Ep. 143: Stop Blending In and Find Your Fundraising Edge
EPISODE 143
Stop Blending In and Find Your Fundraising Edge
About the Episode:
Ever feel like your nonprofit is saying all the “right” things but still not growing the way you want? In this episode of The Purpose & Profit Club®, we’re flipping the script on what you think is the problem. It’s not visibility or the economy—you’re blending in. You’ll leave this episode with the motivation—and permission—to say what only you can say. To show up with boldness. To be impossible to ignore. If you’ve ever said, “We’re doing incredible work, but people don’t get it,” this one’s for you.
Here’s what you’ll learn:
What your differentiator is—and why you need one (hint: “we make a difference” doesn’t count)
Why vague, vanilla language keeps people scrolling
Real stories from orgs who dropped the “nonprofit-speak” and raised more
How to stop hiding behind committee-approved messaging that’s sucking the soul out of your
It’s not your stories—it’s how you’re telling them. If your amazing work isn’t getting the attention (and donations) it deserves, it’s time for a messaging shift. The Brave Fundraiser’s Guide guide gives you 10 done-for-you donor prompts to make your message impossible to ignore. Get it for free here! https://christinaedwards.krtra.com/t/xKuLs6tOiPZa
Christina’s Favorite Takeaways:
“If you can't clearly explain how you're different, donors won't be able to either.”
“When donors can't tell what makes you different from any other organization, they hesitate, skim, forget, and scroll on by.”
“If you were willing to step out of coloring within the line, step out of the make a difference language, the funding would start to flow in.”
“Your edge is what's, what makes you different.”
“The zone of indifference equals not hated, not loved, just ignored.”
“Say things only YOU can say.”
“If people don't understand why you exist, they won't feel moved to act.”
“We are a distracted society, so you need to lead with a hook right out of the gate so people can connect with you.”
“The organizations that have a board that let organizations lead, thrive, innovate, grow, are the ones that actually grow.”
“Why should somebody give to you instead of another organization?”
“What are you saying that no one else is willing to say?”
Episode Resources:
Listen: Ep 78: [Client Success Story] How Wendy Faust Doubled Her Fundraising Goal
Listen Ep. 140: Fundraising, Legacy & ALS with Live Like Lou + Sisters of St. Francis
FREE Resources from Splendid Consulting:
How to Work with Christina and Splendid Consulting:
Connect with Christina and Splendid Consulting:
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*Links may be affiliate links which means I may earn a commission at no cost to you.
Christina Edwards 0:56Today's episode is all about finding your differentiator, and if you've been struggling with standing out online, if you've been struggling with acquiring new donors, more donors, increasing your funding, this episode is for you, because if you sound like everybody else, donors and donor prospects and followers, people who may be you know, looking at your social posts, are asking that question, asking this question, why should I support you? Now they may not be asking it overtly, but they are asking it. And so today we're really going to dig into your messaging. We're going to dig into your mindset. We're going to dig into your fundraising, and why the words and the stories that you're using might actually be repelling the very donors that you're trying to reach. And this episode was inspired by two different conversations recently that I've had with nonprofit executive directors that really stood out to me, and one of them will we're actually going to dig into both of them, and both of them are on both these organizations are on a trajectory of major growth this year, major growth this year. And one of the things I realized that they had on lock that they knew was this edge, okay, this differentiator, this idea of, like, what makes our organization different. You are not the only organization that serves your cause area, and you need to have that, like, back pocket ready to go for your donors, your donor prospects, just people in the world, so that when they ask you, what does your organization do? Who do you serve? What cause area are you in? Immediately in that answer, you're answering this question. You're showing them your edge.
so we're going to start with a little bit of like, just a little tough love, if you can't clearly explain how you're different, donors won't be able to either. And most nonprofits think that their problem is visibility or capacity, or that people just aren't paying attention, or the economy, right, that it's just so hard right now. But what if the real problem is that you just sound like everybody else. What if it's that simple at a foundational level, And when donors can't tell what makes you different from any other organization, they hesitate, they skim, they forget. They scroll on by, if your message feels vague, safe or just too familiar, like, Oh, I think I've read that before. I think I already donated to that cause, right? It's not connecting, and that means it's not converting. That means it's not converting into donations. That means it's not converting into event sales. That means people aren't signing up for your tickets, right? Any of it. People just scroll on by. But it's not your fault, because no one has really taught this part. No one talks about this part. You've been told to share your mission. You've been told to keep it positive. You've been told to write like a grant, or worse, your board wants to approve or sign off on all of your messaging, all of your storytelling, right? And we know that cycle, right? You know that cycle? You play it safe when you have to run your messaging through committee, I call it right, where everybody's like dotting the I's and crossing the t's, and you're, you're getting that sort of group think approval. It becomes this watered down, sterile thing. Okay, it becomes this, water down, sterile thing. Hang on.
And here's what it looks like in the wild. It looks like your words, your fundraising appeals, your social posts, the calls and texts you're sending to donors sound like everybody else. They're very play itself, safe language. Empower communities, breaking barriers, transforming lives, make a difference. And guess what? Every other org down the street is using that same thing. It's not that you don't have a juicy, impactful story to tell. It's just that you're buried under this pressure to be professional, to follow the nonprofit standard, to follow those best practices instead of being real. And this is the part that just drives me nuts, is that loop keeps your funding stuck. And if you were willing to step out of coloring within the line, step out of the Make A Difference language, the funding would start to flow in.
so we're going to dig into your edge. Your edge is what's, what makes you different. If you think about that person that maybe was in college with you, or that person that you met when you had your very first job, your very first career, and you know that person that you're like, damn. They just stand out, right? They just stand out from the sea of other office workers, or the sea of classroom, you know, people in the classroom, right? Other students in the classroom. They may have a really great sense of style. They may ask really great questions, really bold questions. They may have an amazing personality. Maybe they're the joker of the group, right? It doesn't matter, like, what their particular angle was. The entire point of this metaphor is they had an edge. They had an edge. Like, I can think back to my college days, which is like a bajillion years ago, right? And still think about those people, those like stand out. I remember I was 16, and it was in art school for the summer in Brooklyn, and I remember this one girl, and she had this incredible sense of style. It was like nothing I had ever seen. Why do I still remember her? She stood out. She had an edge where the rest of us were wearing thrifted clothes. Her style was just different. It was just like something I hadn't seen it was like a mix of of kind of punk and kind of thrifted and kind of this and kind of that. And I just thought it was so cool. And then I flashed forward to the person who asked really smart questions when I was in college. And I think about him, and I think about what was his edge, very different than her edge, right? The point is, these people had edges, right? They had they had this, this, something else that made them stand out. And the through line of those edges are they were coloring outside of the lines. Y'all they whether it was how they looked, what they said, what they did, some action they took, made them stand out. Made them stand out. Okay, so if you can't answer the question, why would someone give to you instead of some other organization? Okay, that's a red flag you're in the trouble zone, but we're gonna fix that today. That question should be easy to answer. I want you to answer that question, front, right, back, forward in your sleep, why should somebody give to you instead of another organization? Okay, that question should be easy to answer. It should live in your emails, your campaign stories, the way you ask, your social posts, your team's elevator pitch, if you're presenting in front of the Chamber of Commerce or a membership group or anything. I want you to lead with that question. The answer to that question, I want you to lead with it. Okay, It should be baked into how you show up, because if it's not, people will just assume you're one more version of something they've already seen, or worse, already support, already support, okay? And when that happens, you land in what I call the zone of indifference. This is like the No, no zone. We don't want to be in the zone of indifference, not hated, not loved, just ignored. Right now, there are millions of. Brands, if let's go to the for profit sector. Okay? I think about things like socks and plain white t shirts. And I think there are brands out there that have said we're gonna make the best plain white t shirt or the most different plain white t shirt. Or you think about bedding. How many different types of sheets is are there now? There's cotton, there's pima cotton, there's bamboo, there's flannel, there's so many different types of sheets. And every time a new brand comes on the market, or a brand says, let's do a new product, they have to answer that question, what makes us different? Because if they can't figure out their differentiator, they're just flushing money down the toilet. Yeah. So they have to say, Well, we are going for the softest but most high end. We are going for the softest but more most affordable, or we are going for the highest quality in colors you've never seen. Do you see how mapping like what makes them different and as or as brands like have come onto the market, for example, in the like white t shirt space, it's fascinating, like, why this one brand has $60 white t shirts? Okay? Is it the cut? Is it the fit? Is it is it the is it a subscription model? Is it that it's the softest? Is it that they went high luxury? Is it that they went super affordable? They had to have found an angle or an edge, right? Otherwise brain would go under. So start to look for that. Start to look for, even in the for profit world, some things that you as a consumer made a choice for your favorite go to coffee, your favorite go to green juice, your favorite go to hair dryer. Like there's a million hair dryers out there. Why did you pick this one? Think about the Dyson hair dryer. I think it's like a $500 hair dryer or something, right? So they went luxury, and they also went tech, okay, high tech, high luxury. So that was their angle, that was their edge.
All right, we took a little departure to the for profit world, so you can adapt that to fit your organization, your mission. You can see what they do well, I want to look at like a shark tank level of success, a company that came in the last 10 years what felt like out of nowhere and had had and had amazing quick success. Ask yourself, what was their edge? Because I promise you, they had a huge one. They were filling out a gap in the market, or they were filling a gap in messaging, or both. But what I promise is they were not, not, not, not in the zone of indifference. They were not in the zone of indifference. You don't see that multi million dollar level of success when you're just sounding like everybody else. Your product looks like everybody else. You're for anyone, yeah. Now I'm not saying, let's talk about competition. I'm not saying you need to beat other organizations doing similar work, or stack up, or I'm doing like, an elbow, right? You gotta elbow your way to like, say we're the best, we're we're we're better, because it's actually not a zero sum game. You don't even need to worry about the competition. This is about clarity, because the truth is, your donors have choices, and a confused mind doesn't buy so let's unconfuse, right? I think a confused mind exits out of the screen, puts away the phone, goes on to Instagram instead, right? Does something else. So if they can't quickly understand why your work matters, why it exists, why it's distinct, why it feels urgent, they'll move on, not because they care about someone else or something else, because, rather, someone else had a clear story, somebody else drummed up the urgency. Somebody else had that angle or that edge, front and center, it was easier for their brain to decide, I want to help, and I want to help right now.
So if you're feeling like damn or constantly being passed up, or our missions being overlooked, or I'm already trying, or I don't know what our differentiator is, don't panic. Don't worry about competing, but I want you to get clearer and get braver. Say things only you can say. You the executive director, you the marketer, you the fundraiser, you the founder. It's not about competition. It's about clarity. If people don't understand why you exist, they won't feel moved to act. So here's the work. Get clear on what makes you truly different. Get clear on your edge. And I would like to say edges like different little areas for which you have a different way of thinking about treating this cause area, you have a different. Way of doing about trading your cause area. So when I think about an air quotes saturated market, I think about homelessness. There are quite a few organizations, more than a few here in Atlanta, that serve the homeless population. However, they have different edges. They philosophically may be different. Some may have a faith based component. Some may say, No, we're not having a faith based component. Some may say, we will take care of women and children only. And then I think about one here in Atlanta, their edge is great. They say, well, actually, most families experiencing homelessness, there are two types of options for them. There is a men's shelter. There is a women's shelter, okay? And that's it. And they don't keep the families together. We at this organization actually allow the men and the women, the families, to stay together while giving them a home and wraparound services for the next year, okay, or something like that, while they get settled so they don't separate the dads. That's the edge. We don't separate the dads. Then I think about another homeless shelter here in Atlanta that says we will keep we take care of women who are experiencing domestic domestic violence. We will keep women and children safe. We do not we do not include the dads. That's the edge, right one is not wrong or bad. But why do I have that clarity? I'm thinking of two different organizations. Now, there's probably 100 here in Atlanta, but those were the two that came to mind. Why? Because they had very clear edge. So think about yours. Yours can be values based. Yours can be programmatic based. But I want you to actually come up with like 10, so it's very, very clear. And then from that 10, you'll be able to rank like, what are the top ones?
So your edge is your reason for existing, your programmatic or service edge your reason to be funded. This doesn't mean inventing a gimmick or doing something that no one else has ever done, it means saying what others won't, saying what others won't, telling the truth about the gaps you fill, naming what really gets you going right, or what breaks your heart, what stresses you out, what keeps you up at night. I had an executive director tell me recently this x is really keeping me up at night. Do you know you could say that? You could say that an email, a letter to a donor on a call, it's going towards the hard thing, being honest about the impact that you actually want to make. That is your edge. We're the only organization in this city that shows up when everyone else has turned away. That's an edge. That's what people fund. We're the only organization within a 300 mile radius, because we are in a rural part of a community. Say that again and again and again, don't assume because you said it once. People just know you
all right, I want to talk about where this shows up, where, what it might look like now, and some changes you can make. So here's where this shows up, a website with no clear point of view, just buzz words, buzz words that it's like I'm picturing a washing machine, and they're just being tumbled in our nonprofit sector, you've just pulled out a word, make a difference. You've pulled out another word, transforming lives, right? A donor pitch that sounds like a mission statement, not a conversation social media that's all updates with zero urgency or soul, heart, truth, honesty. I've seen, seen some really good tiktoks and reels lately that are executive directors or staffers face to camera. I call that like talking head style. So selfie style, videos that are imperfect, unpolished and telling the real, real and those are so resonant right now, a campaign that says doesn't name why it matters now, right? So for example, let's compare the two. We provide mental health support to youth, versus we show up for kids who've lost hope and we won't wait until it's too late, and then injecting a stat there. Do you see the difference? One is louder, one is braver. So I recently welcomed a client to the sprint method, and in one of our calls, I got to really familiarize myself with her organization and the incredible work they do. And one of the things that she said to me is we're the only organization that provides blank and she think about that we are the only organization that's that provides blank. And she went into one of their programs. Okay? She went into she stepped into the shoes of the people in that program experiencing that, and she talked about what it's like. Like to go through that experience with their program or without their program. And I was locked in. I was locked in, and I could tell she had practice. I could tell she had practice talking about her differentiator and talking about her angle of what makes her organization different. And if you're saying to me, that's great, and all Christina, but we are not the only organization that does blank right, or has a program or service for blank, you still can find your edge. You still must find your edge. And I want you to think about listing those 10 things, and then you can categorize them. How are we different? It might be the way you think. It might be the way you think about your cause area. It might be the way your program or service is structured. It might be the impact you've had. You could even do this as your differentiator. Yeah, you're right. There are 10 other organizations that serve the homeless population in XYZ city, but we are the only one that has children who have a graduation rate of 98% in our program. Boom. We found your differentiator. This is work worth doing, like I would block out an hour and just free write and just, you're gonna have to go deep, thinking about some stats, some social proof, and then the in the heart of it, the soul of it, that's the but we are the ones that believe a value statement, a value level, right? Something like that, going into your core values can also be where we find our differentiator.
So you may be thinking, but we're not different. We do what others do, maybe, maybe, but how you show up, how you treat people, how you talk about your work, the vibe of your organization, that's unique. That's what you need to own in that list, you might be thinking, we don't want to sound pushy or self important or like we're braggy, right? You're not bragging. You're giving people a reason to believe and connect with you. Without that connection, they're going to scroll on by, okay? Remember, we are a distracted society, so you need to lead with a hook right out of the gate so people can connect with you. Our Board want to prove this kind of language, then your board is blocking growth. Test it show results. Be brave. First approval will follow impact. One of the biggest Achilles heels is that the right term to your organization's growth is that mindset our board won't approve. You cannot wait for your whole board to go slow clap. Great idea to send a third appeal this year when we normally do too Right? There's always going to be somebody who's like, I'm safe and comfortable doing the exact thing you've done. I just wish that you would get more donations in right? You have to be willing to go. Nope. We're going to do a third mailer in this 60 day period, because that is our new year end campaign. We're going to test it this year.
or you may say, actually, we are building our social street team. We are partnering with influencers and ambassadors, and I know, dear board you think that that isn't going to move the needle on any donations, and that's okay, because I'm about to prove it right. I'm about to show you right. Waiting for buy in will keep you stuck. I understand some things required Board approval, but I want you to think about does this really require Board approval, and if it does go towards that objection and tell them, do you trust me? I work here full time. You pay me full time. You would like to see more donations come in to the tune of x. Let me lead. Let me win. Let me try this. Okay, the organizations that have a board that let organizations lead, thrive, innovate, grow, are the ones that actually grow, not the ones that have the their relationship that feels like parent to child, parent to young child, right?
So I want to share some real world examples of what happens when a nonprofit stops hiding between behind safe language and messaging and starts speaking from their edge. First, a medical nonprofit. So when an organization came to me, their match campaign sounded like a lot of others. It was professional, it was best practices. It was how we would all expect it to be okay.
It was very much within what it should look like to fit in the nonprofit appeal language, right? However, it wasn't really converting right, generic language, like every dollar makes a difference, leaning too heavy on save your narratives. It wasn't wrong, it just wasn't resonant. So we flipped it. Instead of centering their own effort and painting a one side, one sided picture of need, we brought back the donors role in this okay, and change their messaging so that it was clear Lee from their organization, and not from any other organization in this niche to this audience, their new messaging didn't shout louder. It spoke more clearly, more courageously. Their result higher open rates. Past donors re engaged, and most importantly, they felt like they finally had their messaging match the depth of their work. I have talked to so many organizations where they say, people don't really realize all that we're doing. They don't realize all that you're doing because you're not telling them. Number one, when you tell them, it's very broad and vanilla. And number two, you're not telling them often enough. When you have your list of angles and edges right of what makes you different, your differentiators. Say them often. Repeat them. Don't just say it once and be like, Oh, I told them once I wanted to keep I don't want to keep repeating myself. No, you need to repeat yourself. You need to repeat yourself. How many times is brooklinen talking about how they have the best sheets in the world, right, the softest sheets in the world. And then another one is talking about how, no, they have the most luxurious sheets in the world. Like, let's pull from them for a second. It's okay to repeat yourself.
So another example was a client that is a diseased, focused organization. They work in a space where hundreds of nonprofits exist, and if you're not careful, you can sound like just another awareness campaign. It can blend right in. But this founder had real edge. She just didn't know it yet. So she was doing the work that goes beyond what most organizations attempt. She wasn't just raising awareness. She was changing patient pathways, shifting language, reimagining outcomes, but her messaging was hiding under soft, you know, good, warm language that just is blending in. So we work together inside the club to uncover a bold sense, a bold voice, a bold heart of truth, one that is scroll stopping, one that is where people are signing up, not only to be recurring givers, but to give significant one time gifts towards her, her campaigns. So you can ask yourself, Why does your voice matter in this movement. What are you saying that no one else is willing to say that's a good one, right? What are you saying that no one else is willing to say answer that, and again, if you don't know the answer to that, I highly recommend joining either the sprint method, which is where we teach organizations to create five figure campaigns when they need them year round, not just on year end. And the purpose and profit club, that is my more advanced program, where we teach organizations how to double their next fundraiser using influencer partnerships.
So once this particular Executive Director leaned into that edge, everything changed. We built a campaign that named the gaps in the system, honored lived experience, positioned her or as the one that is credible, deeply personal. The result is that she is the thought leader the go to in a very crowded space, not by screaming louder, not by just peppering people with more of the same information, but by telling people truth that no one else would or could. Her organization has run, grown by hundreds of donors, sold out events, and has already this year, is launching a new program, because she has the funding to do it. Another organization we just had on the podcast the live like blue Foundation, one of the things that their executive director said to me recently is, this is what she didn't say in this, this word, but, but it came out. This is what makes us different. She knows, and in her in talking, in her conversations about the organization, she's very, very quick to weave in her organization's differentiator hands on, Family Assistance, scholarships for dependents, targeted grants for emerging researchers in the ALS community, the partnerships with phi delta, the amplifying her voice, the impact of volunteerism and awareness initiatives she is constantly weaving in. Oh, this is how this organization that serves the ALS community is different from the other one. Again, not because of competition, not because a donor can't, gosh, they can't donate to both. Of course, they can, but so a donor can be clear, oh, wow, I didn't even know you. That was a thing. Oh, wow. I didn't even know or Wow, that really speaks to me. I want to connect with that. So from here, what's next? You're going to focus on clarity and courage. This is the work we do every week inside the purpose and profit club coaching program and the sprint method. You can click the link in the show notes, or you can go to splendid atl.com, forward slash. Start to learn about both programs and which one's right for you. We help you stop blending in, start being impossible to ignore. So your action step is to ask yourself this question, what makes us different? If you get crickets internally or cliches, it's time to find your edge. It's time to get the support to find your edge. I'm here. You can always reach out to me over at LinkedIn, or at Instagram, at splendid consulting
So go find that edge. I'll see you next time. Bye.