Does you organization have a tagline—a pithy phrase that distills your purpose, mission, or methods into a few words?

Of the more than 1,800 nonprofit groups thatt Nancy Schwartz, a nonprofit marketing consultant, recently surveyed, 28 percent said they didn’t have a tagline. And of those that did, 58 percent rated them either only “somewhat effective” or “not effective.”

Ms Schwartz, who runs the Nancy Schwartz and Company marketing firm and the blog Getting Attention, is still parsing the data from the survey and anticipates a full report on its findings in June. Meanwhile, she is already disturbed by the outcome, having long been an advocate of the power of taglines.

An example of one she likes is the Sierra Club’s “Explore, enjoy and protect the planet”

“Your tagline is seen more than any other 5 to 8 words you communicate, Ms Schwartz says. “It’s on business cards, email signatures, signage, online and print communications and more. A bad tagline, or none at all, is a huge missed opportunity. I urge you to close that gap. Now.”

What are your experiences with taglines?