Good Design is not a luxury for nonprofits, it’s a necessity

Marianne Winters is a leader in the movement to end and address sexualized violence and is passionate about a vision of a movement that is inclusive, current, responsive and proactive. She is the Project Diva for Graphix for Change and consultant and trainer for Praxis for Change.

At Graphix for Change, we do design and marketing for nonprofits. We also get it because we’ve been there. In my past lives as an employee of various not-for-profits, I’ve had the titles of Executive Director, Associate Director for this and that, Development Manager, Counselor, Community Educator...you get the idea. In each of my positions, I would tumble head-first into the classic dilemma that most non-profits face. Do we put our resources into the work or into telling people about our work? Do we spend money on people or printing? Website development or advertising? Can’t we get it donated? I’ve been on the other end of the phone when someone called to say they want to donate us a vacuum cleaner - that needs to be repaired - that uses bags that are discontinued. You can guess whether or not we accepted it...I realized finally that there has to be a line that we could easily cross where our efforts at cost savings actually cost us more, because we run the risk of not getting our message out, of not reaching those who really need our help, of not making the difference we set out to make.

We want to change the world and we take seriously our role as stewards of the resources, donated by individuals affected by the issue that we want to change, or granted to us through foundations and government sources that support us. So, I’m convinced that it’s just as important to pay attention to how our message is presented as to what the message is. Think about it, key things that we need to know are branded for a reason. It’s because there are ways that we as people take in information and then translate that information into action. A stop sign is a red hexagon with white letters, this is a logo for a brand that we no longer even think about, but it’s one of the first things we pay attention to when we’re driving. Apply this to how you’d like to change people’s behavior or the way our systems operate, and we’ve harnessed some serious social change potential.

The internet has become a place where not only can we post our information, but we can use it to interact with our clients, our donors, our supporters. When organizations begin to utilize their websites as more than a billboard or an electronic brochure, then we begin to engage with our friends and supporters in new ways, while we develop systems that support efficiency and interaction. Welcome to Web 2.0, nonprofit world. Let’s change some things together.