You’ve heard it said many times, “the three most important things when

considering purchasing property are location, location, and location.”

Investing wisely in the right piece of real estate will almost always

ensure financial gain.  In marketing, the kind of real estate we need to

focus on is called mind share.  Mind share is the amount of “mental real

estate” you own in the public’s mind when they think of your “charitable

category.”

Charitable category is a classification of a cause, advocacy or

philanthropic activity, such as the arts, education, environment, animal

welfare, homeless services, human rights, disaster relief, various segments

of health, and so on.

Your organization’s core mission falls into one charitable category.  What

is it?  “Brandraising while Fundraising” is the process of making your

charity the one people think of first and feel the best about in your

specific charitable category.  You must thoroughly understand who the other

key organizations are in your charitable category, and how your charity can

differentiate itself from these other organizations.

Your organization’s brand is the essence of who you are…it’s the sum total

of all attitudes, perceptions and beliefs about your charity.  What do

people think of or say when they hear the name of your nonprofit?  Those

attitudes, perceptions and beliefs primarily come from how well you perform

and integrate your charity’s core mission and its messaging throughout all

mediums.  If you are effectively conducting Mission-Driven Marketing, then

you will be “Brandraising while Fundraising.”

Nonprofit brands run into trouble when they don’t understand their

charitable category.  Furthermore, some organizations believe their charity

falls into multiple categories so they resist positioning themselves in one

specific category.  This is a mistake.  Any good book on branding will tell

you that you can only be based on one thing.

Our minds work hard at compartmentalizing and filing things away into

long-term memory.  If your message is diluted and/or unfocused, it will end

up in the mind’s mental trash compactor, also known as our short-term

memory.

The best nonprofit brands today are built on two things.  First, doing

excellent and trustworthy work, and second, presenting the same single

consistent message over many years.  Brands that follow these two

guidelines have made relevant connections with people; your organization

must become relevant because no one wants to be considered the alternative.

Many good people have their nose to philanthropy’s proverbial grindstone,

vigorously crafting the next fundraising idea that will fetch the most

money.  Unfortunately, some of them never look up long enough to ensure

what they finally produce supports their organization’s brand and

positioning.  Let me encourage you to look up to secure your charity's

place in the minds of donors.

"Learn to... be what you are, and learn to resign with a good grace all

that you are not." - Henri Frederic Amiel

===================

About Todd Baker

===================

For nearly two decades, Todd Baker has helped some of the top charities in

North America, assisting them in the development of Mission-Driven

Marketing(tm) strategies.  As a published author and frequent speaker at

nonprofit conferences, he has dedicated his life to the cause of

philanthropy.