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Why Taglines Matter

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Have you thought lately about your nonprofit's tagline? Does your nonprofit even have a tagline?

After your logo, this is one of the biggest influencing factors for how people react to your organization's mission. Your tagline sets the tone and helps determine if people will remember what you do or forget you all together.

Nancy Schwartz of the Getting Attention blog is hosting the Nonprofit Taglines Competition. And she features some excellent examples of taglines that work. Some of the nominees are definitely stronger than the others, but here are a few of our favorites:

 

  • History in Focus (The Center for Civil War Photography)
  • A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Waste (The United Negro College Fund)
  • Because the earth needs a good lawyer (Earthjustice)
  • Filling Pantries. Filling Lives. (Houston Food Bank)
  • Open Hearts - Open Minds - Open Doors (The people of the United Methodist Church)

 

These taglines are strong because they answer "Why?" or "What?" And some, like Earthjustice and the Houston Food Bank do both.

Taglines matter. They aren't just another marketing gimmick. Taglines tell your audience what you do and why you do it. When done well, your taglines communicate your central message in a way your audience will remember and repeat.

What's your nonprofit tagline and what do you think about it?

Need help writing an effective tagline? Contact us. We love helping you tell your story.

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written by Leandra Ganko, October 02, 2009
So true. And according to a recent Cone Report Consumer Survey about nonprofits, http://www.coneinc.com/nonprof...100release, those with a clear mission or focus in their titles (e.g., the American Cancer Society) have higher consumer perception rankings than organizations in the same sector whose names are more ambiguous (e.g., City of Hope). So, if your name doesn't say specifically what you do, then your tagline definitely should.
Celebrating Relationships - Nurturing Congregations - Deepening Discipleship
written by Cat W., October 02, 2009
I like to think that the tagline for Montreat Conference Center answers both the "Why?" and the "What?" These three statements make up an approximate paraphrase of our mission statement.

We are aware that much of our communications is (for better or worse) worded in ways that are very church-centric. This makes sense for us, as we are a conference center serving the P.C.(USA), but we also realize it may make us less accessible to some of our non-church guest groups, of which we have quite a few. So I was very happy when our organization tweaked the tagline to the one above--I love that the very first part, "Celebrating Relationships," is open to all types and all guests.

We are about to enter a time of serious transition and restructuring, and these three statements will be used to frame the discussion regarding what programs we ought to be offering and how we ought to be operating.

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