Category: communications

case for support, communications, fundraising, messaging, planning, strategy, theory of change

The key document your organization is missing

In my experience, most organizations have at least two key documents: a strategic plan and a fundraising plan. A strategic plan explains what you hope to achieve and how you plan to achieve it, and a fundraising plan explains how you plan to raise the money you need to execute your strategic plan.

More sophisticated organizations have two other important documents. The first is a theory of change, which describes the context, rationale, and purpose for your organization. The second is a communications plan, which describes how your organization plans to advance your program goals by building a base of support.

Yet even with these documents to guide the organization’s work, several organizations still suffer from a common problem: an inability to consistently articulate their organization’s value. It is often difficult for them to clearly state why the work they do is unique, important, and worthy of your support. And frequently different members of the organization – staff, board members, volunteers – will talk about the organization differently. Many of the organizations I work with come to me claiming they are not all on the same page about who they are, why they exist, and the work they do.

And this is a big problem. An unclear or inconsistent message about your work makes it difficult to build a base of support. People have a hard time getting behind your organization if it is unclear what it does, and it’s hard to present a strong brand that is both compelling and recognizable if there are lots of different messages out there about who you are and what you do. Perhaps most importantly, not being able to articulate your unique value makes it challenging to solicit funding. After all, if you can’t clearly state why your organization is so important, why should someone give money to you instead of one of the many other organizations out there?

The document most organizations need (but rarely have) is a case for support, also called a case statement. A case for support is a brief, clear, donor-oriented document that states why you need – and deserve – funding. It is the source document for all your fundraising and communications activities, and it is the prayer book that gets everyone in your organization singing from the same hymnal. It takes your theory of change and your strategic plan and synthesizes them into a statement about your organization’s unique value that you can use to build support for your mission. And it should be the precursor to any fundraising and communications planning; the case for support says how much you need and why you deserve it, while the fundraising plan says how you will raise it and the communications plan says how you will build a base of support to achieve your mission.

A case for support is just that: an argument for why someone should support your organization. We all need support to achieve our missions, so shouldn’t we all have a case for support?

For more on a case for support – what goes into a good case for support, how to develop one, and how to make it compelling – check out The Foundation Center’s upcoming webinar, “The Nonprofit Rosetta Stone: Making Your Case for Support” on Tuesday, March 31st. Register today!

communications, messaging, rationale

4 steps to identifying your key messages

I worked with a client recently on honing their messaging and developing an elevator pitch. This organization has a focused mission, a clearly articulated approach to its work, and specialized niche within its ecosystem of actors and stakeholders. They know their constituents and they can speak at length about their work. So why were they struggling to attract the kind of support they needed to stay afloat?

Because they, like many people who work in the nonprofit world, know their work too well. They can speak at length about what they do, but it’s from the perspective of someone who spends every day doing that work – full of technical language and insider concepts, and narrowly focused on what’s in front of them instead of seeing the bigger picture. That’s great for speaking with constituents and partners and maybe existing funders, but how do you reach new audiences and build your base of support?

By crafting and using key messages that clearly and succinctly explain your work and why you do it.

Here are four steps to crafting key messages that your organization can use across a wider swath of audiences:

  1. Identify your key audiences. Most people skip this step and go right to defining messages, but it’s important that your messages are understood by – and resonate with – the people you want to reach. So first things first: write down your top audiences and think about what they know and what they care about.
  2. Define the problem. What is the problem your organization is aiming to solve? What is it you hope to achieve by doing your work? This should be condensed to a simple statement about why you do what you do, and it should be framed in terms of something your audiences care about.
  3. Identify the solution. Given the problem, what is the solution? Why should we believe that this solution will work? Write a single statement that makes the case for why your solution will be effective in solving the problem.
  4. Articulate your work. The challenge here will be to state the work you do in a brief, simple, jargon-less, and concrete statement. Don’t get down into the details but don’t be too abstract either. Focus on what’s most important and be plain, straightforward, and concise.

Now take these messages and infuse them into your communications, whether it be a grant proposal, your website, or a conversation in an elevator.

By creating messages that state what you do (the solution), how you do it (the work), and why you do it (the problem) – all framed in a way that resonates with your target audience – you can communicate more effectively to build a broader base of support.

How does your organization communicate now? Do you know what your key messages are? Can you state the what, how, and why of your work in simple, brief, concrete terms?

case for support, communications, fundraising, messaging

What not to do in a fundraising appeal

So just today I got an email from an organization that I admire very much. They do great work supporting a cause I care a lot about and they are a lynchpin of their community. Their email was a request for funding, a relatively small but not insignificant amount of money, and a fairly deadline for reaching their fundraising goal. I thought about giving a few dollars to help them out, but first I asked a few questions.

The first question I wanted to know was, “Well, why do you need the money?” They state up front that they are facing an operating deficit. Okay, that makes sense, but why? Was it a failure to raise funds? Did one of your major donors not give this year? Is membership down? Or was it poor budgeting and financial management on your end? What happened that you have this shortfall? Because your answer may influence my willingness to give, particularly if it pertains to questions about how you manage the organization.

Secondly, what’s the urgency? Why now? And then I saw a qualifier I hope I never see in any other fundraising appeal: “nothing life-threatening.” Now, this is 100% true: this is an arts organization and no one will die if they drop a few programs or services. But still, why are you downplaying the importance and urgency of this appeal? Granted, hyping up the urgency isn’t going to help either, but why are you reminding your potential donors that they don’t really have to give? They even state that the shortfall is only 3% of their budget. Stop downplaying your need!

To their credit, they do point out that they will have to cut programs and services if they do not meet their gap. Okay, so now I’m concerned again. What programs and services? How will I be affected? How will other constituents be affected? Unfortunately, they list out the major services they provide as a reminder of the things they do, but it’s not clear that they will cut these programs (the foundations of their organization) or what if any changes they will make to them. What are the consequences of not giving? Again, why is this important and why is it urgent?

Finally, what are the benefits of giving? They point out that if we help them meet their goal then they will start the next fiscal year on sound footing. Okay… But what’s in it for me? I know it sounds selfish, but compelling fundraising appeals frame things from the perspective of the recipient, not the sender. Because this organization wasn’t clear about how any cuts will affect me, I also don’t know how meeting this small, non-life-threatening gap is going to benefit me or make any difference for the things I care about.

So, let’s recap a few important lessons to learn from this appeal:

  1. Always state the need up front.
  2. Make it clear why this need is important and urgent.
  3. Don’t downplay the important and urgency of your appeal.
  4. Be specific and concrete when talking about the need and the consequences.
  5. State the benefits (or costs) to the donor as it relates to what they care about.

How do you write fundraising appeals? What are some best practices you’ve encountered? What are some things to avoid doing when writing an appeal?