Top 5 Blog Posts Of 2019

It’s been quite the year for nonprofits, social enterprises, and other social impact organizations! With every passing day, we see more people supporting causes, both personally and professionally. It’s an exciting time!

Likewise, this was a great year here on the blog and for Signify. There were some tremendous guests posts and contributors, and I’m grateful for all of the words of wisdom and shared advice. I learned a lot, and I know you did, too.

So, before we enter the next decade, let’s take a look back at this year’s five most popular posts. From nonprofit event marketing to utilizing influencers to empathy for social impact organizations to Squarespace tips to public speaking tools, there is a wealth of information below to help you succeed.

Wishing you a wonderful holiday season!

1) How to wow your supporters after your event

If your nonprofit has a big fundraising event on the calendar, and it probably does, this is one post you won’t want to miss! Event planning is extremely popular in the nonprofit sphere, but it also takes a lot of effort and time, am I right?

You absolutely want to make the experience top-notch for current and prospective donors. Please do that first. However, there’s a vital piece of event planning that often gets left out: the follow up. It’s not the most exciting thing to talk about, but I can’t stress it enough.

Having a solid follow-up plan is part of what makes an event strategic for your organization, and not just something you do every year.

It’s also what increases your return on investment (ROI), especially considering events may not be as profitable in the long-term as you might think.

You’ve put so much hard work into planning this event, and an excellent follow-up strategy makes it more effective. What you say and how you say it could mean additional donations, recurring donations, and higher attendance at the next event. That’s why this matters.

And it comes to you from my new friend Erin at Funraise, which a super sweet nonprofit fundraising software built by nonprofit people.

Read the full post . . .

2) Why Nonprofits Need Influencers To Grow (And How To Do It Right)

Have you heard the buzzword “influencer” and wondered what the heck it was? Or if it’s a familiar term, have you struggled with how to find one of these elusive creatures to work with your nonprofit organization? Well, never fear—this post is for you.

While influencers have always existed, the Internet Age has given them new meaning, as well as new ways to capitalize on their popularity. (Cue the Wicked soundtrack!) Social media brought with it a whole host of new job possibilities. I mean, 15 years ago, we all would’ve laughed someone out of the room who said people would pay to watch another person play video games. But, here we are…

So, if getting an influencer to spread the word about your cause is on your To Do List, Kayleigh Alexandra of Micro Startups is going to break it down for you. I’ve seen social impact organizations have great success with this tactic, so I’d encourage you to give it a try and see what happens!

Read the full post . . .

3) How to Use Empathy to Make a Social Impact

For a lot of us, when we think of selling, the word “empathy” doesn’t come to mind. In fact, for many in the cause-focused space, particularly nonprofits, selling (just like marketing) is a bit of a bad word. However, it shouldn’t be.

If you have something that someone else needs or wants, isn’t that a good thing? That’s where it all begins.

One of my spring interns, Rima Patel, will tell you how empathy intersects with the sales process, particularly the selling of products. I think this will not only be insightful, but good news for many of you.

You’re already leading a nonprofit, social enterprise, or other for-profit doing good, which means that empathy is at the core of what you do. This info takes it one step further, allowing you to see how empathy can be the glue that holds your triple bottom line together.

Read the full post . . .

4) Squarespace: The Pros and Cons

This post comes from my friend, Madison Beaulieu, who is a graphic designer and half of the dynamic duo, Mad + Dusty. She and her hubby created not only my logo and branding, but my website as well.

Madison and Dusty only design in Squarespace, and because I wanted to work with them, I went with SS as well. It’s been a great decision, and if re-branding or launching a new website is on your list, I’d urge you to take a look at this platform.

And to get you started on your research, I’ve asked Madison to review the pros and cons of Squarespace. No website platform is perfect, but there are a lot of features she and I both love about SS, and maybe you will, too.

Read the full post . . .

5) Want To Do More Speaking? This Is A Must.

Even with all the newfangled technology at our disposal, public speaking is still one of the best ways to get the word out about your cause. It’s an oldie, but a goodie. Plus, with the aid of technology, you now have more options than ever to speak publicly. It could be on a stage, radio, television, podcast, or video interview.

I repeatedly hear from clients and friends how their donations and sales were boosted after a speaking gig. That reason alone makes it a high priority for a lot of social impact organizations. And, if that’s the case for you, I’d like to give you one tip for making every speaking opportunity easier for both you and your host.

Read the full post . . .

Looking for more popular topics? Here are some of my readers’ all-time favorites:

12 Unique Launch Ideas You'll Want to Copy

What Do Successful Launches Have in Common? 

What You Need to Convince Potential Sponsors and Partners

10 Tools to Make Your Small Business Look More Professional (Most Are Free!)

5 Reasons Why Giving Back is Good For Business

PSST: Don't forget that you only have a few more days to enter to win a Communications Audit and Strategy Session, valued at $750! Resolve to have a stronger marketing strategy.

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I’m Kristi Porter, and I help cause-focused organizations understand and execute effective marketing campaigns so they can move from stressed to strategic. Your resources may be limited, but your potential isn’t. Whether you’re a nonprofit, social enterprise, or small business who wants to give back, I’ll show you how to have a bigger impact.

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6 Things Your Nonprofit Board Can Do to Support Your Organization

In speaking with my nonprofit clients, skimming nonprofit Facebook groups, and generally keeping tabs on nonprofit concerns, one topic emerges quite a bit: the board of directors. Who should you recruit? What are their responsibilities? How do you engage them? And, um, how do you replace them? Those are just a few of the many questions people have about their board members.

And while we can’t answer all of these questions here today, I’d love to introduce to Terri Theisen, who will answer at least one of them for you. Terri is a nonprofit board consultant who partners with my friends over at the Atlanta Women’s Foundation for their Women on Board program.

I’ve asked her to share about some common board member responsibilities and best practices. Specifically, she’s going to explain six things your nonprofit board can do to support your organization—even if the board is already doing great work. Her advice will give you a good idea of what your next step can be to keep your board active, engaged, and supportive.

The nonprofit sector is filled with generous, giving, and smart people who spend countless hours of their time and donate their hard-earned, personal financial resources to nonprofit organizations. We refer to these people as “volunteers,” and a certain subset of these volunteers take on the legal and fiduciary responsibilities of being part of the board of directors for nonprofit organizations that they care so deeply about.

Since 2000, the Women on Board program of the Atlanta Women’s Foundation has been training and supporting these volunteers who are interested in serving on—and are already serving on—the boards of nonprofit organizations and preparing them for positions of leadership. And, to date, more than 3,500 women have been trained in board governance and leadership skills.

Below you’ll find a few of the principles we teach for making the best use of your nonprofit board of directors.

WHAT DOES A NONPROFIT BOARD MEMBER DO?

The position of “nonprofit board member” is more complex than ever before. The roles of “board member” and “professional staff” continue to evolve and change. The pace of learning and knowledge within the nonprofit sector is moving at lightning speed, too, making it difficult for board members to keep up with trends.

There are regulatory requirements for board members to understand, policy requirements for board members to know about, and funding competition for board members to strategize around. It takes a lot of dedication and diligence to be a nonprofit board member!

But there are a few things that board members can do, even in already-high-functioning organizations, that will make a difference for their board colleagues, for the staff, and most of all, for the nonprofit whose mission they care so deeply about.

WHAT ARE SOME NONPROFIT BOARD MEMBER RESPONSIBILITIES AND BEST PRACTICES?

This is not a complete list, but here are six things to start your board’s conversation.

1) Work from facts.

Insist that this is the starting point for conversation in the organization. What is true about where we are at this point in time? How does it compare to a previous point in time, e.g. last month, last quarter, last year? 

If the nonprofit doesn’t yet have the capability of working in this way, board members can be ideally suited to supporting the set-up of such a structured way of thinking and working over time. And if the nonprofit isn’t yet capturing information that can be turned into data, that is another opportunity board members can assist with or champion.

2) Take the time to understand the finances—even if you aren’t a “financial person.”

As a board member, an obligation to understand the nonprofit’s financial condition comes with the job title.

The most important things to understand are:

• How much cash do we have in the bank?

• How much cash do we need to meet our obligations?

• Are we in danger of not being able to meet those obligations? If yes, when will that happen, and what can be done about that? 

• What does “optimal” look like for our organization? What would it take for us to get to THAT state of being?

3) Understand what the nonprofit actually does every day to deliver the mission of the organization.

Set aside 10-15 minutes of every board meeting for an overview and discussion about at least one program or service so that real learning takes place. Board members need to hear and see facts and stories about the programs the organization delivers to the community.

This point is especially true if the organization is engaged in public policy or advocacy work that can impact large numbers of people, but that work can be difficult to describe. Something like this: “As an organization, we do “x” so “y” happens, and then the improvement in people’s lives is “z.”

4) Establish performance objectives for the organization’s chief executive each year.

In partnership with your chief executive and fellow board members, performance objectives that are measurable should be developed for your chief executive’s performance for the organization’s fiscal year. The measurable objectives should be tied to the organization’s strategic plan.

Normally, a committee of the board would take the lead in working with the chief executive on this, but considering that this is one of the things that nonprofit boards traditionally don’t do well, one board member can make a difference in taking the lead on this and say, “Let’s get this done.”

It’s an important step and sets the tone throughout the entire organization for measurement, accountability, and evaluation.

5) Fulfill the obligations you committed to when you joined the nonprofit board, including the personal financial contribution.

Every board member should be a donor to the organization. The personal financial contributions of board members are critical to the organization’s ability to attract other financial support.

6) Make sure that the nonprofit has a plan—a “roadmap”—to guide its direction for the next several years.

The board, in partnership with the chief executive, can provide the structure (if needed) and support to develop high-level vision and goals, with an understanding of what success looks like, so that the chief executive and the staff can then build the plan for the organization at a more detailed level.

Many resources exist for nonprofit boards to utilize in their quest for excellence, and one of my favorites is BoardSource. I also recommend programs like Women on Board that support boards in being their best.

A nonprofit organization’s board of directors is there to govern the organization, but it is also a resource for the organization and can be an asset in a myriad of ways when properly organized and engaged.

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Terri Theisen is the founder and principal consultant of Theisen Consulting, a national management consulting firm providing strategic counsel and consulting to nonprofit organizations, academic institutions, grantmaking foundations, coalitions and collaboratives, corporate civic engagement and social responsibility programs, and government agencies throughout the United States.

She also created and teaches the Women on Board curriculum, a program of the Atlanta Women’s Foundation designed to increase the number of women on nonprofit boards in metro Atlanta by providing effective board governance training and connecting participants to nonprofits.

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I’m Kristi Porter, and I help cause-focused organizations understand and execute effective marketing campaigns so they can move from stressed to strategic. Your resources may be limited, but your potential isn’t. Whether you’re a nonprofit, social enterprise, or small business who wants to give back, I’ll show you how to have a bigger impact.

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How To Overcome Scarcity Mindset As A Social Impact Leader

The last time Daron Dickens appeared on this blog, it was to talk about how to make self-care regular and intentional. Today, I’m calling on his expertise as a marriage and family counselor to talk to us (me included!) about how to overcome scarcity mindset as a social impact leader.

I was chatting with a friend the other day about the fact that entrepreneurship, and leadership in general, magnifies our strengths and weaknesses, confidence and insecurities, gifts and shortcomings. It can be the highest of highs and lowest of lows. And it’s hard enough for an individual, but then throw a team into the mix, and you’ve got a constant mirror for self-reflection.

And here’s the reality: Your scarcity mindset affects your social impact.

There’s a direct correlation because our organizations reflect us as leaders.

Hopefully, you’re constantly trying to improve yourself as you improve your nonprofit, social enterprise, or small business. That includes sharpening your skills and your thinking patterns. As you evolve, so does your organization.

So, if you also struggle with a scarcity mindset, but strive for a growth mindset, I think you can learn something from Daron’s advice. I know you probably feel like there’s never enough time, money, and resources, but if that’s where you focus your thinking, that may always be the case.

There are already enough challenges in your work. Don’t let your mindset be one of them.

What is a Scarcity Mindset?

“Only two left.”

“Act now—supplies are limited!”

“You don’t want to miss out! This opportunity won’t last long.”

These are just a few common messages we hear every day in the world of sales; a world that is perfectly designed to elicit thoughts and feelings of scarcity.

Scarcity is the idea that there’s a limited amount of resources. If we don’t act quickly, we will be on the outside looking in, unable to access valuable resources, money, deals, or opportunities.

In short, we will miss out.

These are a few common (and sometimes silly) examples, but they can still cause us to have real feelings of anxiety. They can cause us to spend money that we don’t have, and buy things that we don’t need. If you’re like most people, you’ve experienced this sometime in your life—and have some object in your house as a reminder.

As harmless as these situations may often be, they are just small examples of a greater mindset that can cause a much larger struggle when it comes to trying to live a healthy, connected life. And isn’t that what we’re all striving for?

Forms of these messages can show up, not only at Walmart, Amazon, or on eBay, but in our politics, our global economy, our societal interactions, or even in our social impact organizations. Certainly in us as leaders.

The scarcity mindset can erode the very things that we hold so dear, and keep us from living out who we really are.

our brains in a Scarcity Mindset

The mindset of scarcity, or the feeling that there’s not enough, especially when it comes to resources, registers in the brain as a threat.

Often when our brain identifies a threat, we slide from the frontal lobe to the lizard brain. The frontal lobe is the area that allows us to problem solve, to access creativity, to connect relationally, and to see things from many different sides.

The lizard brain, as you probably know, is only concerned with eliminating the threat, usually through flight, fight, or freezing. Most of the time, this comes in the form of a ”us versus THEM” mentality.

Essentially, the lizard brain skews data and causes perception to overtake reality.

Meaning, it may have you thinking things that simply aren’t true. (But they feel true.)

Abundance and Scarcity: A Complicated Relationship

Here’s the truth; the reality of things, if you will: In the United States, we live in a time where abundance is at an all-time high.

We live in a time where you can buy almost anything you could ever imagine cheaply, and with a click of a button. If that weren’t enough, strolling through the aisles of your neighborhood megamart can satisfy almost any whim you might ever experience. Not only that, but the things that we have are bigger, faster, and more sophisticated than ever before.

So what’s the problem?

Why aren’t we satisfied? And worse, why do we seem to be struggling with accumulating more and more because we feel that we have less and less?

You can blame it on marketing, or the need to create a market for things that should last much longer in a quickly-changing technological society, or a political scheme to get people more malleable, or even an overarching alien conspiracy.

The truth is more complex, though. A mix of many things from many sources. We may never find out for sure, and we certainly don’t have control over a lot of these areas.

One thing we do have control over is what we do despite the messages.

When we give in to the scarcity mindset, we tend to become more suspicious, less likely to share the resources that we have, and more likely to live a life of discontent.

• Being aware that this mindset doesn’t align with our reality can help.

• Making decisions based on your values rather than the emotional reaction of these messages you hear every day will allow you to live out who you are.

• Focusing less on where the messages are coming from, and more how to live according to your values regardless of the messages will, in turn, erode the credibility and effectiveness of the messages.

3 Tips for Beating the Scarcity Mindset as a Social Impact Leader

Here are a few helpful suggestions for living out your values rather than through the fear and anxiety of scarcity mindset.

1. Work from a realistic budget.

By using a budget you can see what you actually have and don’t have. You will be able to see what is coming in and out so that you don’t get caught up in fear and anxiety. Likewise, it will allow you to know what spending is frivolous and what spending is necessary.

Make a plan for how to scale and save when times are good, and how to cut back when times are tough. Having a plan also allows you to feel more in control, and having a budget allows you to deal with facts rather than feelings.

Also consider your money mindset. How do you feel about money? Is it good, bad, just a tool to continue your work? The thoughts, emotions, and “power” you give to money will show up in many ways, both personally and professionally, and if you don’t start building a better relationship with money, it will always seem beyond your control.

2. Work with other nonprofits and social enterprises in the same area you are serving.

Scarcity mentality will cause you to see them as the enemy. However, if you’re really working towards a common cause, they are your allies not your enemies. There shouldn’t be a market share on goodness.

Find ways to collaborate so that each of you plays to your strengths and continues to serve the community as a whole. You probably do it a little bit differently anyway, and those differences may complement one another more than you realize.

Just like there’s room for more than one Mexican restaurant in your town, there’s room for multiple people serving the same cause!

3. Generosity begets generosity.

In a world where giving or buying is essential for the survival of your nonprofit or social impact company, a scarcity mentality has no place. Generosity isn’t just for the people that you’re asking to support you, or for the people you support, but also in the way you live out your mission as a leader.

You’ll find that your work is more fulfilling, both as an individual and as a team, because you feel more aligned with your purpose. (And increased satisfaction is a remedy for burnout.) It’s also quite possible that those who benefit from your work will notice a difference, and that your reputation in the community may become more positive as well.

Live intentionally. Live with value. Be aware. Act according to who you are inside regardless of what is happening outside. Remember, we are always better together than we are in isolation.

From KP: If you’d like to continue learning, here are a two resources on scarcity mindset that I’ve come across recently:

• How to Poverty Mindset Sabotages Your Fundraising

• Why the Scarcity Mindset is Hurting Our Financial Sustainability and Social Impact

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Daron Dickens is a Marriage and Family Therapist who has practiced for 18 years. He also previously served as a pastor for 20 years. He lives in Clarksville, Tennessee, with his wife, Margaret, and his sons, Truman and Carter. He loves pie, reading, coffee, and everything baseball.

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• Facebook

• Twitter

• Instagram

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I’m Kristi Porter, and I help cause-focused organizations understand and execute effective marketing campaigns so they can move from stressed to strategic. Your resources may be limited, but your potential isn’t. Whether you’re a nonprofit, social enterprise, or small business who wants to give back, I’ll show you how to have a bigger impact.

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Ask the Experts: Design and Branding for Social Impact Organizations

As a copywriter, I love talking words. But, in order to serve you well, I can’t ignore the visual side of your marketing and communications. So, when it comes to design and branding for social impact organizations, I can dish out some pretty good advice, but my secret weapon is the company I keep.

I’m friends with some pretty terrific graphic designers, and Jaci Lund of Treebird Branding is one of my favs. Take a look at her site, and you’ll see what I mean.

Branding and design for your nonprofit, social enterprise, and social impact company can probably feel a little overwhelming at times because you know it’s important, but your mission comes first. So, not a lot of time and dollars usually get allocated to your visual identity. Or, you’re so busy juggling more important things that you have no idea what the latest design trends are that you should be keeping up with.

If you feel like you’re out of the loop on this topic, Jaci is going to clear some things up for you. And, better yet, she’ll tell you where should focus your efforts. Sound good?

Q. What are the latest trends in design and branding for social impact organizations?

A. I’d like to start with something a bit counterintuitive: Ignore trends! A trend, by definition, is fleeting. Mission-driven organizations like nonprofits and social enterprises that chase trends end up looking dated and out of touch within a year or two. Trends also are defined by the external zeitgeist, and your true north needs to be your own mission and vision.

So instead of chasing the latest trend, I’d say to focus on you and your target audience. You know what you stand for, you know what your audience responds to. Focus on that and ignore the noise.

Q. What is the biggest mistake you see people making in regard to design and branding?

A. I would say confusing a logo with a brand is something we encounter a lot. A logo or wordmark or tagline is essential to your brand, but it’s only a very small part of your brand.

The colors you choose also elicit very specific reactions. Your photographic style tells your story in the way you want it to be perceived. Your fonts, your website’s information architecture, all of these align with your brand.

When you only give power to your logo to carry your brand, you’re missing out on a truly holistic experience. And your donors, customers, and prospects will notice.

Q. What is your best piece of advice to those wanting to improve their social impact organization’s visual identity?

A. I’m going to roll with the counterintuitive again. You should be bored with your brand. That’s to say, your brand needs to be so consistent that it becomes ho-hum in your life.

Do you think the Nike designers love putting the swoosh on every sneaker, day after day, year after year? Probably not. But they get to design the sneaker around the swoosh. Those are the parameters.

You have to put your brand within a box, and then true creativity emerges within that box. But if Nike did a swoosh one year, a chevron the next, and then a representation of the Greek goddess of victory, how would you even know they were Nike? This also relates to the chasing trends fallacy. Be true to yourself, and your best-fit audiences will find you and stick with you.

Also, you are not your audience. You have to stare at your brand every day. But your audience has fleeting experiences with your brand. You need to always remind them of who you are and what you stand for. And that means consistency, consistency, consistency.

Q. What is one thing readers can do this week to improve their nonprofit or social enterprise’s design and branding?

A. We can all do a brand self-audit. I liken this to the Konmari method: If any of your collateral doesn’t spark brand, get rid of it.

There are a few great quotes from writers about this. Hemingway talked about having a “built-in, shock-proof shit detector” when it came to editing. Faulkner famously said “you have to kill your darlings.” All of that means you need to take an objective, dispassionate look at what you’re presenting to the world and make hard choices to edit what’s not on-brand.

Get rid of the precious and keep the essential.

Q. Anything else we should keep in mind?

A. Do less and remain consistent rather than do more and risk inconsistency. Branding is about focus and sacrifice more than about expansion and add-ons. A tight brand is a memorable brand. An expanded brand almost always gets diluted and confused in the minds of prospects.

Q. Do you have any resources that would be helpful so people can learn more?

A. It’s a bit of a dinosaur at this point, but The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding by Al and Laura Ries is a standard for a reason. Also Made to Stick by Dan and Chip Heath has very sage and actionable advice.

Thanks, Jaci! Excellent info!

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Jaci’s quick wit, intent listening, and native intelligence come across as soon as you meet her—and carry over to her branding and graphic identity solutions at Treebird Branding, where she fuses strategy and sophistication, daring and restraint in just the right doses. With a dual focus on creating original branding for new concepts and revitalizing the look and feel of even the most-established brands, Jaci approaches each project with a fresh, thoughtful, and insightful perspective.

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I’m Kristi Porter, and I help cause-focused organizations understand and execute effective marketing campaigns so they can move from stressed to strategic. Your resources may be limited, but your potential isn’t. Whether you’re a nonprofit, social enterprise, or small business who wants to give back, I’ll show you how to have a bigger impact.

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