Why charities are rebranding for impact, not just aesthetics.
“You have to be ready to prune the tree to help it grow”
Last week, I had the privilege of joining The Fore’s Peer Chat session to talk all things branding and rebranding with many incredible charities. Hosted alongside my wonderful client OmniMusic (who I rebranded in 2023) it was an honest, inspiring conversation about what it really means to rebrand as a purpose-led organisation.
Rebranding: Not just a new look, but a new level
The session started with one core truth: Your brand is how people feel about your organisation.
Along side OmniMusic, there was the Steve Browne Foundation. Both of these charities had been through a rebrand, they shared that before rebranding, their communications felt confusing, outdated, or simply didn’t do their work justice. They knew their story internally, but struggled to share it clearly and confidently with the outside world.
After going through the rebrand process, that changed.
✽ More website traffic → more conversations.
✽ Stronger relationships with funders and local councils.
✽ A renewed sense of clarity and confidence, internally and externally.
✽ A measurable increase in trust, visibility, and engagement.
“Since rebranding, the local council that previously ignored us approached us.”
“We didn’t realise people even looked at our website, now funders are using it to do their homework on us and partner with us.”
The real purpose of rebranding
Branding isn’t just about getting a shiny new logo. It’s about re-aligning who you are with how you show up in the world.
From our discussions, the key benefits charities are seeing include:
The ability to tell their story clearly
A brand identity that builds trust and credibility
A visual system that makes them look and feel professional
Templates and guidelines that save hours of time
Increased funder and partnership engagement, funding, and internal confidence
Most importantly, their teams began to see branding not as a surface-level polish, but a strategic foundation for everything else to grow from.
What about the investment?
We tackled this head-on.
Many charities feel hesitant about the cost of rebranding. But what I heard loud and clear from attendees who’d done it:
“Don’t be afraid of what it costs. The investment will pay itself back and deliver above and beyond.”
Rebranding is not a quick fix. It’s a transformation that builds over time. The difference between budget artwork and true brand strategy is huge, and the impact is measurable.
Practical advice from charities who’ve done it
Here are three top takeaways from the chat:
Be brave, not perfect. Throw everything in the air. You know your story but it needs clarity if you want others to understand it.
Think long term. What’s the risk of rolling out your big 5-year plan without a rebrand?
Guard your brand. Appoint a brand guardian internally to keep your materials consistent and professional.
And one more? Invest in photography and film. A powerful brand needs strong, authentic visuals, not blurry phone pics.
Final thoughts
What moved me most in this session was hearing how empowered charities felt after their rebrand, not just visually, but emotionally and strategically.
“We’ve developed skills internally.”
“We’ve learned to trust others and invest in their strengths.”
“We now use our brand as a tool to create deeper conversations.”
If your charity is feeling stuck, unseen, or ready to grow, this might be your signal.
You might not need to do more, just show up more clearly as who you already are!
Let’s chat if you’d like to explore what rebranding could do for you.
