Nonprofit Marketing

I prioritize strong, consistent branding and user experience in my design and marketing work.

For my Writing in the Public Interest class, I was tasked with fixing three examples of ineffective nonprofit communications. My main focus was increasing brand recognizability in each deliverable, while making the user experience simpler and more enjoyable. Upon completion, this project taught me how to work within the constraints of multiple modes of digital communication while applying the same audience-centric strategies. I was also able to improve my design skills, particularly my proficiency in the design program Canva.

Example 1 showcases my professional writing, editing, and digital marketing skills. The improved deliverable uses more genre-appropriate and professional language, as well as making stronger appeals to ethos and pathos in order to motivate audiences to donate to the nonprofit.

Example 2 shows my ability to establish a strong brand identity and improve user experience. I implemented a heavy redesign to make the website more intuitive and efficient, while increasing the nonprofit's branding.

Example 3 again presents my skills in both written and visual marketing. I made changes that would better catch an audience's attention and increase critical engagement, while always maintaining a consistent brand identity.

My overall actions included the following:

Standardized fonts, colors, and style across each deliverable
Simplified menus, buttons, and language
Established and re-established nonprofit name, logo, mission, values, and overall brand

To learn more about this project, scroll down. You can also see a full case study memo for this project and a deliverable presentation featuring two additional examples at the following links:

Example 1

Before

Example 1 is a sample email from an unnamed nonprofit organization, asking the recipient(s) for donations.

Example 1

After

When fixing Example 1, my goal was to make the email look and

sound more professional, while motivating the reader of the email

to get involved and donate by making appeals to ethos and

pathos. I began by changing the “To” category to show only the

individual recipient, replacing the “From” email address with an

official organization email address, and crafting a new, more

personal subject line. These changes immediately made the email look more professional and organized, adding credibility to the organization. They also improved the email in other ways: having the name of the organization in the email address establishes a brand presence, and changing the subject line to a question—“Will you help us [mission] today?”—grabs the recipient’s attention and again brands the nonprofit by immediately establishing their mission before the email is even opened. The improved example also connects personally with the reader by beginning with their name and ending with the name of an individual at the nonprofit, and there are many appeals to emotion throughout the short email. To do this, language was carefully chosen:

The first sentence is a question, making the reader apply the situation to themselves, and the alarming statistic creates a sense of urgency and motivates the reader to care.
“Fortunately, you can help” is optimistic and puts responsibility on the reader.
“just” makes the donation amount seem small or insignificant.
“will” implies that the reader is going to give money to the cause.
“with us” again connects the reader and the organization in a personal way.
“today” establishes a timeframe, motivating the reader to act.

Finally, I applied some important branding principles. The name of the nonprofit is found three times in this short email, establishing a strong brand presence, and there are three mission/goal statements, further strengthening this presence and reminding the reader of exactly what their money will be used for, which motivates them to donate. A goal amount is stated and the donation page is linked, ensuring that the call to action is clear and easy to follow.

Example 2

Before

Example 2 is the homepage for Michigan’s St. Clair Shores Public Library.

Example 2

I made many changes to Example 2, all with the intent to simplify the webpage

and establish a clear, strong brand identity for the St. Clair Shores Public Library.

Some visual changes include:

Applying the same sans serif font and color palette throughout to establish

a consistent brand and cohesive appearance

Removing the effect on left menu buttons, branding them and making them

easier to read

Clearly dividing top menu bar links, making the site easier to navigate,

therefore keeping user’s attention longer

Enlarging the name of the organization at the top, making it clearly stand out
Combining and simplifying left and right menu bars, making important information easier to find and reducing clutter so that the nonprofit’s brand is in focus instead.

Notably, I also simplified the main header to show an image of the library and the name with a welcome message, strengthening brand recognition and creating a welcoming atmosphere while removing unnecessary information for a clearer focus on the brand as a whole. I also accomplished this by changing the links in the middle of the page to articles with clickable cover photos and titles, allowing each to have a unique, eye-catching appearance while also keeping the same branded font, color, and style as the rest of the site.

After

Example 3

Before

Example 3 is an online article from Lansing’s nonprofit Animal Placement Bureau, an organization that rescues and rehomes dogs.

Example 3

After

I made similar changes to Example 3 in order to establish

a strong brand while catching the eye of the reader.

To ensure that every element is cohesive with the overall

brand, I made the right-side calendar bar the colors of the

Animal Placement Bureau’s logo. I also increased the size

of the logo on the top menu and added a lighter shade of

orange to the buttons, ensuring readability while also enforcing the nonprofit’s identity throughout the page. To catch the reader’s attention and increase engagement, I:

Added an image of a puppy mill to invoke sympathy and motivate the reader to act
Included article links to other areas of our website
Added a linked call to action in the introduction, making it immediately clear to the reader how they can (and should) support the organization.

All of these changes helped to ensure that the reader left with just enough information (while not providing too much) and a clear picture of the nonprofit, which was subtly enforced in the overall branding of the page.