Tag(line)! You're It!

We all know the power of a tagline when it comes to branding an organization's name and mission. However, a 2008 survey by GettingAttention.org showed that 72 percent of nonprofit organizations don't have a tagline or rate theirs as performing poorly.

Now through July 31, organizations can enter the recently launched 2009 Nonprofit Tagline Awards and be a part of the 2009 Nonprofit Tagline Report.

The survey asks organization representatives their organization name, tagline and Web address; how effective their organization's tagline is ("not effective," "somewhat effective," "effective" or "very effective"); how long the organization has used the tagline; and the primary focus of the organization (e.g., arts and culture, environment and animals, etc.). Those who take part in the survey will automatically be subscribed to the Getting Attention e-update and receive a free copy of the report when it's released in December.

"The contest is a great means of motivating nonprofit folks to focus on the basics (e.g., strong messaging) in a time of such distraction, and the end product — a fully revised tagline report — will be available free to all entrants," saysNancy E. Schwartz, nonprofit consultant and keeper of the Getting Attention blog. "Last year’s winners got a lot of mileage from their awards — really boosted fundraising efforts in several cases — and thousands of other organizations downloaded last year's report to take advantage of the tagline guidance and database (more than 1,000 taglines entered in 2008 — great models of dos and don’ts!)."

If your organization uses more than one tagline, Schwartz says to have different colleagues enter each as a separate entry or clear your browser cookies so you can enter a second. But she recommends against using two taglines for an organization, as it can be confusing. Program taglines also can be entered as well, just add "(program)" at the end of it when you enter it in the form.

In September there will be an open poll to determine which organizations among the selected finalists are the winners, and winners will be announced in October. Schwartz shared the following testimonials from two of last year's winners on her site:

"We were very pleased to have our tagline recognized by our colleagues in the industry. Our award has given the U.S. Fund extra visibility for its marketing and brand work!"
— Kim Pucci, marketing director, U.S. Fund for UNICEF

"We were thrilled to be selected as the tagline award winner in the Human Services category. We leveraged the award as we rolled out our new brand and kicked off the public phase of our $5M capital campaign. It was highlighted as an achievement in all of our capital campaign foundation grant requests and spotlighted in our agency newsletter and in the local media. And, the media buzz that this award created helped JFCS maximize its marketing efforts without the need for allocating additional dollars in this difficult economy."
— Rose Chapman, president/CEO. Jewish Family & Children’s Service of Sarasota-Manatee Inc.

Schwartz encourages organizations to follow the tagline award news on Twitter at @orgtaglines