Charity Branding

Charities can’t afford to be lost in the crowd. For over 30 years, IE has helped values-driven organisations to better understand their audiences, identify (and overcome) their challenges, and look and sound as good as they are – increasing their impact and reach through research, messaging and visual identity design. 

Charity Branding
Services

Every IE Charity Branding project begins with listening. We’re a challenging friend that can support you with:

Brand strategy

Brand research

Internal engagement

Brand messaging and tone of voice

Naming and renaming

Logo and visual identity design

Brand architecture

Charity mergers

Campaign design

Brand guidelines

Actors' Trust

Acting for Impact

Brand Charity

Family Action

Every family is different

Brand Charity

StreetGames

More than just sport

Brand Charity

Keech Hospice

Celebrating Life

Brand Charity

Bowel Research UK

Let's end bowel cancer and bowel disease

Brand Charity

Resuscitation Council UK

Spectator to saviour

Brand Charity

Insight

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Creative

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Technical

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IE News

Try our FREE online Brand Audit Tool

Dave Crichton

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Resuscitation Council UK, Bronze for Best Visual Identity for Healthcare

Clergy Support Trust, Silver for Best Visual Identity for Charity, NGO, Non-profit

Sexwise, shortlisted for Best Brand Development

Actors Trust, Silver for Best Visual Identity by a Charity, NGO or Not-for-Profit

“Finding the right agency to partner with was crucial for us. We wanted a team that would work alongside us, challenge our thinking, and ensure our voice remained at the heart of the process. From the selection stage through to appointing IE, it was clear they were a good fit for Keech Hospice. Their research-led approach gave us confidence that our brand refresh was built on real insight, ensuring we made the right changes for the future. This included a name change, something never to be taken lightly by any brand but something we have confidence to do because of insights that informed the steps we took with IE by our side.”

Mellissa Higgins, Head of Marketing and Communications, Keech Hospice

FAQs

Why should a charity invest in its brand?

Because you can’t afford not to. Competition for donors, volunteers and funding is fierce, and survival depends on setting yourself apart. Your brand is everything people think, feel and say about you, and it exists whether you nurture it or not. A strong brand tells supporters what you stand for and why they should care. If you don’t tell them, someone else will.

How do we know it’s time to rebrand?

There are three big clues. You have a new strategic plan that your current brand can’t help you deliver. You’re losing supporters and need to arrest the decline. Or your organisation is changing, through a merger, new leadership or a shift in focus. Whatever the trigger, start by understanding the gap between how you see yourself and how others see you.

Should we change our charity’s name?

Be careful. Your name carries years of reputation, and changing it takes time and money. But sometimes it’s unavoidable. If you’re unsure whether a name change is required, research can offer the answer.

How much does a charity rebrand cost?

A brand project with IE typically costs between £25k and £75k+, depending on scale and scope. Core deliverables like messaging and visual identity stay fairly fixed. What changes the fee is how much research you need at the start, and how many outputs, like templates, you need at the end. If you have a budget in mind, sharing it helps us tailor the right package.

What if we don’t like the designs?

Before we design anything, we’ll agree a Success Criteria Design Brief with you: a short document setting out the measurable criteria your new identity must meet. We’ll invite everyone involved in the project to be as objective as possible (e.g. asking questions like ‘will it stand out in the marketplace?’ rather than ‘what if I don’t like yellow?’). Our designers must demonstrate how our work fulfils these criteria, which are signed off by all parties. That keeps decisions focused on what will work in the real world, rather than personal taste, and avoids a watered-down design that pleases nobody. All our work – including visual identity design – is informed by stakeholders.

How long will a new brand identity last?

Barring a major external event, a full rebrand should comfortably set you up for a decade or more, especially if you keep nurturing and evolving it. We’ll give you guidelines and tools to keep your brand consistent yet flexible and help you measure any improvements to engagement, reputation and impact as you go.