Pitch outcomes, not just outputs.
Did you know?
If you hit the LIKE ♡ button at the bottom or top of this post, it will help this content reach other nonprofit leaders. It also helps me know which posts resonate most. So give it some love!
Saying what you do isn’t enough. Because:
Features tell, advantages compel, benefits sell.
So your fundraising should communicate all three.
Here’s the breakdown. ⤵
🥉 FEATURES
What you do and how the product or program works
🥈 ADVANTAGES
How the features or outputs help communities
🥇 BENEFITS
The outcome or impact that results
See?
Since many nonprofit leaders struggle to communicate their model simply, features are important to explain first.
But don’t stop there.
Because changes in conditions always beat the number of people reached. That’s why advantages and benefits are the most powerful value propositions.
Especially for donors.
This art of messaging all three levels — called brand laddering — can be game-changing for your communications.
Just like the Lego ad pictured.
Need more examples?
🥤 Coca-Cola doesn’t tell you about its fizzy, colored fructose syrup. They sell you “a Coke and a smile.”
🧼 Dove soap doesn’t discuss vegetable oil and animal fat in its campaigns. It communicates body positivity and “real beauty” to women.
🚙 Toyota promises reliability and peace of mind.
And on and on.
Yes, value proposition laddering works for nonprofit brands too.
🌾 Like an agriculture social enterprise:
FEATURE — finance, seeds, and distribution
ADVANTAGE — farmers with better crop yields
BENEFIT — increased income and family health
👓 Or an eye care NGO:
FEATURE — free eyeglasses for kids
ADVANTAGE — students with improved sight
BENEFIT — more learning outcomes in school
So, what level of value proposition are you communicating?
Outcomes over outputs.
Tell, compel, sell.
It’s that simple.
💪🏽💛
The Daily Bonus
Here’s a tongue-in-cheek example of brand laddering.
In this silly corn chips example, an advertisement would never only say, “This is a salty and crunchy snack!”
A commercial would also speak to how the snack is great for sharing with family, which makes people happy.
World peace is obviously claiming too much and going too far.
But again, features start the conversation — benefits close it.
The Double Daily Bonus
Speaking of communicating outcomes, here’s a recent blog from Candid:
Telling a compelling story: Communicating program impact in a grant proposal.
In it, they advise to focus on answering three questions:
What are you trying to achieve?
What are your strategies for making it happen?
How are you measuring progress?