New Yorker cartoon captions they are not.

Looking at nonprofits through the prism of our taglines–thanks to Nancy Schwartz’s new Nonprofit Tagline Report, which came out this week, I just have to say it: We are one earnest group of people.

If you’re at a nonprofit and online, chances are you know about this, but if not–Nancy, a New York-based marketing guru, solicited and received input from literally thousands of folks at nonprofits, including a final vote that produced 13 best taglines by popular acclaim:

• Arts & Culture: “Big Sky. Big Land. Big History.” — Montana Historical Society
• Associations: “Building community deep in the hearts of Texans” —TexasNonprofits
• Civic Benefit: “Holding Power Accountable” — Common Cause
• Education: “A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Waste® “— UNCF -The United Negro College Fund
• Environment & Animals: “Because the earth needs a good lawyer” — Earthjustice
• Grantmaking: “If you want to be remembered, do something memorable”. — The Cleveland Foundation
• Health & Sciences: “Finding a cure now…so our daughters won’t have to. ©”— PA Breast Cancer Coalition
• Human Services: “Filling pantries. Filling lives.” — Houston Food Bank
• International, Foreign Affairs & National Security: “Send a Net. Save a Life.” — Nothing But Nets
• Jobs & Workforce Development: “Nothing Stops A Bullet Like A Job“— Homeboy Industries
• Media: “Telling stories that make a difference” — Barefoot Workshops
• Religion & Spiritual Development: “Open hearts. Open minds. Open doors.” — The people of The United Methodist Church
• Other: “A head for business. A heart for the world.” — SIFE (Students In Free Enterprise)

Nancy writes that the 13 winners were selected from 60 finalists drawn from 1,702 nonprofit taglines submitted to the 2009 Getting Attention Nonprofit Tagline Awards competition. More than 4,800 nonprofit professionals cast votes in the final selection round.

“It’s a huge missed opportunity for nonprofits that don’t implement a tagline,” Nancy adds. “Especially when you consider all the places a tagline appears throughout a nonprofit’s marketing and communications program, and how many people potentially digest an organization’s tagline in any given year.”

Humor works, but maybe not for a tagline, I guess. Next year, Nancy, I propose an alternative taglines competition with some outlandish-but-real key phrases (organization names suppressed or actually not even envsioned):

• Because people at nonprofits need to eat, too.
• Cleaning up other people’s messes
• Streeetching your donation as far as we can
• We protest at banks. Because that’s where the money is

Also, one wonders–what’s up with the trademarking a tagline? Is that for groups that use their tagline for heavy fundraising, or what?

Also perhaps worth noting that nonprofit sector sometimes sees more great beginnings than great middles, I think, so it’s great that Nancy’s pulled off the second annual edition of this report.

What do you think? Are earnest taglines most appropriate, or could they still work with a little more ‘heh heh’ or ‘hmm?’ to them?