What Does Your Nonprofit Offer that Others Do Not?

Some of the rules of marketing and branding are the same for nonprofit organizations and agencies as they are for small businesses and corporations. What can be challenging with nonprofits, however, is that there can be some duplication of services or some confusion within a particular community about exactly what each nonprofit does. When challenged with fundraising or even marketing and publicity, it is important to differentiate between all of the other nonprofit organizations and yours. Focus on what your nonprofit offers that others do not.

It is important to understand your nonprofit's operations well enough to know where you are doing what others are doing and where you are unique. Whether it is in the longevity of your organization (if you have been around for several decades, this is a great thing to claim as it draws attention to your stability and long-term effectiveness), or the fact that you are the only organization working in a particular geographical area, service area, or utilizing a particular way of delivering services'"figure out what you do that no one else does, and emphasize it in the "story" you tell about your nonprofit.

Discovering your uniqueness as an organization can help you to focus your public relations, marketing and fundraising message. After all, a potential grant funder wants to know exactly how funding your program or organization will address community problems that are unmet. As for your marketing and public relations, it is important to make your organization and its mission "stand out" from the pack and uniqueness is one of the very best ways to do this. Focusing on what you do that others do not does NOT mean bad-mouthing other organizations or pointing out their flaws'"remember the focus is on what you and your organization DO, not what someone else does not do.