The mission of House of Hope is to break cycles of poverty and homelessness for single mothers. Transitional housing is their main avenue to complete their mission. This housing provides a home for women and their children for two years, and really is a place to help them get back on their feet. Click here to read more about this service, and other ways House of Hope is supporting women.
I spoke with Dusky, the Development Director, to get an understanding of the growth of House of Hope. She told me that House of Hope was founded in 1995, as a group of area church leaders noticed a growing number of single mothers in poverty in the community. They wanted to find a holistic way to serve the community from within. House of Hope originally started as a peer support service, with a support mother living in the transitional home with the women and children.
Brand Consistency
When Dusky came to House of Hope about nine years ago, she wanted to change their tagline as it didn’t really reflect what they do. They also rebranded their logo so it was more professional looking. The new logo is simple, recognizable, and has a few nods to the old logo. In her position, she puts a lot of focus on the marketing of the organization, so she spends a lot of time making sure that all of their materials are consistent in their branding. Her goal is that if someone sees a graphic on social media, they will immediately know if it’s House of Hope by the branding.
Marketing Struggles
Dusky said that her biggest difficulty in marketing is that she’s a one woman show. She is in charge of all social media graphics, print materials, radio, television, press releases, and everything in between. On top of this, she is writing grants and fundraising. She taught herself marketing by taking online classes and practice, so this takes a lot of time and effort. Additionally, she has to decide how to balance sharing mission related work so people can connect their giving to the cause.
Standing Out
In order to stand out, they are consistently highlighting their mission and success stories in a celebratory way. This allows the community to really feel like they are part of House of Hope, because they really are. The organization also has unique fundraising events to keep things fresh so “people want to choose our events”.
Want to grow your non-profit?
Dusky’s number one tip for growing a nonprofit is marketing. Coming up with the brand, and then consistently branding all your material so people always know it’s you is so important. “People have to know who you are and what your mission is.”
Getting Involved
House of Hope loves college student volunteers! Because they are a small staff, they make up for with volunteers. Check out volunteer options here! There are also a variety of internship opportunities that students can apply for. Make sure to follow House of Hope on Facebook!
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