No point of view. No power.
When nonprofits lack a clear point of view, it shows in your brand language, your strategic decisions, your team’s morale, and ultimately, your organization’s impact.
Nonprofit leaders reading this will counter: “We have a very clear mission and a long track record of doing great work. We definitely know what we’re doing and talking about.”
Doing great work is not the same as telling stories about great work.
You’re talking about a left-brain function: operations, execution, turning ideas into impact. I’m talking about a right-brain function: emotional connection, uncovering metaphors, and telling stories. And from what I have seen across dozens of nonprofits, big and small, old and new, is that many conflate the first with the second (the doing with the communicating), and that most are good at the first and terrible at the second.
We all know, doing the work is not enough. You have to weave the individual programs and policy wins (or whatever your outputs are) into a story that communicates the stakes: what are we trying to fix, what could a better world look like, and what are we as an organization doing to make this vision a reality?
I’ve written extensively about what makes for a strong and compelling organizational point of view, but I’ll keep it short for now. A clear point of view is an informed opinion or a reasoned hypothesis for why the world is the way it is and how your work fits into the picture. It is like a theory of change, but less technical, more expansive, values-driven, and human.
Less framework. More compass.
Less noise. More signal.
Here’s a simple test. If you can’t answer the following questions, then you don’t have a strong point of view on your work or a strong case for why you do what you do.
What specifically is broken about the issue that your mission is focused on? Don’t just say the criminal justice system unfairly targets people of color. That’s not sharp enough. Be more specific.
What three aspects of your work (your approach, your expertise, your assets) set your organization apart in how it tackles this challenge? Tip: you can’t say you’re the oldest or the biggest or the most well-known.
What would the world lose if you were to disappear tomorrow?
Traditionally, nonprofits never needed a big idea to justify their existence. It was a simpler time.
Our neighborhood needs us.
There’s no one else serving our region in this way.
We are the oldest or the most funded.
Trust and credibility are no longer earned through these old status symbols or even through simply doing good work. Nonprofits are a dime a dozen and they are increasingly indistinguishable from each other. Not only is funding more scarce, securing it is competitive. And young employees expect that their leaders and places of work have strong, explicit principles to guide them through tough times.
The world is changing. What’s your point of view?
Curious about developing your own positioning? I help mission-driven organizations define their unique value and develop their narrative IP. Reach out to me here.