BRAND IS BOSS

- Jessica Paulsen, Chicago Metro Office Director, do good Consulting

An organization’s brand is a reflection of how it serves the community. For donors, volunteers, and clients, a brand can conjure up an image of reliability, compassion, and efficiency. If not managed well, your brand – the image the community has of your organization – might not reflect the true values and quality of your organization.

Think of some of the most well-known commercial brands. People the world over have a consistent idea about McDonald’s whenever they hear the name, the restaurant’s tagline, or see the famous golden arches,. Though nonprofits may not have the same robust budget to manage and market their brand, there are many things you can do to effectively manage your image and ensure that your values and vision are clearly communicated. As the competition for donor dollars gets tighter every day, it is more important than ever before to successfully communicate your brand in all you do.

Think It Through
You may have a logo, a tagline, and a website, but if you’ve never considered what you want to communicate about your organization, now is the time to start talking it over. Your board’s fundraising or marketing committee might be the place to start. Some organizations may also wish to survey clients and donors to find out what the organization means to them. Talk about what your organization stands for and how this sets you apart from other organizations. Craft language and messages to help communicate these values, qualities, and strengths. Make sure your visual image reflects this, too. If it doesn’t, it may be time to overhaul your visual brand as well. Check the Mahomet Area Youth Club’s logo makeover to learn more about how your visual image reflects your brand.

Consistency is Key
Once you have determined how to communicate the things that make up your organization’s brand, begin to use them in all of the ways you communicate. If one of your core values is providing a supportive and constructive afterschool environment for children, choose images and language that reflect this. For example, instead of using images of children playing together, you may choose to find images that show youth and adults working together on a homework assignment to demonstrate the support your group provides. You may switch to language that focuses more on how staff and volunteers work together with youth. Ensure that these new messages are integrated into all of your printed materials, including your website, newsletters, and donor communications. Be sure to reinforce your messages when you speak with donors, issue press releases, or attend community events. Make sure your board, staff, and volunteers can also communicate these new ideas clearly and consistently when they are speaking with stakeholders, clients, or others to help build up the brand. Arrange for ongoing training if necessary.

Remember, what may seem repetitive to you actually reaches your target audiences less often. By ensuring that your marketing materials, donor appeals, and community appearances all integrate your brand messages and visual image, you can help reinforce and build the image you want. It will take time, but consistency is the best (and often easiest) way to build your brand. To have the strongest impact on your branding efforts, you may want to set aside a small budget that will allow you to overhaul all of your printed materials to incorporate the new brand image.

Manage Opportunities
Once you’ve built your brand, keep it going. A brand image is something your organization should maintain for many years, so managing and maintaining it becomes your next task. Think carefully about how opportunities like special events or partnership reflect the values you’ve worked hard to communicate. One organization I volunteered with that assists homeless people – many of whom struggle with issues of substance abuse and alcoholism – recently considered hosting a happy hour fundraiser for young professionals that included unlimited drinks and the possibility of drinking games. An event like this, though it may have reached a desired audience of up-and-coming donors, would not reflect the supportive and sensitive services the organization strives to provide for its clients. The group planning the event decided not to pursue this idea and is now considering event options that more closely reflect their values.

As you continue with your work and fundraising efforts, continue to think carefully about how to reinforce your brand and values in all you do. Though it will take time up front, a strong brand will help you win more donors and community support for years to come. Check out do good's free marketing and communications resources for more ideas to help strengthen your outreach and reinforce your brand.

Q&A: What's the New IRS Form 990 All About?

Dear do good:
I was recently elected to serve as treasurer of a small health-related nonprofit. We were desperate – the last treasurer resigned to move out of state. I’ve been hearing a lot about a new IRS Form 990. What do I need to know?
- Looking for Answers in Wrigleyville

Dear Answers:
Form 990 is the main tool the Internal Revenue Service uses to verify organizations are achieving their tax-exempt requirements. Last year, the IRS unveiled an updated Form 990 for use in 2009, emphasizing a focus on increased organizational transparency, legal compliance, and ethics.

It is very important for your organization to realize that many donors are using your Form 990, which is posted online at Guidestar.com, to learn more about your organization. While a drier read perhaps than your organization’s newsletter or website, a significant – and growing – number of donors and volunteers are using this document to measure your organization’s financial health and to verify it is a legitimate charity.

The new Form 990 has many substantial changes, as the document had not been overhauled since 1979. Overhauls to forms 990-PF, 990-EZ, or 990-T have not yet been made, but are expected in the coming years.

The previous 990 form was difficult to fill out and, based on some of the questions asked, gave a lopsided image of nonprofits.

To help give a complete picture of the organization and its achievements, in the development of the new form, the IRS focused on three main areas. First was to enhance transparency to provide more realistic pictures of organizations. Second was to encourage sharing more regarding the details of organizational operations. Last was to streamline the document.

Probably the biggest change in the document you need to know relates to the IRS’s specific interest in governance. There are detailed questions related to board structures and practices that focus on how nonprofit boards assume their role at the helm of their organizations.

Because these changes can be quite labor intensive and onerous for some organizations, the IRS offered a phased-in approach for reporting, which is detailed here. Essentially, smaller organizations are offered less onerous processes, and those with more revenues have a more robust process to go through.

For a thorough overview of the changes, I recommend reading BoardSource's article, Governance in Form 990.

Other great resources to help guide you include:
- Form 990 for FY08
- Detailed instructions for Form 990
- Filing tips
- Resources for managers of new and small tax-exempt organizations
- Online tutorial

Good luck in your new role. If you really feel like you need additional guidance with the form, I encourage you to contact your organization’s accountant, or secure one if you do not yet have one guiding you.

- Laura Huth, President & CEO, do good Consulting

Have a question for do good Consulting? Contact our experts at 217-778-1687 or dogood@dogoodconsulting.org.

Group profile: Eastern Illinois Foodbank

by Cheryl Middaugh, do good Consulting

In its 26 years of operation, the Eastern Illinois Foodbank (EIF) has decidedly evolved into a staple institution in Champaign-Urbana. If you’ve lived in the area for even a little while, you’ve likely volunteered at the Foodbank or one of its agencies. You might have donated cash or food, or attended a Hunger Action Month event in September. Chances are, at the very least, you know that the Foodbank works to alleviate hunger in our community.

But what you might not know is that the Eastern Illinois Foodbank actually has a presence that extends far beyond Champaign-Urbana – in fact, it feeds people in 14 separate counties. The Foodbank works with around 220 different programs and agencies in eastern Illinois, ultimately feeding about 44,000 people each month. You also might not know that the Eastern Illinois Foodbank is part of a big state network of foodbanks called Feeding Illinois and an even bigger national network called Feeding America (formerly known as America’s Second Harvest). So in a way, the Eastern Illinois Foodbank is itself a network within a network within a network.

Never has the importance of that network been so important. Hunger is a growing problem that has been aggravated by the economy – indeed, food pantries are hearing the phrase “I never thought I’d end up here” more than ever this year. At the same time, the solution will not come from a singular initiative or organization – rather, it will come from a collaborative, network-based effort. The integrated and far-reaching consequences of poverty extend way beyond food – into the stability of other basic necessities like shelter, education, health, income…the list goes on.

Fittingly then, the theme for this year’s Hunger Action Month (which starts today, September 1) is “Get informed. Get Engaged. Get Together.”

Want to know what you can do to stamp out hunger? Check out the Eastern Illinois Foodbank’s calendar of events, which can be found online at www.eifoodbank.org and get involved some way, some how.Together, we can make a difference.

Want to see you favorite nonprofit organization highlighted in the next issue of Doing Good? Contact do good Consulting at dogood@dogoodconsulting.org or 217-778-1687.

EXTREME MAKEOVER: MAYC Logo Gets a Makeover

by Laura Huth, do good Consulting President & CEO

The Mahomet Area Youth Club sits on an unassuming corner lot north of downtown Mahomet. Early in the morning, things are generally quiet but as 8AM descends, the kids begin to arrive and the fun and the laughter start up.

Heading up the operations at this important organization is woman who clearly loves her job: Mary Vita Rosmarino. Formerly a property maintenance supervisor for the City of Champaign, Mary Vita worked for the Girl Scouts of East Central Illinois for three years, then took the helm at the Mahomet Area Youth Club (MAYC) in 2007.

As both an administrator and a mentor to the kids that are a part of the club, Mary Vita excels in her job. She is a no-nonsense woman who infuses humor into nearly everything she does. She is at once kind, but strict with her young charges, and in her role as executive director at MAYC, she peppers her take-charge attitude with infectious wit and laughter.

In April, Mary Vita saw the notice for do good Consulting and Midnight Graphic’s Great Logo Makeover. In the span of a day, her application was complete and submitted.

“With all the worthy organizations out there, I never thought MAYC would win do good’s logo makeover competition,” she told me when I called. “We’re a small organization in rural Illinois – surely other, larger groups would edge us out.”

But win MAYC did, and the transformation on their very simple, outdated logo begin in June.

The process began with an initial “intake” meeting, where MAYC’s new logo steering committee met with do good representatives and Midnight Graphic’s artists. Armed with a feel for what the organization wanted to accomplish with their new brand and how it would be used, Paul Edwards at Midnight Graphics got to work.

A first round of logos was viewed by MAYC’s steering committee in July and amendments and suggestions were given. In August, a new logo was presented to the board based on this input. From there, a few minor modifications were made and the board unanimously voiced their support for the organization’s new look.

“Getting a new logo means much more than an updated graphic,” said Rosmarino. “Our new logo will be used to help us communicate our organization’s mission and the community and customers we serve. It will make a huge difference in our work, and as a result, in the lives of Mahomet area kids.”

The Mahomet Area Youth Club will be formally unveiling their new logo at an open house tentatively planned for Tuesday, September 29 at their headquarters at 601 E. Franklin in Mahomet (watch the MAYC website for details). Watch over time as MAYC transforms their written materials, their website, and more with their new look!

Above to the right is the before and after logos images. You can see the transformation and workplan here. We know the Mahomet Area Youth Club will enjoy their new brand. We hope you do, too!

goodWORKSconnect.org LAUNCHED!

At its biannual Downstate Illinois Nonprofit Conference, the Lumpkin Family Foundation formally unveiled a new resource for Illinois' central Illinois nonprofit organizations: goodWORKSconnect.org . This new online community and virtual resource center will help nonprofit leaders, staff, and board members connect with new and old colleagues, share information, and learn from each other. It's something like Facebook, but specifically built for the nonprofit sector in downstate Illinois. The site's goal is to aid in organizational efficiency and networking, support collaborative efforts, and give nonprofits a stronger voice when it's needed most. Head to goodWORKSconnect.org to set up your professional profile, create a "group" for your nonprofit organization, to surf available resources to boost your efforts, and to link up with peers across downstate Illinois.

For more information, contact Annie Hernandez at the Lumpkin Family Foundation at annie.hernandez@consolidated.com.

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