When Nonprofits Create Promotional Materials

While nonprofits have their hands full doing their good work – fulfilling their mission and serving their constituents day to day – they also need to promote that good work. That promotion often requires tools, or materials, such as a slide presentation to the nonprofit board or a flyer to distribute at a community meeting promoting the next event. From digital to printed items, there is a lot of promotional/marketing materials being generated by nonprofits, often done internally without the involvement of a communications or creative staff. A recent project with a client got us thinking about a few best practices and things to avoid when creating promotional tools in-house.

A few considerations…

Choose your digital tools wisely 
Use the best computer program and file format for what you’re doing. If you’re creating a flyer, Word is a good tool. If you have Adobe Creative Suite, use InDesign, not Photoshop. And definitely don’t create a logo in Photoshop. Or better yet, secure a graphic designer to create a logo. Also, try streamlining the use of programs. Rather than creating presentations in PowerPoint, Google Slides, and Keynote, try consistent use of one program. That way files can be efficiently shared and utilized by all staff (see more on sharing below).

Store files smartly
Ensure you know where to find existing files. Whether you’re using an internal server, Google Drive, or Dropbox, have an organized system for how staff store and access files. A folder dedicated to all existing promotional materials, with top-notch examples highlighted, is a good idea and is likely a lot easier than digging through one person’s folder to find what you need. Establish file naming conventions that will aid you when trying to find files. Consider subject matter, type of material, date, etc. when coming up with conventions.

Share materials
Make it easy to utilize each other’s creations; it creates efficiency and consistency in message. If someone is new to the organization, they should be able to tap into already existing tools. You don’t want to recreate the wheel each time there’s a new need. Of course, you want to periodically look at improving upon and refreshing the materials; having an accessible starting point will be helpful to the process.

Logo use
Use your nonprofit’s logo well. Make sure it’s not distorted, fuzzy, sitting on a white background, or sized too large or too small. The logo represents the brand; it’s up to you to represent it well. In most situations, a PNG or JPG file of the logo will work. However, be sure to have the original vector file version of the logo (EPS file created in Adobe Illustrator) on file. We have worked with numerous nonprofits that when asked for the EPS file have no idea where it is. This can create unnecessary hurdles, especially when the logo needs to be used on a large scale.

Brand the materials
Incorporate your nonprofit’s brand into the piece. Refer to the brand standards (if you don’t have standards, that’s another conversation we’re happy to help with), and start by using the designated fonts, colors, image style, and/or graphic elements. If Gotham and Times New Roman are the standard fonts, do not use Comic Sans (well, maybe never use Comic Sans). You want the materials to be an extension of the existing brand, to mirror the overall look and feel of the organization.

Organize the layout
You don’t necessarily need to be a designer to create a functional, effective flyer. Think about how the user will view the information, and organize the information for readability and easy consumption. Use hierarchy and scale to your advantage, help guide your audience’s eye to the most pertinent information. You do not want every text element on the page to be the same size. Add color wisely, use it to differentiate key blocks of information. Remember, your audience doesn’t know what you know; don’t make them work too hard to get the information.

Photo Credit: WOCinTech