What If Your Organization Was a Person?
Building a brand that speaks, acts, and earns trust like a real human.
By Deroy Peraza, Partner at Hyperakt
As individuals, our values, character, and purpose come into focus over time and ultimately guide how we show up and communicate in the world. They determine where we fit in and where we don't and shape how others perceive us. Over time, consistent behavior and interactions with others help us establish a reputation.
Just as individuals earn trust (or not) through what we say and what we do, organizations build credibility the same way: from within.
Illustration by Merit Myers
Your Organization as a Living Being
Think of your organization as a person.
Organizational strategy functions as the brain, determining its path, operations, and priorities. It’s the control center that sets the course for everything your organization does. But strategy alone isn’t enough. A brilliant mind without a clear sense of self struggles to connect with others. Similarly, an organization without a strong brand identity risks disconnecting from the people it serves. That’s where brand strategy comes in.
Brand strategy acts as the organization’s DNA—the internal code that makes it unique. It holds the organization’s roots and aspirations, personality and attributes, and its unique reason for being. Without brand strategy, your organization reacts without intention or direction, unable to fully express who it is. Together, these elements help ensure that messaging, design, and actions work in harmony.
Verbal identity is the organization’s voice, the tone, content, and context of messaging. Just like people, organizations speak with different degrees of warmth, authority, energy, and clarity—but the important thing is that the brand’s verbal expression is clear, compelling, and true to the organization. Your communications team acts as the organization’s mouth, delivering these messages to the world consistently. When leadership, fundraising, and programs all speak with the same brand voice, every interaction reinforces the same core message.
Visual identity is the organization’s physical presence—akin to a person’s clothing, posture, and facial expressions. It’s the first thing your audience notices. A brand’s logo, color palette, typography, imagery style, and design system define how it presents itself across its website, social media, videos, and events. Just as the way an individual dresses and carries themself reinforces their personality, a nonprofit’s visual identity should match its strategy and verbal identity.
First Impressions and Lasting Relationships
Imagine yourself walking into a conference full of professionals or a party where you don’t know anyone. The way you introduce yourself—how you put yourself out there so people can receive you—creates a first impression. It’s not just about what you say but how you present yourself, how you listen, and how you respond. Your communication style shapes how people perceive you in that moment. Over time, your relationships grow and evolve. With each interaction, you establish a consistent and expected pattern of behavior. These collective actions shape your reputation and how people think of you as they get to know you.
Organizations follow the same path. The way they communicate, show up, and engage with the world builds trust and recognition.
Just as individuals change and mature over the years, organizations evolve too. We reach different stages of growth—building a career, forming deeper relationships, navigating life changes. At different points, we pause to reflect: Where are we? How do we fit into the world? How do we need to adapt?
The same is true for organizations. A nonprofit’s brand isn’t static; rather, it moves through its own life cycle from formation to moments of renewal, evolution, or reinvention. Nonprofit leaders must recognize when their organization’s brand no longer reflects the current reality and take strategic steps to realign. Whether it’s a refresh to fine-tune messaging or a full transformation to meet new challenges, successful brands evolve.
Getting To Know Yourself
Like individuals, organizations are always striving for self-actualization—the point where purpose, clarity, and impact align.
For an organization, self-actualization isn’t just an abstract goal; it’s the moment when the entire team feels connected to the mission, when strategy and identity work in harmony, and when trust and credibility are undeniable. It’s when the work resonates so deeply that supporters, partners, and the public don’t just see the change—they believe in it.
When an organization truly knows itself, when the world recognizes that transformation, and when that new reality is reinforced at every touchpoint—that’s when a brand becomes more than just an identity. That’s when it becomes a force to be reckoned with.
Is your organization preparing for some self-reflection? We're here to help.
