Development and Empirical Study of Religion Affiliated Nonprofit Organizations’ Brand Equity Questionnaire: Testing Brand Awareness and Trust Among Non-members

Although the brand equity concept has been validated in the nonprofit organization (NPO) context, little is known about its applicability to religion-affiliated NPOs, especially those in East Asia. Religion-affiliated NPOs’ unique characteristics and objectives require a bespoke brand equity analytical tool. In response, this study develops and validates a brand equity questionnaire for religion-affiliated NPOs. The questionnaire items are adapted from previous studies of for-profit and nonprofit organizations. By controlling gender and participation status, the questionnaire is consistent and reliable when tested with a stratified sample of noninvolved female respondents in Taiwan (N = 600). Results show both brand awareness and brand trust are critical to brand equity from the perspective of noninvolved consumers. Marketing goals, such as creating a consistent image or choosing a narrow cause/campaign that is relatable and aligned with noninvolved consumers’ perceptions of the affiliated religion’s philosophy, may increase brand awareness and brand trust for religion-affiliated NPOs.