GivingTuesday! But your work is not done yet.
Take advantage of the momentum of your campaign: Follow up with your donors and supporters, create meaningful connections that will last throughout the year, and use the insights gathered this year to inspire next year’s campaign.
Say thank you—and share results
Thank your supporters on social media and share the results of your campaign as well as the impact it has on the people your serve. Sharing a video thank you from the organization’s founder or leaders can make it more personal.
TIP: Create an infographic or graphic that shows the results of your campaign and how you met your goals.
Send an email
A day or two after #GivingTuesday, send a thank you email or postcard to your donors and supporters. If possible, segment your email list to personalize the message based on their giving (ie first-time donors, returning donors, etc.)
TIP: Don’t forget to ask donors and supporters to follow you on social media so you can engage with them throughout the year.
69% of donors prefer to be thanked for their donations via email, followed by a print letter [2018 Trends in Giving Report].
Focus on them (not you)
Rather than talking about your organization’s needs, tell your supporters specifically how their gift will be used, the change it will make in the community or how a person’s life will be affected.
TIP: Add photos or infographics for extra impact.
Cultivate new donors
Take advantage of this opportunity to engage with new donors: Send a personalized message that tells the story of your organization, including ways they can be involved throughout the year. Mention any upcoming events or volunteer opportunities they can be a part of.
TIP: Link to a blog post or landing page with a compelling story to help them experience your organization’s mission.
Donors acquired during Giving Tuesday are 10–15% more likely to give again than donors acquired on typical days through peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns (Classy).
Promote your year-end campaign
Just because someone donated on #GivingTuesday doesn’t mean they are unwilling to give again, so add them to your list for year-end giving. Again, segment your list so you can thank them for their previous gift accordingly.
And if they do give again, remember to take them off your active list so they are not receiving unnecessary emails.
TIP: Include non-monetary ways they can give or get involved with your organization.
Encourage peer-to-peer fundraising
Give donors a way to be more personally involved with your mission by suggesting a peer-to-peer (P2P) fundraising campaign for their next birthday or special event.
Contrary to what you may think, all ages respond well to P2P:Over 90% of Gen Xers and Millennials and almost 80% of Baby Boomers report using P2P (Guidestar).
Nearly ⅓ of online donations are made through peer-to-peer fundraising (Classy).
Gather data
Use this time to gather important data on your donors. Analyze their behaviors during #GivingTuesday, note what type of communications resonated best, and use this insight to improve future engagement with donors.
Check your social media insights and Google Analytics and save screenshots to compare next year.
TIP: Use the data you collect to make notes for next year’s campaign.
Collect ideas for next year
Create a shared document where you and your team can collect ideas and design samples to inspire next year’s campaign.
TIP: If you still have them in your inbox, save the standout #GivingTuesday emails you received this year (as I did myself!) as well as your favorite social media images.
Return donors whose first interaction was on GivingTuesday re-engaged sooner than donors whose first interaction was outside of GivingTuesday (The State of Modern Philanthropy 201).
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Don’t let all your hard #GivingTuesday work go to waste. Use this time to genuinely engage with new and returning donors—as well as to make next year’s campaign even better.
Most organizations have a mission statement, but do you have a social media mission statement?
According to HubSpot, 67% of nonprofits have no social media strategy, policies or goals documented. (ouch—that’s higher than the 50% of companies without a documented social media strategy reported by Search Engine Journal). That means more than half of the organizations they polled are basically just “throwing it out there to see what sticks”—not a good use of time and money.
Why it’s important to have a social media mission
Considering 74% of people say they use Facebook for professional purposes (HubSpot, 2017) and LinkedIn has over 500 million users. (LinkedIn, 2019), it’s worth making time for social media marketing in your organization—but you must have a mission.
In social media marketing (and branding and marketing, in general), people need to feel a connection before they interact with you. You need to give them a reason to interact with you: a reason to like a post, leave a comment or come back to your page.
As Simon Sinek, author of Start With Why puts it: “People don’t buy what you do; they buy WHY you do it.” It makes sense to have a sense of purpose—or a focus on your WHY—in your social media marketing, just as you do in otehr aspects of your branding and marketing.
How to create a social media mission statement
A social media mission statement helps you discover and express your organization’s social media WHO, WHAT and WHY: who you are speaking to, what you are sharing, and why they should engage with it.
WHO: Who is your audience? Who will be reading what you share? (If you don’t already have an ideal client profile, now is the time to write one)
WHAT: What do they want to learn more about or read about? What can you share that will encourage them to interact? What will inspire them?
WHY: Why should they engage with you? Why are you the perfect person to provide this content to them? What benefits will they receive by engaging with you? How will it make them feel? What actions will they be inspired to take?
WHERE: Where can you find your audience? Which social media outlets do they use and how do they use them? (Doing some competitor research can make this part easier).
According to HubSpot, 48% of nonprofits believe social media is very valuable, with 80% of nonprofits saying Facebook is their primary social network. Most organzitions are already spending a good amount of time promoting their mission on social media. So, instead of being one of the 67% that are just “seeing what will stick,” take some time to think about and create your social media mission and make your interactions are more thoughtful and engaging.
Need help creating your social media mission statement?
Offers are subject to change, refer to the links for most recent information. Updated 10/23/19
When I present my branding and marketing workshops to nonprofits, I inevitably get asked the question: “Is there any way we can do some of this stuff on our own? (preferably for free or not a lot of money!)”
Well, with a little bit of digging, plus my own huge list of resources (I’m a research junkie), I put together this list of free or low-cost design resources for nonprofits and higher education.
Font Resources
Fonts are intellectual property, so they must be licensed before you can use them, so I don’t recommend downloading free fonts unless it’s from a reputable site that sells fonts (see below). Most font sites offer free fonts or inexpensive bundles, which is a great way to test drive fonts and build your collection.
Always make sure you have licenses for the computer(s) you are using your fonts on, and don’t share them unless your license allows usage on multiple computers. Read Monotype’s guide to font licensing for more info.
They also have an amazing font identification tool called What The Font
Stock Photography & Illustration Resources
Just like fonts, images are intellectual property. Never—I repeat—never use an image that you “grabbed from the web” (i.e Google Images, blog posts, etc.) I have personally known colleagues who have been threatened with legal action for using an unlicensed image. It’s no joke.
Also, if you are using images from a free stock photo site, just remember that lots of other people are also probably using that same image. So save it for social media or other casual usage, and use licensed stock photography (or even better, hire a photographer) for images that are more critical to your organization’s branding and marketing.
Of course, I would always encourage you to hire a graphic designer (hint, hint) to design identity and marketing materials for your organziation. But I totally get it: sometimes timing and/or budget just doesn’t allow for it. In that case, I’ve given my stamp of approval for using a template from one of these sites.
My clients at smaller organizations often ask how they can learn design basics or related applications. The resources below are perfect for diving into a design topic or application.
I also offer onsite design and branding workshops that can be tailored to your needs. Reach out to me to learn more or schedule one for your organization.
Images and video are crucial for getting noticed in print and social media. For important organizational marketing materials (identity, brochures, reports, event invitations, etc.), I do suggest working with an experienced graphic designer. But for editing a photo on the fly or creating a social media video, these sites make DIY fast and easy.
On June 1st, the Association of Consultants to Nonprofits (ACN) held their annual meeting in Chicago. This year’s event featured networking, breakout discussions on specific topics and a panel on consultants discussing how they are helping nonprofits grow and thrive.
The panel was moderated by Chicago broadcasting legend and philanthropist, Merri Dee, and included panelists Clara L. Carrier of Breaking Through Consulting, LLC, Gregg Mellinger of USI Insurance Services, Joyce Golbus Poll of J.G. Poll & Associates (and former ACN Board President) and Amy Schiffman of Giving Tree Associates.
How nonprofits can thrive during these challenging times
1. Funding—and What is Working Now
A hybrid/diverse approach is best: corporate, foundations, individual giving. Think about different ways to bring in funds. Call on board members and make them accountable. Be realistic about who wants to fund you, make sure they care about what you do. [Amy]
Connect with people, be specific about what you need (i.e. volunteers, goods, etc.) [Clara]
2. Making Use of a Documented Fundraising Strategy
Break down what to do: why do you to raise money and how will you get there? It functions as an insurance policy against desperately coming up with ideas throughout the year. Determining your strategy is the first step. [Amy]
3. Utilizing a Workflow Analysis
Do what you can to save the organization money. How can we maximize efficiency? Create an effective workflow: it makes for a happy customer and staff morale increases. See who’s doing what and determine how it can be done better. Use resources such as software and consultants, or form teams. [Joyce
4. Reprioritizing Spending
Insurance is your second biggest line item (after payroll); create a proactive, documented multiplayer strategy tied to your budget, so you are not scrambling at the last minute. Follow the money: where is the money going? People will accept lower pay if there are benefits that are suitable to them. Follow the formula: PEOPLE > PREMIUM > PURPOSE. [Gregg]
5. Hiring Employees or Consultants
Whomever you hire must be passionate about your cause. Get to know millennials or other groups, know what their purpose is and how they can relate to your cause. Ask candidates about failures or what they learned. [Clara]
Look for someone who understands and wants to be a key part of your organization’s future. They should want to become am integral part of your team/purpose. Gregg also spoke about asking for a tour of a prospect’s facility in order to better connect with them—and the prospect commented that no one had ever made that request before. [Gregg]
Look for consultants with a strong track record, success working both with people one-on-one and with the board, and a strong belief in your mission. [Amy]
6. Deciding to Become a Funder
Things to consider: need, who they are in community, and how prepared are they are to ask: do they know their needs? Have they done their research and pre work? [Merri Dee]
I’m also thrilled to share that after being a member for two years (and part of the Marketing Committee), I’ve been invited to join the ACN Board of Directors as VP, Marketing and Communications. I’m excited to be a part of this growing community of nonprofit consultants in Chicago. And stay tuned to hear more about ACN!
I work with many nonprofits in Chicago, and one of the reasons they choose to work with me is because they need help bringing consistency to their branding and marketing materials.
For an established organization (or even a new one), branding can start to become diluted over time, with marketing materials using multiple versions of logos, colors and images that are not on-brand, and messaging that is not targeted or audience-focused. This is where brand guidelines can make a big impact.
What are brand guidelines?
Brand guidelines (also sometimes called brand standards, style guides, identity guides or graphic standards) provide a detailed overview of your organization’s branding—from the graphic look and feel to the overall voice and tone. It assures that everyone in your organization—as well as outside partners and vendors—are expressing your brand consistently and accurately.
Since many nonprofit leaders or managers handle most (if not all) marketing tasks internally, having strong brand guidelines can make marketing and promotion of your organization much easier as there is always a reference point. Plus, it keeps everyone inside and outside the organization on the same page (literally!) And most importantly, it allows you to focus on what you do best—sharing your mission and serving others.
Why your nonprofit needs brand guidelines
Consistency: It keeps your branding and marketing consistent across all print and online media.
Efficiency: When you have a reference point for your marketing pieces, you can create them more quickly and efficiently.
Professionalism: When all of your marketing materials are consistent and on-brand, it helps to emphasize your experience and competency
Convenience: When everything is in one place, it helps your partners and vendors (such as graphic designers, photographers, writers and print vendors) do their job faster and easier
Budget: When design elements and other brand-related files are easily accessible, projects can be completed faster and more economically.
Accuracy: When brand details are easily accessible, it helps to avoid costly mistakes such as using the wrong color or font on a printed piece.
Timing: When everything is in one place, necessary brand assets (i.e. logos or brand colors) can be easily accessed when needed and project delays can be avoided.
Onboarding: New employees (and vendors) can get to know your organization quickly and easily, so they can get to work faster. It also provides them a constant reference as they get acquainted with their new job and assures that they are sharing your message accurately.
What should be included in brand guidelines
A good set of brand guidelines will assure everything people see and experience related to your organization is an accurate expression of your brand. So, what should be included?
Before getting started, think about how your organization will use the guidelines:
What types (and channels) of marketing do you use? (i.e. print, digital, social media, in-person events)
Will your in-house team mainly use them or will you share them with outside vendors?
If you work with outside vendors, what types of work do they produce? (i.e. brochures, flyers, advertising, email marketing, social media, video)
At the very least, the following should be included in brand guidelines:
Mission statement and vision statement: including verbiage about how they relate to your overall brand.
Logo usage: including sizing requirements, clear space (the space around the logo that separates it from other design elements), logotypes and icons, logo lockups (i.e. if the logo should always appear with another element such as a tagline, date or URL). It’s also a good to include misuse examples, for example: the logo should not be stretched disproportionately or used smaller than ¼”.
Taglines: including when and how to use the tagline, and where it should be placed in relation to the logo.
Fonts and typography: including allowable primary and secondary fonts for both print and online usage. Optionally, include examples and/or suggested usage for headlines and body copy.
Color palette: including primary and secondary color palettes for print (Pantone, CMYK) and digital or presentation (RGB, HEX) usage.
Imagery: including suggested types of photography and illustration that should be used, as well as when images should be used. May also include recommended website for purchasing stock photography or illustration and/or image guidelines for in-house or contracted photographers.
Depending on your organization’s needs, you may also want to include:
Voice and tone: including writing guidelines for print marketing, as well as digital marketing such as blogs and social media outlets.
Sample layouts: including commonly-used marketing templates such as business cards, stationery, flyers, print ads and social media posts.
Social media/content marketing guidelines: including an overview of how your brand will be expressed on social media or content marketing (if available, include an overview or links to the organization’s social media/content marketing strategy and editorial calendar)
Guest author guidelines: including guidelines for writers who will contribute articles to the organization’s website, blog or social media.
PR reference: including organization blurbs (several versions ranging from a 5-word blurb to several paragraphs), staff bios, headshots, and other materials that may be needed for PR opportunities. Include filenames and shared drive locations for easy access by all staff members and contractors.
Email signature: what should be included (logo, name, title, email, phone number, legal verbiage, other relevant links) as well as the specified format (text, HTML). Have a template handy on a shared drive to supply to new employees or contractors.
This may sound like a lot of work, but it can be as simple or complex as your organization needs.
And enlisting the help of a branding designer can make it much easier. Believe me, it will all pay off in the end. As a designer, I know how frustrating it can be to search for logos, color specs and other necessary design elements when working on a project.
Want to see examples?
Sometimes the best way to get started developing brand guidelines is to see what others are doing. A good place to start is by Googling “nonprofit brand guidelines”.
This past Saturday was my 17th business anniversary, so I decided to share 17 of my designs that I have loved over the years. Of course it’s hard to pick favorites, but as I reflect back on my career, these projects stand out for their design, mission or the overall experience.
The video above shows a 15-second sneak peek, but read on to hear the stories about each project from past to present.
Lakeview Chamber of Commerce Branding & CTA Placards
This is one of my first big projects with one of my first clients (with whom I still work). I loved brainstorming and developing this branding program, especially because involved local business. Plus, it was exciting to see the placards and posters on the CTA trains and stations.
Stonefish Grill Branding & Menu
I worked on a lot of restaurant branding and menu design in the early part of my career. I never had a chance to eat at this restaurant, but it’s one of my favorite restaurant logo designs.
DePaul University Coleman Entrepreneurship Center Strategic Plan Brochure
I didn’t create the branding for this program, however I loved working with the icons to develop the brochure for this program, especially because it highlighted entrepreneurs. I also developed related materials such as a pocket folder and one-sheets.
Tracy Dillard Holiday Cards
Tracy Dillard is a real estate agent with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices KoenigRubloff Realty Group who specializes in architecturally-interesting properties in Chicago, including Mies van der Rohe properties. She also happens to be my very first client. Being an art-minded person, she always challenged me to create something unique and bold when designing her holiday cards. I always used an interesting fold, format, layout or paper stock. See 10 years of holiday card designs here.
BAI Payments Connect Event Branding & Marketing Materials
This event branding was a challenge as the theme of this conference for payment professionals was quite abstract and multifaceted. After doing a lot of research and brainstorming, I was really pleased with how the final design highlighted the three aspects of the conference, and showed how they are different yet connected.
Tribe Wellness Branding & Marketing Materials
This is still one of my favorite branding projects. My client had the fantastic idea of using the Tree of Life as design inspiration and I loved how the final logo turned out—and especially how I was able to “pull apart” the logo to designate the three aspects off the program.
Best Loved Quick Fixes From Mixes Book Cover
Though I love working on multi-page designs, I have always loved designing book covers and this was one of my favorite cookbook covers. One of the cool things about this client was that she hired me after a few months of receiving my promotional postcards (see, marketing works!)
Family Focus Spring Benefit Invitations I designed Family Focus’ gala event invitations for several years, but two of them still stand out. The invitation with the butterfly illustration had a unique diecut on the front and the circus theme and colors of the second one were fun to work with (as well as a challenge—printing purple in 4-color process is not always easy!)
Chicago Theological Seminary (CTS) Branding & Student Lookbook
When I started working with CTS, they didn’t have an overall branding so their marketing materials were inconsistent. This is one of my favorite types of projects as I love to pull everything together and make it consistent. Of the many pieces I designed for CTS over the years, the first piece—which is this student Lookbook—is still my favorite.
National Museum of Mexican Art Event Invitation
One of the speakers at the Family Focus gala event (see butterfly invitation above) loved my design work on that piece and asked me to design an invitation for this gallery exhibition (I love when that happens!) The artwork and visuals I worked with were amazing and I was honored that the exhibition panels I designed were eventually donated to the Huichol cultural center in Mexico. Plus the opportunity to attend the fun opening reception party was an extra bonus!
Typography in the City: West Loop by Lidia Varesco Design
So, of course I had to include a few of my own designs on this list. This book was inspired by my photo blog Typography in the City and features images of found typography from my West Loop neighborhood. And with the changing real estate landscape in the West Loop, it’s also become a local “history book.” Typography in the City: West Loop is available in the Blurb Bookstore for $37 (hardcover).
City Kid: ABC by Lidia Varesco Design
After having a few kids, I was inspired to start designing children’s books. When my son was a toddler, he used to love pointing out letters on buildings and signs, so I designed this book for him and other city kids to learn their letters and numbers by spotting typography around them. City Kid: ABC is available in the Blurb Bookstore for $12.50 (softcover).
HELM Branding & Brochure
My contact at CTS eventually moved on to this organization and reached out to me to brand the organization, as well as design several brochures for prospective students. I love establishing long-term relationships with my clients, so it always makes me happy when clients who have moved onto a new organization reconnect with me.
Volunteers of America of Illinois Brochure My client at VOA of Illinois loved the HELM Lookbook I designed (mentioned above) so we decided to make a “lookbook” that would share the mission of their organziation. I loved how the “building blocks of change” concept turned out visually and I have enjoyed adapting the branding to their program brochures and other marketing pieces.
Crawligator Logo & Branding
I just love how this logo turned out. The Crawligator is a baby product, so of course it was near and dear to my (mama) heart. With the fun name and related visuals that it suggested, it was an enjoyable project from beginning to end. The hardest part was choosing the final logo becasue I loved all of my design concepts!
RSSI Event Branding
I love working on projects that have a very clear theme and require some design research (one of my favorite parts of a project). Since this event had a Roaring 20s theme, it suggested a very specific type of artwork. I think I was designing this in my head when my client was giving me the project details!
Well, there you have it. I hope you have enjoyed this little walk down memory lane with me.
Thank you to everyone who has been a part of Lidia Varesco Design over the last 17 years—I couldn’t have made it this far without each and every one of you!
For 10 years, All Stars Project of Chicago has brought growth opportunities to young people and adults living in the poorest communities. They needed event branding and marketing materials for their 10th Anniversary Benefit Luncheon—where they were unveiling plans to reinvest growth into the city by “Connecting Communities Downtown.”
I developed a design that expressed their mission of connecting communities across Chicago with business partners in the downtown community—as well as a special 10th anniversary logo.
I designed the Event Logo, Sales Pack, Invitation Package (Invitation and Mailing Envelope, Reply Card and Reply Envelope), Program and Insert, Power Point Presentation, and Onsite Signage.
I was recently pulling weeds at my parents’ house. On first glance, I didn’t see very many (which is why I decided to undertake this task) but the more I started pulling, the more weeds I started to see. All of the sudden, they were everywhere!
But once I started pulling the weeds, it was such a rewarding feeling. And the more I pulled, the better the garden looked overall.
It’s kind of like your branding—on first glance you don’t see any problems. The “weeds” just seem to blend in. But once you really take a good look at the big picture, weeds, or should I say, problems, start to jump out at you.
But just like weeding, once you start to take care of those small branding inconsistencies and gaps, things start to look a whole lot better. And it’s such a great feeling!
Here are a few tips for keeping the “weeds” out of your branding:
Conduct a quarterly branding audit: Spread out all of your branding materials on a large table. Seeing everything at-a-glance helps to spot problems and missing elements
Create brand guidelines: This document which details guidelines for logo, typography, color, imagery and layout, makes it easier for everyone in your organization (as well as outside vendors) to stay on-brand when developing marketing or promotional materials
Know your client: Knowing exactly who you are speaking to can help keep your branding clear and focused. Using a Client Worksheet such as this one can help you narrow it down.
Think before adding to your marketing mix: Adding marketing materials or methods you really don’t need can make your branding appear scattered and inconsistent
Having a graphic designer partner can make a huge difference for an organization. Since your branding is probably the first thing a potential client or partner notices about you, investing in a well-designed logo and other marketing materials is one of the keys to success.
Let us know what your goals are for the project (aka the “who, what and why”): This includes WHO you are trying to reach, WHAT you are trying to accomplish, and WHY you chose this type of marketing piece. The more we know about your project and your goals, the better the end result will be.
Send us copy that is complete and well-organized: This will cut down on the number of potential edits (saving you time and money). Let us know if you need referrals for a copywriter or editor. Or ask us for help editing your content to fit your message.
Provide graphics that are high-resolution and in usable file formats: Please, no graphics pulled from the web! Also let us know of any potential copyright issues—if you are unsure about using an image, we can help you investigate or find appropriate images.
Inform us of deadlines and crucial project milestones: It helps us create a working production schedule—and we are happy to keep you on track if necessary!
Let us know how and where your project will be used: If you need print materials, a website, online advertising, social media profiles or graphics, promotional or staff apparel, etc., we want to know about it.
Provide samples: If you have existing marketing materials or branding, please provide samples at the start of the project so we can keep everything consistent.
Bring up any concerns as they arise: Please let us know as soon as possible of any concerns you have during the design process. Frequent and honest communication is appreciated and will help both of us stay on the same page.
Bonus points – if you have Brand Guidelines, please send them: This helps us keep our designs on-brand (And if you don’t have brand guidelines, we are happy to create them for you)
Above all, know that we are here to help. If you have any questions as we go along, please ask. Remember, our job is to make your business look good so the more we communicate, the better your business branding—and our relationship—will be.
