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.