Battles Over Advertising Erupt Between Big and Small Charities

Fights over slogans, advertising color schemes, and other branding details, typical of the corporate world, are now breaking out among nonprofit organizations, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Susan G. Komen For the Cure, the breast-cancer charity, has taken legal aim at small groups that use “for the cure” or “for a cure” for fund-raising events, and the Lance Armstrong Foundation, widely known as Livestrong, has issued similar warnings regarding uses of “strong” in charity names.

Charities say they must aggressively pursue look- and sound-alikes because name similarities can confuse donors and cost the groups money. Two veterans organizations whose names include the term “wounded warriors” have been fighting in court over millions of dollars one says was mistakenly donated to the other due to confusion over the name.

Read an article from the latest issue of The Chronicle of Philanthropy about fights waged by the group Doctors Without Borders to combat copycats.

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