Ep. 156: Where You’re Undermining Your Best Work
EPISODE 156
Where You’re Undermining Your Best Work
About the Episode:
Most nonprofits wait for permission: a grant panel, a sponsor, an award to tell them they’re the best. This episode flips that script. Today, I share why it’s time to claim your brilliance, boldly articulate what makes you exceptional, and anchor your authority before anyone else does. From a five-star Airbnb in Greece to awkward sponsor meetings where leaders freeze, this conversation unpacks the mindset shifts and tactical moves that help you own your impact. Because you don’t need a medal to stand out, you need the courage to plant your flag.
Here’s what you’ll learn:
Why so many nonprofits struggle to claim their brilliance (and how to break the cycle)
The power of repetition and why your message needs to be heard 17 times
The difference between bragging and anchoring your authority
Real-life examples: Airbnb reviews, sponsor meetings, and what clarity really sounds like
Practical ideas for showcasing your impact everywhere—pitch decks, websites, thank you notes, and beyond
How to reframe your mindset from “Who am I to say this?” to “Who am I not to?”
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:
“You don't need a trophy to claim the title.”
“You can claim you're the best at x, not because somebody gave you a gold star, but because you earned the right to say it out loud.”
“Research shows that people need to hear something 17 times before they act.”
“Where can you embed your best work so people can feel it before you say it?”
“You need to be able to articulate why you're the best and the brightest, planting your flag, claiming that authority five stars.”
“Write down three things you want people to remember about your organization.”
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Christina Edwards 0:02Today we're talking about you and your brilliance, and claiming your brilliance as a nonprofit leader, as a nonprofit fundraiser, as an impact maker, and why this is an opportunity for you to step into your brilliance, and how rarely I actually see nonprofits doing this, and where you can strategically start doing this. And maybe it will feel a little uncomfortable. Maybe it will feel a little like, Oh, aren't I bragging? We're going to talk about that. We're going to talk about that. And like the nuance. Because there is a difference between showing up and being like, we're the best, I'm the best, braggy, braggy, and what I'm talking about.
Christina Edwards 0:57
So in June, I was in Greece, and we hit Athens, and then we hit a bunch of coastal cities, and we hung out with family. We just explored. And we stayed in sort of a coastal, like a port town called Nafplio, and we stayed in this Airbnb, and it was so charming, and it was so cute. It was like a top floor little apartment in in this town, and we were in kind of like a residential area, and I noticed something that started to, like tickle me in this apartment. So there's like two bedrooms, there's a living room and a kitchen, and there's a balcony, and at like, key points in this Airbnb, there are these little signs, little markers like voted Best Airbnb 2022, five star reviews three years running, and they were these little markers of endorsements, of claiming their brilliance, right, of claiming what they accolades, right, successes. And we stayed there for about three or four nights. And it's really interesting, because if you're surrounded by something like this, where somebody is like, celebrating an achievement, celebrating a designation, because I've stated a lot of Airbnbs, and you know, sometimes when the pictures are not really like what you expected, and you can sort of see like the cracks, so to speak, in what you thought it would be like versus what it was. And the difference, and the difference here is that this Airbnb host not only was like claiming their brilliance, having these moments, but also had created an environment that really was a super host status, right? It really was well appointed. She was very thoughtful. It was great, and it made me think about how
Christina Edwards 3:04
you might be thinking like, oh, but that's annoying or flashy or desperate or something like that. But here's the thing, when you're around a message like that enough it actually sticks, and it's up to the person consuming the message, seeing the message, to decide to agree with you or not. Now we had such a lovely stay there that I was like, Yeah, makes sense that they got five star reviews. Makes sense. Like, yes. And then it starts to solidify that message, which is exactly what the host wanted me to wanted me to know, right? And so at the end of the stay, what does Airbnb do? They say, Hey, how was your stay? Rate your host? Guess what I rated without even having to think about it, I was like, Oh, that was a five star. Say, do you see how that loop was? It was created for me, not manipulated, but created for me, with me in mind.
Christina Edwards 4:02
So you may be thinking, okay, cool, but I haven't won any awards. This may be you personally. This may be your nonprofit, your mission. We're not the biggest, we haven't gone viral, but you don't need a trophy to claim the title. And that is the message I want you to hear. It's not about somebody and somebody giving you a medal, somebody giving you an award, it's about you actually saying we are the best at this. We are the most impactful at this. We are changing the way that this population receives a service, right? We are changing the way that our community is impacted. And I'm instead seeing nonprofits blend in, not drawing that light in the stand, not saying we're the best, not saying we're the brightest, not saying we're the most modern, not saying we're the most future focused, not saying there's, you know what? There's not another nonprofit that does this, and that's what I want you to claim. You don't need a grant, a. Panel or gala speech to decide we're damn good at this, and we're going to say so. So here are some examples of things you can claim, without permission, outside permission, permission from yourself you will need. We're the only organization serving this community. We've retained 82% of our donors this year. Our program reached 1200 people last month, more than any other year in history. We're the go to group for X issue in the region. You can also claim we're the best at x, not because somebody gave you a gold star, because you earned the right to say it out loud. So let's do a check in. Okay? Maybe thinking Christina, braggy sounds very braggy. How do you know it's not bragging sounds very braggy? Or maybe, is this something more powerful? Here's the difference. Bragging is performative. It's about you. It's like you. Also it's one up. Energy, it's I'm better than energy. It's pick me energy. It's like me energy. Anchoring, claiming your impact is strategic, right? Stating the news, it's helping people trust and understand you. What makes you different when you tell a new sponsor. We raised $74,000 online last fall with a 61% donor return rate. That's not arrogance, that's clarity, that's authority, that's the news, that's the truth. But y'all are burying you.
Christina Edwards 6:43
Research shows that people actually need to hear something 17 times before they act. That's marketing psychology. So if you're telling your story once in a while, or especially, you're telling your most successful part, the part that you claim, the part that is really uniquely you, your organization, your impact, your authority. Every once in a while, it's not enough. You're not being repetitive when you do this. You're actually being responsible. So I recently had a client come to a coaching call, and they were in a pitch meeting with a potential, very important sponsor, good potential prospect, someone who had they were a personality. They were not prepared for a very dominant personality. The sponsor started very much. Prospect started steamrolling the conversations. It was very much like, Oh, we've done a ton of sponsorships before. Here's how it works. Here's what you need to do. It sounded a little belittling, like a little like they were trying to educate the organization. It sounded like uninvited advice, but delivered with certainty, my client was definitely caught off guard, and afterwards she said, I not really sure I was just so caught off guard. I just felt like she felt like she had to answer every sort of advice piece, or here's how it works. And so she just felt overwhelmed. She said, I didn't even get to explain what we're best at. And here's what I told her, that was your moment to anchor, not by pushing back. You have to watch in these instances that you don't get in one upman energy, right, where they're like papapa and you're like papapa, right? But instead, that's so helpful. Thank you. We've also built campaigns that have brought in 200 donors and our partners. Here's what our sponsors. Here were our sponsors last year. Here's the impact we created for them. Here's what they loved. And then ask them, wanna see what worked? What do you love to see in a sponsor? It's anchoring back in very calmly and claiming back in your power. That's how you re rail a conversation that starts to go off the rails. It's really about then stepping into your strength, stepping into your power, and place an opportunity to plant your flag. So let's talk about where you can plant that flag. Where can you embed your best work so people can actually feel it before you say it. It's a good question, right? Maybe it's in your website header trusted by 1200 donors each year. I would love it if you say on your website, how many recurring givers you have? You have 52 great 152 great, 552 say it. That is proof that is endorsements that is claiming your success in your social campaigns. This campaign is raised $58,000 to go directly towards this right, without grants, without this, without galas, in your pitch decks, we're the only one doing this. In this region. We're the only one doing this in this way. The other nonprofits who claim to help this population are doing it in this old school way. It's antiquated. It has less, less success rates, etc. In your thank you notes, in your thank you emails. You helped us reach 3000 families each year in your zoom backgrounds, Instagram highlights, sign offs, signatures, business cards, voted top rated nonprofit three years in a row by great nonprofits. I do want to make the distinction. This isn't just about looking for outside things, outside designations like the great nonprofit seal, the guide starred seal, right? It's about you actually saying, here's why we're the best and brightest, and not apologetically, and not being like, Well, are we the best and brightest? And if you don't know the answer to that, you need to get coached, and we need to create a program or service and positioning and message to your donors that shows that you're the best and the brightest. Because if I have $50,000 to give to an organization, I want to give it to the best and the brightest. I want that $50,000 to go the longest way possible, right? Not the way that's like, oh yeah. Like it did. Okay. So you need to be able to articulate why you're the best and the brightest, planting your flag, claiming that authority five stars, right? That's what you need.
Christina Edwards 11:34
So here's the big question, what are you waiting for? What are you waiting for? Are you waiting for somebody else to tell you you are the best and the brightest, you are the innovator, you are the only one. Or are you waiting for a business or a thought leader or a bulldozer in a sponsor meeting to say, I believe in you, a donor to write it on the memo line, a board chair to say it on your behalf, a third party to name it first. You're allowed to be the first to claim it. You should actually be the first to claim it. And that's the edge, like that's the growth work is very often we are looking for somebody else to say, you're good, you can do this. But the call needs to come from inside the house. First. You actually need to make sure your programs or services are doing it. And then you need to package that message in a way where you say it again and again and again. You don't say it like 17 other nonprofits say it. You say it like you say it so it's scroll stopping. It's impactful. It's like this Airbnb. I've stayed at a lot of Airbnbs. Why do I remember this one? Personal touches, little things, the way that she communicated with me, and, of course, her five star reviews. So you're allowed to say, we're great at this, we're proud of this result. We've built something worth sharing. You can start this narrative instead of hoping somebody else says it for you, and that's kind of your homework is like,
Speaker 1 13:04
Where Are we proud
Christina Edwards 13:07
of this result? Where are we excellent at this Where are we the Pioneer? Where am I the Pioneer? I love that question for everyone. So that's your challenge this week. Write down three things you want people to remember about your organization.
Christina Edwards 13:32
Then you're going to ask, Where can I reinforce this? Where can I show up as the expert, the anchor, the one who already knows? Where am I waiting for permission I don't need, right? So if I have somebody who's trying to, like, mentor me and give me advice, where can I lovingly say, oh my gosh, thank you. Great advice there. And here's what we've already created, and here's our vision for the rest of the year. You come in, you come in like, that's the energy, right? That's the energy that will attract more leads, more donors, more donor prospects, more closed conversations, more engagement online, more shares like, that's the piece, if you think about like, if you wish you had more influencers and ambassadors talking and advocating for you online, they need a reason to talk and advocate for you, so you have to give them a hook. A hook is not we seek to help the homeless population in Atlanta. Okay? Amazing. And what makes you different? How are you different? Where are you going to claim that? Where are you going to claim your brilliance? Maybe you have a way to do it that is using AI. Maybe you have a way to do it that takes the long wait list and collapses them. Maybe you have a way to do it that keeps families together in a city where normally it's just mothers and children, right? Maybe you have something new and different. You have to keep saying it, and you have to say it. A way that is bold and that
Unknown Speaker 15:02
is planting that flow.
Christina Edwards 15:11
So if you want to stop shrinking in meetings and start anchoring in your authority every time you show up, that's what we do inside the purpose and profit club, you can get weekly coaching feedback on your campaigns and done with you messaging and campaigns that grow your revenue and your confidence inside we have staffers that join as teams. I built this program so that you can have a collaborative place for marketing and fundraising to work
Speaker 1 15:39
together you and
Christina Edwards 15:56
don't wait for an award to start telling the world what you're great at. The sprint method gives you the messaging strategy and tools to raise 10k or more using our community fundraising method in every campaign. You can start today and build proof as you go. I built the sprint method for new and emerging founders and organizations that are scaling up raising their first 100, couple 100,000 for both programs, You can click the link in the show notes, or go to splendid atl.com, forward, slash, start for details. I'll see you in the next one.