If you’re a nonprofit that’s been in business for 5+ years, you’ve achieved something remarkable.

And if you’ve an annual revenue in excess of $1 million . . . well, you’re REALLY a rarity. 92% of nonprofits operate below $1M, and 88% below $500k, according to Nonprofit Matters.

However, the real challenge lies in building upon that success.

In a crowded landscape where countless causes vie for attention and support . . . how do you stand out? How do you attract and retain donors who believe in your mission and are willing to contribute not just once, but on a recurring basis?

The answer lies in crafting a clear, compelling, and effective value proposition – one that resonates deeply with your target audience and addresses their core questions and concerns.

And making it ever clearer and more compelling.

Why?

To put it in European soccer terms:

The skills that made you a champion in your league . . .

. . . are not the skills that keep you champion . . .

. . . let alone the skills that will promote you to the next league up.

Marketing agency NextAfter found that just putting the nonprofit’s value proposition in an email sent to subscribers boosted donations by 150%.

And if they did it in the text of the email rather than by including a video link, donations rose by 527%. (People can read a short sentence much faster than they can listen to even a short video.)

Your Nonprofit Leader’s Brain should be making cash register noises when you read that.

And the key to unlocking that value proposition? Asking the right questions. And then, even better ones.

This article is about doing just that. So that you can transform your ability to:

Connect with donors
Foster long-term relationships
Drive sustained impact

Section 1: Understand the Donor’s Perspective

Before you can craft a value proposition that truly resonates, you must first understand the mindset of your potential donors.

Most often, they’re grappling with this fundamental question:

“Why should I sacrifice my hard-earned cash to you?”

And perhaps also this one:

“Why should I give every month?”

Those are certainly your most important value propositions. But you will inevitably present donors with lower-level propositions, like these:

Why should I volunteer?
Why should I join your event (fundraising or other)?
Why should I download your ebook/digital resource/lead magnet?

All of these are offers, or value propositions.

It’s crucial to approach these with an open mind, ready to embrace answers that might challenge your existing assumptions.

Or maybe, answers that just plain fly in from left field.

The ALS Foundation, for example, were unprepared (delightedly so 😀, mind you) for the response to their Ice Bucket Challenge in 2014.

Turns out that people were more than willing to give way more money if the request came with complete silliness and levity.

Cough up some dough for ALS research?

Oh, maybe. I dunno. Maybe.

Cough up some dough for ALS research if your brother dumps a bucket of ice water over his head in front of a crowd?

SURE!

This story documents how it nearly TRIPLED funding for ALS research, almost overnight.

All because the ALS people learned folks just needed a little more fun in their lives.

Clean water advocate charity:water had an inkling about this when they decided to tackle the Israel-Gaza crisis with their subscribers. They actually tackled it head-on … kind of?

In a digital campaign, they asked their subscribers, Whose side are you on?

When in reality, they were asking the question:

“What could we do to put a smile on our subscribers’ faces?”

It was risky, because subscribers would inevitably have wondered, Is charity:water thinking of cutting out my side in the conflict?

Responders clicked through to a quiz in which they were asked to give their opinion on various “ethical” questions, such as:

Which is better, tea or coffee?

What are the safety implications of putting pineapple on pizza?

Are socks with sandals ethical?

And which is the superior way to hang toilet paper, over or under?

Quiz-takers would no doubt have felt a significant measure of relief. (They might even have been emboldened to maintain (or increase) their support for charity:water.)

It’s always worth remembering that your donors are always the experts on why they’re giving.

Not you.

Section 2: Ask Hard Questions to Develop Your Value Proposition

To truly understand and articulate your unique value proposition, you must be willing to ask yourself and your stakeholders some tough questions.

Here are a few Questions Nonprofits Should Ask Themselves:

What unique impact do we make that others do not?
How do our goals align with the needs of our beneficiaries and the interests of our donors?
When we ask people about what drives them/their passions . . . do they talk about the same values we live out ?
Are people giving to us? (Do they care enough that it costs them?)
How much donor retention do we have? (Do they care enough to be committed year after year?)
Do we have any major donors? (Do we have stakeholders with serious commitment to the cause? Do they understand that we have a real or effective (or more effective) solution?
(And especially) Is there a better way to do what we’re currently doing?

And a few Questions to Ask Donors:

What motivated you to support us initially?
Why did you choose to give today?
What do you value most about our work?
How can we improve your experience as a donor?

And a few Questions to Ask Beneficiaries:

How has our support impacted your life?
What additional needs do you have that we might not be addressing?
How can we better help you?

Give Directly had already been in the business of supporting people locked in poverty.

And they’d been pretty good at asking themselves hard questions. (Or so they thought.)

But in 2016, someone asked something that threatened to upset the proverbial apple cart. (It actually threatened their whole nonprofit business model (and potentially, their staff’s livelihoods):

What if our entire approach to helping the world’s poorest people is fundamentally flawed?

What if the poor actually know better than we do what kind of help they need? (Shocking suggestion!)

And we just . . . give them the money with no strings attached?

So they ran an experiment to find out.

They started wiring money directly to the bank accounts connected to individual people’s cell phones in impoverished areas of Africa.

Result? Raging success.

Give Directly tells an example story here, of two Kenyan families whose lives have been greatly improved just by having cash dropped into their bank accounts. This is now the model for much philanthropy in Africa.

And it all came about because somebody at Give Directly dared to question their own preconceived notions.

Section 3: Embrace the Uncomfortable Answer

As you engage in this questioning process, it’s essential to be open to feedback – even if it’s uncomfortable, or challenges your belief system. (Or makes you look bad.)

Truly insightful answers often come from embracing perspectives that push you WAY out of our comfort zone.

The trick with this is to resist asking binary, closed-ended questions like “Do you find our services helpful?”

Instead, ask open-ended, non-binary questions that encourage deeper insights, such as “How do our services help you? In what ways could they be more helpful?”

In 2019, Candid, which then held the largest database of grants and grant foundations, merged with GuideStar, which occupied the same market position, but for nonprofits.

Aleda Gagarin, Candid’s VP of Influence, at one point stated bluntly,

The charitable world is characterized by an imbalance of power, with foundations able to determine who gets the resources to solve problems.

Thinly veiled in that statement was Candid’s unspoken conviction that the power shouldn’t be out of balance.

But when the GuideStar merger happened . . . Candid unexpectedly found itself the one holding the power.

They had pole position in the data market for both grantors and grantees. Thay had the monopoly.

It caused them to ask the question:

If we collect data from nonprofits, for free . . . should we be charging them for access to that data, and the insights that data provides?

So in Oct 2021, they embarked on a quest to find out how they could, and should, improve.

Result? Candid now provides their database free of charge to 95% of their users, and to the public through a vetted set of community locations. This benefits grantors, grantees, and the public at large.

All because Candid was willing to tolerate the answer to an uncomfortable question.

That integrity cost them, mind you – In 2023, revenues from training were down by $121k. But they remained faithful to their core value proposition.

Beeline has actually seen the effect of Embracing the Uncomfortable first-hand.

A client added a 2-question survey to the Thank-You page of every ebook download. The survey asked the user which resource they downloaded, and then with an open-ended question, asked why they downloaded it.

The answers were compiled, and we rewrote their original landing page, leveraging the words, phrases, and emotions that their audience shared in the survey.

The old landing page’s conversion rate was 7.8%. And the new landing page (here) converted at 9.9%. That’s an improvement of almost 28%, on a key landing page that drove 10k+ subscribers in 2023.

Section 4: Get to the Truth, Not the Donation

While donations are obviously crucial to any nonprofit’s success . . . it’s important to prioritize seeking Truth over just securing contributions.

Only one way to do that: Start and nurture conversations, one at a time.

Ken Burnett has been a full-time fundraiser in the UK most of his working life. He’s often credited for transforming Action Aid into a powerhouse NGO, but that’s really only one of his accomplishments.

In 1992, he published his Relationship Fundraising book.

It was his answer to what he thought was a disturbing trend toward transactional fundraising, i.e. seeing human beings as walking banks that needed to be raided by whatever means necessary.

His essential message was:

Fundraise with people, don’t fundraise at them.

Walk with their Willingness, don’t try to squeeze every drop out of their Reluctance.

If you adopt that attitude, you’ll find out what it is that really matters to them, and why.

That’s the Truth you want to get to.

And yes, it might mean you don’t get the transaction you’re seeking now . . .

. . . but it keeps the conversation alive, and the trust built . . .

. . . and it’s just as possible that you might get an even bigger transaction than you were initially hoping for.

And there’s another Truth angle to consider, one that turns the spotlight on your nonprofit itself:

You say you’re all about feeding the hungry (for example).

But are you really? How do you KNOW?

Charity evaluators like The Life You Can Save actually document how they measure truth – in their case, it’s measuring nonprofit effectiveness of other nonprofits. They dig deep to find rigorous evidence and real impact data over marketing claims behind charities’ work.

Not many nonprofits are sufficiently secure in themselves to face that kind of truth head-on.

Want proof? Try google-searching for stories about nonprofits doing just that.

They’re really hard to come by. (As I discovered the hard way by researching this article.)

The typical nonprofit’s website and blog is full of advice and guidance, doled out liberally to stakeholders everywhere.

But stories? Very few.

And stories in which the nonprofit points the finger at themselves? As plentiful as fish on the desert floor.

Far too many nonprofits are obsessed with changing the world to suit their notions of How The World Ought To Be. Very few are willing to accept that those preconceived notions might be flawed.

Fostering an environment of integrity and transparency . . . by constantly asking questions of donors and of oneself . . .

By constantly pursuing ongoing conversation . . .

. . . gradually builds trust with your donors. And that trust will ultimately lead to a stronger, more robust nonprofit.

Section 5: Clarity Over Cleverness

There’s a mantra every nonprofit leader with any need for fundraising should memorize:

A confused mind always says No.

In today’s information-soaked world, Clarity is King.

Clever marketing campaigns, and complex messaging, appeal to the campaign creator. They make the creator feel productive and clever. The creator goes home at night and feels valuable.

But such campaigns often fail to resonate meaningfully with their audience.

Focus instead on simplifying your value proposition . . . using language that is easy to understand and emotionally resonant.

And short. As short as possible.

No jargon and technical terms that might confuse your audience. No electrohydrodynamic phase shifters with bi-transnational effervescence here, please. Only grammar and vocabulary that an 8th-grader will understand. If a simpler word will do in place of the complicated one . . . go for the simple one. (The Hemingway app is great for this.)

And the longer the sentence, the less likely it is to be read.

Same thing goes for paragraphs.

Marketing guru Dean Jackson uses an email marketing tactic he calls The 9 Word Email. It literally can be just 9 words:

“Hey George . . . still looking for a house in Jacksonville?”

And those words go in the subject line of the email, with no other content whatsoever.

The strategy is wildly effective. Why?

Because it’s short, clear, simple . . . and it starts a conversation in the reader’s head. And if sent to someone who IS looking for a house in Jacksonville, it’s nearly guaranteed to get a response.

Now it’s a question, obviously, not a value proposition. But, assuming Dean targets it properly, will result in a conversation that can very easily lead to a powerful value proposition being created.

St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee has a value proposition even shorter than Dean Jackson’s 9-Word Email:

Finding cures. Saving children.

The hospital was already legendary for the story behind it and the impact on children’s lives, but their previous messaging was too focused on the scientific aspects of their work, which was poorly understood by the general public.

By embracing clarity over cleverness, you increase the chances of your value proposition cutting through the noise and truly connecting with your target audience.

Section 6: Leading Questions are Problematic

Leading questions are killers.

They don’t kill quickly. They kill slowly. Gradually.

They kill because they presuppose the answers.

And presupposed answers . . . even when they’re right (they usually aren’t) . . . come from a place of arrogance.

The Rev. Kevin Presseault in Ottawa, Canada, is fond of telling his flock:

“Even when you’re right . . . you’re Wrong if you’re not humble.”

Leading questions skew the feedback you receive and prevent you from gaining genuine insights. Leading questions conceal the truth, they don’t reveal it.

Only way to safeguard against that is by asking neutral, open-ended, non-binary questions. (Non-binary meaning, can’t be answered Yes or No.)

They increase the chances of uncovering valuable insights that can help refine your value proposition and better align your efforts with the needs of your donors and beneficiaries.

Section 7: Practical Tips for a Question-Driven Approach

Integrating a question-driven approach into your nonprofit’s processes can seem daunting, but it’s a journey well worth taking.

Here are some practical tips to help you get started:

1. Establish regular touchpoints for engaging donors and beneficiaries, such as annual surveys, focus groups, or one-on-one conversations.

(Keep this simple – A well-crafted, one-question survey, or a question on a donation thank-you page, is very effective. Just keep the questions open-ended and neutral, with a view to getting to the Truth.

2. Train your team on effective questioning techniques, and tools and techniques for Gathering and Analyzing Responses. Questions like:

“How well do our current initiatives address your most pressing needs?”
“What additional support or resources would be most valuable to you?”
“If you could change one thing about our organization, what would it be?”

And tools and techniques like:

Online survey platforms like Paperform, SurveyMonkey, Typeform or Google Forms
Qualitative data analysis software like NVivo or ATLAS.ti
CRM Systems like Salesforce, Bloomerang or BetterUnite, to track and analyze donor interactions and feedback
Focus Groups with donors and beneficiaries (although these have to be managed with care – Focus groups, by their very nature, are contrived situations, and therefore don’t necessarily generate data reflective of what people will say/do when they’re not in a focus group)

3. Regularly review and analyze the feedback received from your questioning efforts.

4. Identify common themes, pain points, and areas where your value proposition may be misaligned with donor and beneficiary needs.

5. Refine your messaging, programs, and initiatives to better address these needs and strengthen your value proposition.

6. Implement all learnings.

(One insight, well implemented, is worth far more than 10 ill-defined, un-implemented insights . . . which really are yet to be insights at all.)

In all this . . . alignment is key. You don’t want to be a solution looking for a problem – your efforts must align with the actual needs and desires of those you serve.

7. Always seek out the uncomfortable. That’s where the growth is.

After all . . .

. . . it was facing an uncomfortable situation head-on that led you to start or be involved with a nonprofit in the first place.

Conclusion

In the ever-evolving landscape of nonprofit work, one need is constant: The need for a value proposition that is clear and compelling to all your stakeholders.

They have to know and embrace why you’re in business, or else they will turn their energy and attention elsewhere.

With a questions-driven approach, you can unlock deeper insights into the minds and hearts of your donors and beneficiaries . . . enabling you to craft a value proposition that does just that.

It’s not just about the questions – it’s about being curious, open-minded, transparent, truth-seeking, and simplifying of complexity.

It’s about fostering an environment where uncomfortable answers are welcomed, not feared, and where growth is fueled by a willingness to challenge existing assumptions.

Take the first step.

Ask the tough questions. Listen with an open mind. Let the insights you find, guide you toward a value proposition that builds long-term, recurring support for your vital work.

And if you need help doing any of this . . . Beeline thrives on this stuff.

Just reach out to our team directly here. Happy to help!