Every ethical business or non-profit generally has one Unique Selling Proposition (USP). This is the most compelling reason why your target audience should consider your nonprofit over others.
The most successful campaigns, ads, commercials, or direct mail campaigns focus on highlighting what makes your nonprofit unique – how exactly you’re different from other organizations. For example, Walmart’s USP is its prices, and IKEA’s is its showroom experience (plus, the meatballs!).
Sadly, many nonprofits are unclear what their USP is. When a nonprofit doesn’t offer donors solid facts about how it is special and why one should donate, guess what? They don’t.
This post suggests four distinctive ways nonprofits can set themselves apart by doing things just a little bit differently:
Allocate Funding Differently
Charity: Water (yes, that’s the name) explains clearly on its website the things that make them different from other nonprofits: its 100% model, its emphasis on proving where donations go with GPS tracking, and its collaboration with local partners in countries to which they supply the clean water.
Now, how can your nonprofit apply this?
Before you decide on a value proposition, get to know your audience and talk to them about what’s most important to them. Once you’re confident that you’ve nailed down a unique value proposition that sets you apart from others and represents what your target market wants, make sure to include it on the most important pages of your website, in the headline of your homepage, and in every communication piece you put out there.
Build support differently
The Prostate Cancer Foundation came up with an innovative campaign called Movember: Changing the Face of Men’s Health through the Power of the Mustache. Movember encourages people to fundraise on behalf of the Prostate Cancer Foundation. How does this campaign work for the Prostate Cancer Foundation? Because the most loyal donors are willing to encourage other donors to sign up for the cause. When you succeed at convincing someone to effectively “recruit” for you, you not only get the value of the new donor, but you also roughly double the value of your current customer. Also, another good example is in England, an organization called London Dogs Rescue raises about half of its overall income from individual supporters recruited through friend-get-a-friend initiatives.
How can your nonprofit apply this? Think of creative ways to encourage donors to link important personal experiences or events to your cpexelsause.
Share your message in a unique way
Special Olympics campaigns have been successful by telling very personal stories of their athletes – their trials, tribulations, and the hurdles and challenges they have overcome. A letter from their 2014 campaign is a prime example of how the nonprofit uses storytelling to communicate its message and inspire donors to give graciously. It not only received a big response, but donors actually mailed back letters of encouragement. Now how sweet is that?
So, how can your nonprofit apply this? Make storytelling a central part of your marketing strategy. Tell your nonprofit’s or your founder’s stories, or maybe tell your donors stories through testimonials or case studies. Use photos, videos, and multiple platforms to develop your story.
You can also weave storytelling into your educational content. Ask someone from your community to write about why he/she/they got involved with your organization.
Campaign different
Earth Hour is a worldwide movement for the planet organized by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). The event is held globally annually encouraging individuals, communities, households, and businesses to turn off their essential lights for an entire hour, from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. on the last Saturday in March, as a symbol of commitment to helping the planet. It famously started as a lights-off event in Sydney, Australia in 2007 and took off from there.
How can your nonprofit apply this? Sometimes, you just have to think outside of the box in terms of how you campaign for your cause. Stick to one message that highlights what makes your organization unique.