Creating an identity for your charity or organisation

Read time: 3 mins | Date added: 15/11/2024

Having a clear identity for your organisation is vital. It includes the way you communicate and present yourself and tells people who you are and what you do, no matter how they connect with you.

Why create an identity?

  1. It helps people recognise your organisation and your resources.
  2. People are more likely to see you as a professional, well-run organisation that they want to connect with.

Your identity, or brand doesn’t need to be grand or flashy. It just needs to represent you and the great work that you do. You want it to show clearly and simply what you’re all about. Then you’ll have consistency in every message you write, every leaflet you create, every banner you place – online and offline. 

What to consider

How to work out your identity

When thinking about your organisation’s purpose and what’s special about it, consider the following:
 

  • Who are you and what do you do? 
  • Why should people care?
  • What cause do you support and why is it so important?
  • If the cause is people, who are they? 
  • What do you need the donations for? What will you do with them? What can’t you do without them?
  • What exactly are you asking people for? Money? Food? Time?
  • What makes your charity or organisation special and different to the others?
     

Think about the people you support and the interesting stories they have to tell. It’s likely that they can explain the real value of your organisation better than anyone. Be sure to tell these stories in your communications.

How to create it?

Your visual identity

The easiest way to create an identity is visually. To do this, you can hire a designer to create some templates for you. If you reach out to your networks, you may be able to find a designer who will create this as a donation to your organisation. Even if you must pay for it, you should see it as a good investment. Don’t forget to ask if they offer a discount for not-for-profit organisations.

Depending on your budget, you can ask a designer to look at your whole brand strategy. This means you can have one consistent, user-focused brand in all your communications. There are also lots of free templates available online where you can create these things yourself with minimal effort.
 

Your website

Perhaps the hardest part of creating your identity will be building a website. Again, the easiest option is to have someone do it for you. This could be as a donation, or you may have to pay for it. If you want to try this yourself, there are simple website builders that you can use like GoDaddy, WordPress, Squarespace and Weebly1.

A place for your users

If you have a website, you can direct all traffic there. This could be from social media, emails, business cards, search results or news articles. You can use this website to tell the world about the great things that you do. Plus, it’s a place for your volunteers and donors to get in touch and make donations. It’s a good idea to set up email addresses for you, your colleagues, and volunteers. This makes an easy way to keep in touch. Don’t forget to make them consistent with the name of your website.

Why not add a QR code to your business cards and posters that leads straight to your website? This helps people to find you. You can find lots of free QR generators online. 
 

Be clear and consistent

This is the main thing to bear in mind when you’re creating and maintaining an identity. Always be clear and consistent. It will make your fundraising activities much more compelling for potential donors. 
 

Useful links:

Chartered Institute of Fundraising

Charity Excellence Framework 

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1Please note that these are just examples of the types of software available and Bank of Scotland does not endorse the services they provide.

While all reasonable care has been taken to ensure that the information provided is correct, no liability is accepted by Bank of Scotland for any loss or damage caused to any person relying on any statement or omission. This is for information only and should not be relied upon as offering advice for any set of circumstances.  Specific advice should always be sought in each instance.