These are the logos of some of the most prominent nonprofits which became well-known primarily by brand development. According to an article in the Stanford Social Innovation Review written by Nathalie Kylander and Christopher Stone of Harvard University, nonprofits are increasingly using their brand not only as a method of fundraising but also as a way of creating a global identity, which can drive “broad, long-term social goals” and strengthen “internal identity, cohesion, and capacity.”

In fact, branding has become so crucial in the nonprofit sector that several nonprofits (including The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, OxFam International, and GBCHealth) have taken great measures to rebrand and solidify their identities. While generating revenue is a goal of brand development, nonprofit leaders are more interested in the social influence a brand can have. Tom Scott, director of global brand and innovation at The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation says, “Could we have greater impact if we leveraged our brand in different ways? What difference could it make to attach our logo to things to move conversations forward or elevate certain issues?” Kylander and Stone, along with collaborators at the Rockefeller Foundation and colleagues at Harvard’s Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations, have designed a framework to address these concerns and help organizations maintain their mission and values.

The framework is called the Nonprofit Brand IDEA. “IDEA” stands for brand integrity, democracy, ethics, and affinity.

Brand integrity: External identity, external image, and the mission of the organization are aligned with each other. The organization is cohesive and “gives its members, staff, volunteers, and trustees a common sense of why the organization does what it does and why it matters to the world.”

Brand democracy: The organization trusts its affiliates to “communicate their own understanding of the organization’s core identity,” which means the way the brand is portrayed is not tightly controlled by the leaders of the organization.

Brand ethics: The organization’s internal identity is aligned with its external image and its values and culture. While brand integrity and brand ethics seem similar, brand ethics is more about how the organization portrays its values while brand integrity is about how the organization portrays its mission and goals.

Brand affinity: The organization promotes “collective over individual interests,” and is open to collaborations with other organizations. This, I believe, is the main difference between nonprofit and for-profit organizations.

While not all nonprofits can adhere to this framework, I think it is a good ideal model for nonprofits to consider. With the rise of social media, the way an organization is presented is more important than ever. Smaller nonprofits might have difficulty developing a brand with tight budgets and limited resources, but branding can really define the essence of an organization.