How international nonprofits build brand equity

This paper describes an empirical model of brand equity for international nonprofit organizations and offers nonprofit managers suggestions for the management of their brands. The main areas of interest include:

• A review of the importance of branding for nonprofits, the lack of a brand equity models specifically for nonprofits, and the key differences between for‐profits and nonprofits.
• A proposed nonprofit brand equity model, based on a grounded theory and system dynamics approach.
• A series of specific managerial recommendations, for building nonprofit brand equity.

Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Efficiency,stability and the decision to give to nonprofit arts and cultural organizations in the United States

• Using data from the Cultural Data Project, this study extends the literature by examining the impact of financial disclosure information on donations to arts and culture‐related nonprofit organizations in the United States. Results for organization financial stability are for the most part counterintuitive: financially unstable arts and culture‐related nonprofits receive more donations. The current analysis supports prior research and finds evidence of a “crowding in” effect for fundraising expenses, suggesting that nonprofits that spend more on fundraising and marketing raise more funds than those that spend less. Additional analysis indicates efficiency matters to donors when it comes to fundraising efforts. As the “cost to raise a dollar” increases donations decrease. Nonprofit managers in arts and culture‐related organizations concerned about increasing donations should consider strategies that will increase the efficiency of their fundraising and marketing efforts. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

     

Understanding public awareness of nonprofit organizations: exploring the awareness–confidence relationship

• Public confidence has often been viewed as a critical indicator of legitimacy within the nonprofit sector. Indeed, confidence is believed to be among one of the sector's most important commodities. Surveys, however, have shown that the public does not always have much confidence in the performance of nonprofit organizations. Although this lack of confidence is certainly concerning, few studies have assessed whether the public actually has any awareness of what nonprofit organizations are, and no studies have examined the personal characteristics associated with more (or less) nonprofit awareness. Thus, by using individual‐level data from a survey of public attitudes toward nonprofits in San Diego County (n = 1002), the purpose of this study was to explore how individual characteristics relate to nonprofit awareness and to examine the extent to which awareness of the sector influences confidence in the performance of nonprofit organizations. The findings from the study indicate that nonprofit awareness varies by several individual‐level characteristics—with many of those likely to be the most dependent on nonprofit services being the least aware of the sector. The findings also indicate that awareness of the sector is the most significant predictor of confidence in the performance of nonprofits.

Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

How great thy brand: the impact of church branding on perceived benefits

• There are mixed opinions in the literature in regards of the appropriateness, relevance and significance of church branding in the context of church participation. This pilot study applied the ‘perceived brand orientation’ (PBO) construct in church context and examines its impact on perceived benefits among regular church goers of one Pentecostal denomination and non‐regular church goers. The results indicate that PBO is significantly related to perceived spiritual, social and purpose‐in‐life benefits in both sample groups. A multigroup analysis also found that PBO has a stronger effect on perceived benefits among non‐regular church goers. This study highlights the importance of being brand‐oriented to attract members' participation. Relevant implications for church leaders and managers of nonprofit organizations are also identified.

Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The effects of nonprofit brand equity on individual giving intention: mediating by the self‐concept of individual donor

• Currently nonprofit organizations have to rely more on individual donors and less on the government for funding. Therefore, understanding the individual donor from the perspective of nonprofit has been of increasing interest to nonprofit marketers. In this research, the effects of nonprofit organizational brand equity and individual self‐concept on individual giving intention were studied by using survey to selected 393 valid respondents in China. The empirical results indicated that, (1) the three dimensions brand personality, brand image, and brand awareness of the nonprofit organization has positive direct impact on individual giving intention; (2) brand personality and brand awareness of the nonprofit organization has positive direct impact on the self‐concept of individual donor; (3) the self‐concept of individual donor has positive direct impact on individual giving intention; and (4) the self‐concept of individual donor mediates significantly the relationships between brand personality, brand awareness, and individual giving intention, while not significantly between brand image and individual giving intention.

Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Co‐creating nonprofit brand equity

• The concept of brand equity (BE) has been the subject of much recent discussion in the field of nonprofit branding and also has been the concept of brand co‐creation in the field of branding. This study combines these aspects and examines the BE co‐creation of a nonprofit entity, the Finnish Defence Forces military driving school. Empirical data were collected from industrial logistics service providers and military recruits. A theoretical BE model was further developed using structural equation modeling in an exploratory manner to reveal whether the BE model of the military driving school is similar from both viewpoints. Similar workable models were found, indicating strong BE co‐creation and thereby contributing to the field. To support the future co‐creation of BE of the military driving school, it is important to ensure that the recruits take positive experiences from the school and industrial logistics service providers carefully consider how they relay their experiences about the school to other truck drivers. The attitudes of recruits towards the military driving school are likely eventually to conform to those of civilian truck drivers. Finding workable models required omitting some BE dimensions and measures of earlier models. Moreover, using data from one country alone may be a limitation of the study. Therefore, nonprofit BE measures should be further developed and tested with data from further afield.

Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Motivation for alumni donations: a social identity perspective on the role of branding in higher education

• As a result of decreasing government funds and increasing competition, institutions of higher education have propelled themselves into business practices such as branding. Despite the growing literature on branding in higher education, there is little research on the relationship between alumni donor motivations and the university brand. This study explores donor motivations from social identity and self‐congruity theoretical perspectives. The authors used zero‐inflated negative binomial regression to assess the relationship between identification and count of donations. The results showed that if the level of identification with the university increased, the expected number of donations would also increase. The study further assessing the “zeros” (non‐donors), the results suggested that if an alumnus were to identify with the university, he would be 43% less likely to be “certain zero” (definitive non‐donor) and would find a way to give money. Additionally, the authors analyzed responses about why alumni donate and why they choose not to donate. The authors offered observations on the basis of respondent commentary and also raised the question of what happens when university branding efforts conflict with the perceptions of a large stakeholder group such as alumni.

Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Virtual stewardship in the age of new media: have nonprofit organizations' moved beyond Web 1.0 strategies?

• Stewardship has been identified as an important relationship cultivation strategy. The four dimensions of stewardship—reciprocity, responsibility, reporting, and relationship nurturing—consist of one‐way and two‐way messaging strategies that can be carried out in a variety of manners on the Internet using both Web 1.0 and Web 2.0 technologies. Through a content analysis of the Nonprofit Times 100 organizations, this study found that nonprofit organizations overwhelmingly prefer to use their website to cultivate relationships with their stakeholders with stewardship strategies. Despite the hype of social media technologies, including Facebook, there remain many significant questions and obstacles to seeing nonprofits truly embrace social media communication.

Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Charity brand personality: can smaller charitable organizations leverage their brand's personality to influence giving

The importance of establishing a strong brand identity has been the focus for consumer brand managers for decades. Organizations develop and communicate a distinctive brand personality as a means of attracting consumers and cultivating long‐term relationships. While the concept of branding has gained recent attention as an important strategy for nonprofit practitioners, little empirical data exist on the role a charity's brand personality might play in attracting donors. A few recent studies of large national charitable organizations provide support that charities exhibit distinctive personalities. This study explores whether smaller, local scope charitable organizations, without the benefit of national brand recognition, also exhibit distinctive brand personalities and whether such brand personalities influence donors. Results from five charitable organizations, from four distinct categories of cause, find that brand personality traits that are both differentiating and relevant to donors influence charitable giving. The findings provide nonprofit practitioners with valuable insights for leveraging their brand's personality to turn donor awareness into commitment and establish a stronger market position. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Chance Events and Executive Career Rebranding: Implications For Career Coaches and Nonprofit HRM

We conducted and analyzed interviews with 20 executives from the for‐profit sector who had transitioned into second careers in the nonprofit sector. Our qualitative study provides an in‐depth analysis of the critical events that triggered career agency and stimulated the change process. At each stage of transition, the executives revisited their personal brands, deciding how to best position their skills, knowledge, and values within the context of their new nonprofit organizations. This research contributes to academic and practitioner knowledge of new career paths open to mid‐ and late‐career executives and insights for nonprofit leadership, as many nonprofits can anticipate major shortages of qualified executives. Each stage in the career transition process provides opportunities for human resource professionals to contribute to successful nonprofit leadership change: first, by creating opportunities for “chance events” motivating transition, followed by career coaching opportunities before and throughout the transition. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Outstanding fundraising practice: how do nonprofits substantively increase their income?

• In this paper, we examine the characteristics of charities that have generated substantive increases in their fundraising income. We interviewed 25 fundraising directors and team members, from organizations experiencing rapid growth, adopting a “decoding the discipline” approach to identify how each organization had overcome key barriers to its success. We identify that fundraising leaders in these exceptional nonprofits focus particularly on matters connected to their team, organizational structures that support that team, and the development of an organization‐wide learning culture. We also find that these teams were successful because of the “systems” way in which they understood and coped with the complexities of decision making. They were exceptional in isolating the right problems and exceptional too in the processes they adopted to solve them.

Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Artists' attitudes to marketing: a cross-cultural perspective

• Although the music industry is dominated by a few global players, the vast majority of musical performances are by nonprofit organisations, self-employed musicians or small and medium enterprises (SMEs). But, while a great deal has been written about the marketing of music—distribution, branding, audience development, etc.—comparatively little is known about the attitudes of musicians themselves to marketing, despite the fact their role as both product and producer is so central to the musical experience.
• The research sets out to gain an understanding of this neglected topic by undertaking a cross-cultural analysis of musicians from two different cultures: it compares the attitudes of artists in a mature, post-industrial economy (UK) with those in a post-communist, emerging democracy (Poland). The research finds that society, culture and the economic environment appear to shape attitudes far less than art itself. Across both cultures the research discovers at best an ambivalence towards marketing, and at worst a general antipathy towards the whole notion of art-as-business.
• The implications of these findings, if replicated across other countries, other musical genres and across the arts as a whole, could be worrying. Historically, the arts have been dominated by nonprofit organisations funded at least in part by public and private subsidies, funds which are being substantially eroded in both mature economies and in developing nations. The challenge for nonprofits and SMEs in the arts, then, is about achieving some sort of engagement with business and marketing, without losing their artistic integrity in the process.

Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

NPO branding: preliminary lessons from major players

• Are nonprofits (NPOs) exhibiting the brand orientation believed to be critical to successful outcomes? To answer this question, we investigate the brand orientation and brand management of the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA), American Red Cross (ARC), and The Salvation Army to assess the implementation of brand concepts in two different locations within the USA compared to each agency's central body. Despite the support of some propositions, there exists inconsistent evidence of strong brand management in the organizations studied. The variation of brand visuals, missions, and taglines indicates that good structure, policy, and guidelines are not enough. There must be true brand orientation, which includes oversight of consistent application of all brand constructs to achieve organizational goals. This study provides a framework upon which future in‐depth empirical research may be based. The authors outline these next steps as a foundation for enhancing the study and practice of brand management in NPOs.

Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Evaluations of branding alliances between non‐profit and commercial brand partners: the transfer of affect

• There is growing interest in the trend towards co‐branding alliances between non‐profit and commercial entities,which are undertaken by these organisations to transfer associations and affect between each brand partner. Certainly, it makes sense that commercial entities want to gain more from their brands and that non‐profits want secured funding, however, in the same way that the joining of two brands can be beneficial, it can also bring with it major risks when the brand alliance is not well received and evaluations of the alliance are not favourable.
• This research supports the notion that both commercial entities and non‐profit organisations can benefit from a branding alliance, however, an understanding of how these brand alliances are evaluated is important. This research investigates evaluations of brand alliances and the resulting spillover effects for original brand partners that result from brand alliances.
• This research provides empirical support relating to reactions to brand alliances between a non‐profit organisation and a commercial business in terms of how original brand attitudes, familiarity of original brands and perceived brand fit impact on evaluations. While collaboration is important and has potential benefits for each partner—they rest on partner selection and fit between alliance partners. Managerial implications and future research directions are also provided.

Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Can you market God? A case study of the ‘God Speaks’ social marketing campaign

• Public service campaigns, spanning more than 60 years and thousands of mass media advertisements, have asked individuals to take actions such as “Say No to Drugs” and “Keep America Beautiful,” as well as to support various nonprofit organizations. A case study of the “God Speaks” religious social marketing campaign is offered as an example of a non-traditional campaign that provides insights for future endeavors. Although the campaign, which began as a local paid media effort, appeared to have little measurable impact on attitudes and behavior, it was able to generate extensive non-paid media coverage that greatly increased its reach.

Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Online privacy and security practices of the 100 largest US nonprofit organizations

• Although online consumer privacy has been an important issue in the commercial realm for more than a decade, nonprofit organizations (NPOs, or nonprofits, for short) have just begun to address the topic recently. No published scholarly research has examined the online information practices of the largest NPOs with regard to privacy and security issues. The absence of data leaves one unable to empirically gauge the extent of NPO compliance with the Federal Trade Commissions (FTCs) suggested information practices. Such an investigation would be useful not only to US nonprofits but also non‐US nonprofits that are reaching US donors via their web sites.
• This study examines the online information practices of The Nonprofit Times 100 web sites and compares their practices to that of their commercial counterparts. The NPO web sites were found to collect just as much, and in some cases even more, personally identifying information as the commercial sites. The NPO web sites were more likely to display a privacy disclosure and privacy seal. Of critical concern, and not assessed in the commercial samples, is that nearly all of the NPO sites post personally identifying information (of individuals who are not employees).
• The current study provides benchmarks useful for assessing security issues pertaining to the collection, use, and even posting of personal information for NPO web sites. It also proposes actions for improving online security and privacy with the hope of encouraging more discussion of these important issues within the NPO community.

Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The influence of branding on adolescent smoking behaviour: exploring the mediating role of image and attitudes

• This study investigates the continuing effects of tobacco marketing communications in a post advertising era, focusing on the constructs of brand awareness, brand image, attitude formation and intention to smoke by adolescents.
• A conceptual model is presented, based on 926 respondents from a UK wide study, to assess brand‐related interrelationships and influences of peers on adolescents' attitudes toward smoking and intention to smoke.
• Results show the strong influence of branding on both attitude and intention, and have implications for government anti‐smoking policies specifically in regard to generic packaging and point of sale displays.

Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Weathering the storm: best practices for nonprofits in crisis

• Nonprofit organizations are as susceptible to crisis as any organization as exemplified by Livestrong's attempts to outlive Lance Armstrong's downfall and Planned Parenthood (PP) overcoming Susan G. Komen for the Cure's (SGK) policy to defund organizations under investigation. The public battles held on social media during crises such as these have forced organizations onto new battlegrounds. Supporters for each of these nonprofits proudly shared their thoughts via tweets (e.g. #IstandwithPP) and status updates, as the organizations raced to control the situation. PP had tweeted SGK's policy change creating a bevy of support while sending SGK into a reversal that is still costing racers. Surveys were distributed following Armstrong's performance-enhancing drug use confession and SGK's funding policy announcement to determine attitudes toward giving after organizational crisis. The Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) was used to assess the strength of attitude, social norms, and perceived behavioral control on the intent to donate to these organizations. The use of TPB expands nonprofit marketing horizons by helping better understand stakeholder intentions and their causes. On the basis of the findings, best practices for nonprofits handling crisis were identified. In particular, organizations need to know their target audiences, know what will make supporters remain, look at crises as opportunities for renewal, be honest, and apologize when appropriate.

Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Understanding why people do not give: strategic funding concerns for AIDS‐related nonprofits

• In this increasingly competitive environment for the individual donor's time and money, it is especially important for AIDS‐related nonprofits to understand why people choose not to give. Voluntary donations to organizations serving persons with HIV/AIDS could be negatively influenced by the social stigma that continues to be associated with the disease. Using the empathy‐altruism hypothesis from social psychology, the impact of gender, homosexuality, promiscuity, and drug use on donor cognitive situational empathy, emotional situational empathy, and altruism is examined. The findings have significant implications for nonprofits. Understanding the impact of these behaviors on giving is a first step in gauging the magnitude of challenges that AIDS‐related nonprofits may face in fund‐raising activities. Additionally, this information should be invaluable in the development of educational and/or promotional strategies to increase private sector support. Finally, initiatives in communication and marketing strategy are discussed to improve fund‐raising efforts.

Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

First‐year donation behavior and risk of supporter lapse

• In this research, we explore supporter lapse behavior after making first‐year donations to a nonprofit organization. We argue that two observable variables — the monetary amount of first gift at sign‐up and the number of gifts given in the first year of the support relationship — can be used to approximate the level of commitment to supporting the organization and to predict likelihood of lapse in subsequent years. The reasoning is that the two variables are indications of the psychological resources as well as the financial resources expended in reaching donation decisions. The research hypotheses were tested using fundraising data extracted from the databases of two leading US‐based nonprofit organizations. Results indicate that both variables had significant effects. Interestingly, the number of gifts given in the first year of the support relationship had a much bigger effect than the dollar amount of the gift at sign‐up: In one organization, supporters who donated more than one gift in the first year were 39% less likely to lapse in subsequent years compared with their one‐gift counterparts, while a tenfold increase in the dollar amount of the first gift at sign‐up (e.g., from $10 to $100) predicted only 4% decrease in the lapse likelihood in subsequent years. Insights from this research may help to build better practices of supporter base management in “low‐touch” fundraising programs for attracting, building relationships with, and sending appeals to supporters.

Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.