Value your Uniqueness

Your fingerprints are unique. No one else in the world has the exact same set of ridges and lines; not even identical twins have the same fingerprints.

The same way as your fingerprint is unique, your nonprofit organization is unique. No matter how many soup kitchens, schools or advocacy organizations there are in the world, your organization is different; there is something about it that is unique. If you can’t immediately identify anything unique at all, something is wrong and you should stop right here; take a pen and start making a list of everything you are doing as an organization to make the world a better place; the qualities of those doing it; and the difference you are making.

To complete this exercise successfully you need to be aware of your competition, to know what your competitors offer, what their strengths and limitations are, and how they market themselves. Once you know your competition, you have valuable insights on your competitive advantage.

I hope that by now you’ve pinpointed what makes you better than or different from the competition. This is your organization’s sweet spot and defines how you stand out from the crowd. It can be explicit or subtle, and shouldn’t be a “put down” on the competition - it’s a “build up” of your organization built on your own merit.

Now you are ready to create your value proposition. It will serve as the backbone of both your fundraising and subscriber messaging, so if you want to encourage donors to invest in your organization, you should ask yourself, who is my target audience? What do they care about? Why would they want to give a donation to my organization?

I like to use an acronym to ensure my value proposition works:

Appeal: How appealing is my cause?

Credibility: Are my claims believable? (Don’t offer what you can’t deliver)

Exclusivity: What makes my organization stand out from the crowd?

Once you have your value proposition figured, use it! Every email, every blog, every donate page should remind the reader why they should be supporting your organization,

Finally, let’s look at this example:

“One person dies of melanoma every 62 minutes. We offer a dermatoscope app for iPhone that enables people to easily diagnose their skin.”

Wouldn’t you want to read further and be a part of such a fine venture? There’s appeal; it sounds credible; and without blatantly stating it, we understand the exclusivity. This organization aced it!

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Each organization has its own dynamic needs and my goal is to help your organization move to the next level and turn your vision into donations. You can contact me at suzanne@suzannelieberman.com; let’s start a conversation.