Become the obvious choice.
A manifesto on positioning for nonprofits
As a strategist to nonprofits, one of the most basic questions I ask leaders is: what makes your organization unique? What makes your contribution indispensable to the larger cause? Very few leaders can answer either of these questions. They do one of three things: recite their mission statement, list their current programs and activities, or name a string of successes.
“Our work is to increase access to opportunity so that communities can thrive.”
“We just won a huge grant for our new ‘Accelerate Leaders’ program.”
“We have been responsible for some of the biggest policy wins over the last decade.”
All these answers would have been great, if I had asked the question, “Why are you good at what you do?” But I didn’t. I asked a different question.
“What makes you uniquely valuable?”
Too many incredible organizations think that being good is enough to distinguish them. I hear it when leaders say, “If we’re doing important, effective work, our value should be evident. Our work speaks for itself.” I wish it were that simple. But let me run some numbers by you. As of 2025, there are an estimated 60,000-80,000 501(c)(3)s, with an annual operating budget above $1 million, working on social, civic, environmental, educational, health-access, philanthropic, or human-service issues (this is a rough estimate based on IRS Form 990 data compiled by the Urban Institute’s National Center for Charitable Statistics). The nonprofit sector is gigantic. Now imagine you’re a funder staring down a stack of applications from just 10 of these organizations—all excellent, all similar, all worthy. No matter how admirable your mission, how impactful your programs, or how humble your attitude, the fact remains unchanged that you are one of many noble but seemingly interchangeable organizations working toward overlapping goals, swimming in what I call the "swamp of sameness".
This probably explains some of the frustration you’ve been feeling. You are known, but not known for the right thing. You are respected, but it has been challenging to turn that hard-won legitimacy into real momentum. You are frustrated that funders don’t get you. This is what it feels like to swim in the swamp of sameness.
Being undifferentiated affects everything from your strategic planning to your fundraising, communications, hiring, and more. And organizations respond by trying to pull on their most familiar levers: fundraising or communications. But more fundraising and more communications won’t fix the underlying problem of undifferentiation if you are screaming into the void trying to answer the question, “Why are you great?”
The emphasis is on the wrong word.
It was never “why are you great?”
It was “why are YOU great?”
Why you?
Why should a funder, supporter, collaborator, or talented hire choose you? When people have multiple credible choices, they need a reason to choose you.
Positioning is the discipline to answer this crucial but painfully overlooked question: what indispensable contribution do you make to the larger field or sector you belong to? With clear positioning, you finally stop contorting yourself to whatever a funder wants to hear, and start making a case only you could make. You stop rewriting your messaging every quarter and lead with one story that gives you narrative momentum. And maybe most importantly, you stop trying to copy what that other organization is doing, and instead start acting as only you can, on purpose.
When your distinctness becomes clear, the value of your work becomes apparent.
You are no longer vague and interchangeable. You are sharp, with distinct qualities and strengths.
You are no longer just generally respected, you are specifically valued.
You are no longer one of many. You become the obvious choice.
Curious about clarifying your own difference and developing your positioning? Reach out to me here.