4 Ways to Help Donors and Customers Find Your Social Impact Mission on Google

Getting found by your ideal customers and donors on Google . . . it’s the Holy Grail, isn’t it? It’s one of the main reasons you created your website, but you quickly learned that it isn’t a “build it and they will come” scenario.

Or, is it?

While it’s not easy and it does take time, there is one method that you can’t overlook if you want your nonprofit or social enterprise to show up on that coveted first page of Google: Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

By this point in Internet history, you’ve probably heard the term, but you may be lost as to what it is and how to make it work for your mission. I know I was. For several years, I tried to learn from the latest guru but kept getting overwhelmed and scratching my head—until I met Meg Casebolt of Love At First Search.

Meg is the first person to make SEO click for me, and she’s going to break down some of the basics for you below. If you start to put her advice into action, you will see results. After taking her course, I have seen a steady uptick in new leads and clients from Google! And it’s exciting every single time.

Your work deserves more attention and with Meg’s advice, you can help ideal customers and donors find your social impact mission on Google.

Let me guess, when you first announced your nonprofit or social enterprise and launched your website, you expected people to come to you in flocks. And maybe they did . . . at first! Who wouldn’t? You’re awesome and you believe in what you do, and it’s having an impact on the world! 

But now that the initial excitement has worn off, your social media channels aren’t getting as many clicks as you’d like and it seems that all your efforts are falling flat. You know that you have the power to change lives, but people just aren’t finding you.

What if I told you there’s a way to help more people find your amazing cause online?

When people want something, they search for it, and if you set your website up correctly, it can show up around the clock to lead them to learn more about your cause. The secret to getting those new leads from Google? It’s called search engine optimization, or SEO.

I know it might sound intimidating or even a little sketchy (we all get those spammy emails!), but I promise that the SEO tactics below are all based in solid business practices. Good SEO, applied to your blog posts in particular, will help every part of your online presence so that more people are aware of the beneficial work you’re doing.

Wait, What is SEO?

To put it simply, SEO is a collection of activities to improve the amount and quality of organic traffic reaching your website from search engines. It’s the way that people find answers to their questions on traditional search engines (like Google, Bing, and Yahoo) and also on sites you may not think of as search engines (like YouTube, Pinterest, eBay, and Amazon) and even industry specific directories like Charity Navigator or Guidestar by Candid.

Optimizing for search means that you’re trying to get search engines like Google—the world’s most popular search engine—to see your website and blog posts or other content as both knowledgeable and trustworthy, and to lead people to it quickly and efficiently.

And the combination of more people finding you plus being seen as knowledgeable and trustworthy means an increase in sales or donations.

There are three main components of SEO:

1. Content (pages, blogs, videos, podcast show notes, infographics, etc.)

   Search engines are constantly reviewing new and fresh content on the internet. When someone types in an online query, Google searches through a huge index of text and tries to find content that has the information they’re looking for. 

   When it comes to content, a major part of the SEO process is keyword research (aka figuring out what people are searching for) by finding the intersection of:

   • What you want to be found for

   • What people are searching for

   • What doesn’t already have a gazillion results

2. Ease of Use

   When search engines deliver results, they want people to get the answers they’re looking for quickly and easily. So, if your site takes forever to load, is hard to read on a phone, or has tons of dead-end links, Google doesn’t want to share those results with people. Search engines want to recommend sites that not only answer people’s questions but also look good doing it—just like you, hot stuff!

3. Reputation

   Google relies on other sites to tell it how credible and trustworthy your site is. So, how do other sites give you the digital equivalent of upvotes? By linking to your site. And for once, the SEO gods have given us an easy-to-understand term for this: backlinks. 

   Backlinks are any links from other sites to yours. The best backlinks come from websites in your industry that have high authority (aka they have a lot of backlinks going into their site).

You can write the best blog post in the world and have the smoothest user experience, but if nobody trusts you? Womp womp, sad trombones.

What are some easy ways to get great backlinks for your nonprofit? Sign up for popular directories like Guidestar by Candid and Charity Navigator, post your job listings on Idealist, write guest blog posts for the Chronicle of Philanthropy or Nonprofit Quarterly . . . and make sure they all link to your website.

For you guys in the social enterprise space, you can become a member of the Social Enterprise Alliance, register as a B Corp, participate in 1% for the Planet, or any other number of organizations that have trusted online directories.

Even more PR-related opportunities like being a guest on a podcast (that has online show notes) or being listed as a speaker on a conference website helps to build those coveted backlinks.

Local SEO for Nonprofits and Social Enterprise Businesses

If you serve a specific geographic area with your services, you also want to consider Local SEO tactics. 

The first step for Local SEO is to set up a free Google My Business account, where you can easily tell Google where you’re located (if you have a brick and mortar location) and/or where your service area is (if you’re a home-based business or meet your clients at another location), as well as what you offer and who you serve.

Google My Business is a great tool not only for you to directly share your business information with Google, but also to solicit feedback from your clients, who can add reviews and user-generated content like photos directly to your account. This would then allow searchers to see them in Google Maps and/or local listings . . . like the B Corp company that installed our solar panels, which shows up in search results for terms like “green energy rochester ny.”

But how do you FIND those phrases that people might be looking for? 

Keyword Research for Cause-Focused Organizations

You probably already have some ideas for topics you could show up for like “educational charity atlanta” or “community gardening initiative” or “microfinance for poverty alleviation.” And you might have those words plastered all over your website. 

But is that really what your people are looking for? How do you know what they’re typing into Google?

Simple: keyword research. 

Keywords are the phrases in your web content that make it possible for people to find your site via search engines.

And often, the words that WE use (as people who deeply understand and care about our missions) are different from the words that new people search. 

For example, TOMS shoes starts their website with “we’re in the business to improve lives,” but do you know what keywords their traffic actually comes from? Keywords like “booties” (they get ~5000 visitors/mo from that), “wedges” (3500 visitors/mo). And “slip on shoes” (~2500 visitors/mo).

And it’s not just those large categories that TOMS shows up for . . . they also get about 75 people per month for “black canvas shoes” and 65 for “captain america shoes.” 

Those people aren’t specifically looking for TOMS because of their mission or corporate giving program, they just need new shoes, and it’s not until people get to the website that they find out about the company’s social impact. That’s not necessarily what they’re searching for, but it might be why they trust the company and want to buy once they discover it.

Here are three steps to help you get started with keyword research:

1. See what people are asking about your topic

   The best way to answer people’s questions is to go to the places they’re asking them and look for trends. So poke around the web! How do you know what phrases people are actually searching for once they get to Google? Easy! Use a keyword research tool.
   Type your topic into an idea generator tool like Answer the Public or Also Asked to get some fun ideas of the types of things people are looking for. 

2. Find the right keyword phrases

   One of the best free keyword research tools is Ubersuggest. It gives a ton of keyword research data to you—for free—in a user-friendly way. Using a tool like this, you can do some research on the keywords and topics you want to get out to the world and get an idea of how many people are searching for it. You can also get an idea of the SEO difficulty of these keywords, or how competitive that search term is. The lower the number, the easier it is to rank for that search term.

3. Choose 1 primary keyword and 2-3 secondary keywords

   In order to be super clear with Google about your topic or expertise, you should choose ONE KEYWORD that is most important to your end goal so that your writing has something to focus on. Then, you can sprinkle a few other keywords throughout your writing to make sure Google knows that they’re related. 

   If you’re having trouble narrowing down a keyword, don’t worry about it! Select a group of keywords for a specific post, and then if you find other keywords you like, write another post to talk about those!

You can create as much content as you’d like, and you can rank for infinitely keywords. The Red Cross has over 300,000 keywords pointing to over 10,000 pages on their site—heck, they have 14,000 keywords just about CPR!—so don’t feel like you have to limit yourself to a top three for your entire site. 

Keyword selection criteria

How do you select a good keyword, you might ask? For my visual learners, these are the three qualities of a good keyword. We’re aiming for that sweet spot in the middle). 

And here are some examples of how detailed your search terms can be, so you can start thinking about the level of detail that you need to rank for a high volume, low competition keyword:

Let’s take a look at what comes up when we search for “social impact” in Ubersuggest.

Here, we see that people are indeed searching for “social impact,” and we can see all the important metrics. VOLUME is the average monthly number of people searching that phrase, CPC and PD are about how many people are running Google Ads and how much they’re paying, and SD is “search difficulty” (how easy it would be to rank for that term).  

So when you’re looking at these numbers: The higher the volume number the better, and the lower the “SD” (aka SEO difficulty, aka competition) number, the better.

And if we search “social responsibility,” as seen below, we have even better volume numbers, meaning more people are looking for content relating to social responsibility! So, you may want to focus on a blog more catered to this topic.

Alright, so you’ve done your research and you have a keyword now, but I bet you’re wondering where it should go on your site or in your blog . . .

Where Do I PUT the Keyword in My Content? 

There are seven key places where you can include your keyword in the text of your website and your content. You should aim to include it in all these places, but if it doesn’t quite fit into one, it’s okay. It’s more important to be easy to read than to have the perfect placement.

1. Your SEO title (the blue text in search results)

2. Your URL slug (the part after the domain)

3. Meta description (the black text in search results)

4. Headline (the title of your post and your H1 headline)

5. In a subheading (H2-H6: you can have as many of these as you want)

6. In your image description(s) as an “alt” tag

7. Sprinkled throughout the body copy

The most important place to include your keyword is your SEO title, which is the blue text that shows up on the search engine results page. You want to include a keyword, but also write a title that people actually want to click on! 

I like to use CoSchedule’s Headline Studio to double check my post headlines (and email subject lines) to make sure they’re the right length, follow a great format (lists and questions do well for SEO titles), and include powerful word choices that make people more likely to click. 

 If you can’t immediately convince people who see your site on Google to click on it, it doesn’t matter how good your content is! You have to make an immediate impression. And your SEO Title will do just that.

Questions to Ask Before You Write a Single Word

Now, before you go writing a few pages and invest hours into your next blog post (or whatever content you plan to create) to promote your stellar social enterprise or nonprofit, ask yourself these four questions to get clear about how that content can get found on Google and turn your readers into customers or donors:  

1. Why does my audience need to know this?

   If you can’t identify why you’re writing the post: don’t write it. BUT. If you can pinpoint the problem that you’re solving or advice you’re giving your reader by writing a post? By all means, continue.

2. How is this different from existing content on this topic?

   You’re probably not the first person to write about whatever is on your mind. But you do have a unique point of view to share with your audience. Take a look around at what’s being written by other people in your industry. Think of a new approach to what’s already been said. Showcase what makes you different.

3. How can it help me when someone finds this?

   Remember, everything on your website should help lead the reader to becoming a customer or donor. What’s the end product, service, or mission that your audience needs or should know about? 

4. What do I want the reader to do after reading?

   What’s the goal of this post? What will be the Call to Action (CTA) for the reader to thank you for generously sharing your awesomeness? Should they make a donation, buy a product, subscribe to your newsletter, or attend your event? Make sure everything you write is leading to that CTA.

Going the Extra Mile: A Quick SEO Blog Checklist

Now that you know what people are searching for and you’ve got those keywords selected and prioritized, it’s time to get writing! To make sure you really have all your ducks in a row and to ensure your blog is in the best position to get noticed, follow the below steps before publishing anything. 

• Choose your topic

• Research keywords (remember: specific, relevant, uncommon)

• Draft your title (Include your keyword and keep it intriguing!) 

• Write the thing!

  • Break up your ideas with subheadings

  • Work in your keyword and related words naturally (ideally every ~250 words)

• Add images (you should have at least one as the featured image)

  • Name the file with your keyword

  • Add an alt tag on each

• Add internal links to other resources on your site

• Add external links to relevant places around the internet

• Prep the listing

  • Make sure the title is 30-65 characters

  • Update the URL/Slug (include keyword here!)

  • Write the meta description (155 characters)

• If you have Wordpress, double check your Yoast traffic lights.

Get the full comprehensive SEO checklist here.

Need some hands-on support with SEO for your social enterprise or nonprofit? 

If you don’t want to DIY your SEO, come check out my Attract & Activate membership, where we help small businesses and cause-focused organizations to reach and convert their ideal customers and donors through the power of SEO.

(KP note: I can attest first-hand as to what a patient and fun teacher is! There is a strong learning curve for a lot of us when it comes to SEO, but Meg will do everything in her power to make sure you can understand and implement her ideas. Plus, after those leads start coming in, you’ll be glad you took the time to learn a new skill!)

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Meg Casebolt is the owner and founder of Love At First Search and has been helping online business owners create beautiful, search-friendly websites and strategic content for the past eight years. 

Before launching Love At First Search, Meg spent nine years in the nonprofit sector, working in the development teams at Big Brothers Big Sisters and Partners In Health, while earning her Masters in Community Economic Development.

She’s your no-B.S. bestie who makes it super easy for your dream customers to find—and adore!—your organization online, resulting in effortless web traffic, consistent customers, soaring profit and donations, and SO much more time (and sanity)!

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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.

How to Navigate the Legal World of Cause Marketing

When I first heard Sam Mazzeo of In Better We Trust speak at a conference a few years ago, I was immediately impressed with his ability to make legalese sound interesting and approachable. I know, what a skill, right?

So, when he posted about cause marketing on social media a while back, I knew I needed to have him further explain it to you as both a lawyer and an advocate of social impact. If you’ve been looking for the one-two punch of a for-profit / nonprofit partnership, you’re gonna want to listen up, and maybe take some notes.

Commercial Co-Ventures may not be a term you’re familiar with (yet), but you’ve certainly seen it in action—and you’re probably dying to give it a try. However, before you jump into this type of committed partnership, read Sam’s take on how to navigate the legal world of cause marketing. Your cause will thank you.

WHAT IS CAUSE MARKETING?

You may not know it, but Cause Marketing, or Commercial Co-Ventures, is all the rage in the social impact space these days. So, what is it?

Cause Marketing is when a for-profit business promises to donate a portion of their sales proceeds from a product or service they sell to a nonprofit organization.

Simple, right? Not so fast . . .

Typically, the for-profit already sells products or services and, by virtue of making a promise to donate a portion of its revenue to a charity, the marketing campaign becomes a Cause Marketing campaign. Meaning, this can happen legally even if you didn’t intend it to!

A successful example of Cause Marketing (that didn’t happen by accident) is the NFL’s A Crucial Catch Campaign, also referred to as “NFL Pink.”  This campaign is a joint effort between the NFL and the American Cancer Society to raise money for cancer research and awareness. The NFL auctions game apparel and equipment that bears a pink ribbon logo and sells NFL Pink merchandise. In turn, the NFL donates a portion of proceeds from these auctions to the American Cancer Society. Not only does the NFL gain some positive PR, but the American Cancer Society has also received approximately $7 million dollars from the campaign.

Not too shabby, right?

THE FINE PRINT: REGULATIONS ON A COMMERCIAL CO-VENTURE

Obviously, when a Cause Marketing campaign is successful, both the non-profit and the for-profit benefit financially and in a public relations sense. Cause Marketing, however, does require some compliance and oversight to keep it legal.

In many states, when a business engages in Cause Marketing, the business and non-profit legally become a commercial co-venture, which can trigger various regulations. Marketing language that puts you in the commercial co-venture category includes:

• For each ______ sold, we will donate to ______.

• Send in five ______, and we will donate $10 to ______.

AKA if you advertise to the public that proceeds will be donated from sales, you’re in the Commercial Co-Venture world, folks!

Many states have implemented regulations on commercial co-ventures in an effort to keep consumers well informed and to ensure businesses do not merely say that proceeds go to charity when they actually do not. Regulations and enforcement vary from state to state, which can present some difficulties and confusion for national campaigns.

Cause Marketing Regulations and Requirements

Generally, the regulations and requirements include:

• Registration Requirements: A requirement for the business to register with the state by filling out a commercial co-venture registration form. Generally, annual reports must be filed with the Attorney General of each state.

• Contract: In some states, the business and the charity must enter into a written contract with specifically required provisions and file the contract with the state.

  • Pro California Tip: In California, if you have an agreement in place with the nonprofit, you likely don’t have to register with the Attorney General!

• Reporting by Charities: In some states, the charity must file a statement prior to the campaign and include the promotion in its annual reporting.

• Accounting: A complete accounting and retention of those records is often required upon completion of the campaign.

• Disclosures: The for-profit is likely required to include language regarding the specific amount or percentage of proceeds that will be donated in all of the campaign materials.

Unfortunately for all of you cause-marketers, states vary as to the extent of enforcing these regulations. Generally, the biggest consequence in failing to comply is bad publicity for the for-profit.

For a Goliath like the NFL, bad publicity is pretty easily absorbed. For a growing business or new nonprofit, on the other hand, bad publicity can be disastrous. For example, take the case of a for-profit that was required to contribute additional money to a nonprofit because the language in a campaign was ambiguous or misleading in regards to how much of the consumer’s purchase would be donated. In 1999, Yoplait was required to pay several million dollars in additional contributions to the Breast Cancer Association because of unclear promotion terms.

To sum it all up, find a sweet product that your nonprofit wants to endorse (or find a sweet nonprofit if you’re the for-profit), create a joint campaign that is compliant and discloses the donation percentage, and shout that campaign from the rooftops.

If all goes well, the nonprofit sees an increase in donations and the for-profit sees an increase in sales. It’s a win for everyone!

Still confused? Watch me explain it again in this video.

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Sam Mazzeo is a Renaissance man, but like, an approachable one.

Here are some things he can help you better understand: trademark, business formation and securities, contracts, Halloween party planning, how to do a standing backflip, and the proper pronunciation of the word “GIF.”

But he can’t help you if your questions are related to birds. He isn't a big fan of birds.

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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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Create a Year-End Social Impact Report to Engage Donors and Customers

Can one person really change the world?

I think it depends on what you count.

Some people are only impressed by massive reputations, millions of dollars, big programs, and culture-changing ideas.

But as nonprofits and social impact companies started to release their year-end reports over the last few months, my favorite ones to read are the creative reports that:

• make tangible the intangible,

• highlight the small numbers that represent a change in heart or thought for a few people,

• share the seedlings of disruption that will shape a family's trajectory forever,

• tell the David versus Goliath stories,

• represent the optimistic beginnings of early-stage organizations,

• sound more relatable to me.

It's the idealist in me, but these reports represent hope and what could be.

Don't get me wrong, I'm certainly in awe of the big nonprofits and social enterprises who make an impact that I could only dream of. But I think we often forget that everyone who tried to do something great had to start somewhere, usually with meager resources.

Even on a small scale, these reports are the testimony of how you've used your resources to do something worthy of your donor or customer’s investment in you—whether that be time, money, influence, or anything else. No matter how big or how little you feel your contributions are (and theirs in you), they deserve to hear the story of what you did together.

If you haven't done so already, I urge you create your own report—and I’ll talk you through it.

Why Do You Need a Year-End Report?

Here are a few reasons why having a year-end report benefits you and your nonprofit or social impact company.

• Help your community understand what you did with their resources, which might encourage them to give more.

• Show them where you're headed in the future, and how they can be a part of it.

• Tell stories of the real lives that were affected by your mission and the shared belief that things can be different (and better!).

• Reiterate their standing as an insider that will always be kept in the loop when you've been trying something new.

• Thank your current large donors, partners, and sponsors.

• Build trust in you, your work, and your vision for a new and improved future.

We are in need of more good news than ever before . . . and you are in a fantastic position to share it!

How to Easily Design Your Year-End Social Impact Report FOR FREE

Here’s what you need to know: Your social impact report doesn’t need to be fancy. It certainly can be, but don’t let that stop you from making it happen.

Canva

Canva is the (free) tool that I use to create pretty much anything visual on this website or my social media. There are thousands of free templates to utilize for pretty much every purpose, and it’s pretty easy to get up to speed. Canva lets anyone be a designer!

People Resources

If you have a limited budget but a pair of extra hands, put them to work! It could be an intern, volunteer, board member, or peer that you can barter with.

Yearly

Yearly is a tool I only recently discovered through a friend, but it looks user-friendly and like it could create a great social impact report.

Webpage

No eye for design or short on time? Simply add a new page to your website and list all the data there. Just try to compliment numbers with stories and information that bring the facts to life.

Marketing Your Social Impact Report

Once you’ve taken the time to create your year-end report, be sure to get the most mileage of it by promoting it everywhere you can.

• Website

• Social media

• Email newsletter

• Conversations with donors and customers

• Partner and sponsorship presentations

• Direct mail

• Speaking engagements and interviews

• And anywhere else at your disposal!

Pssst—You can also promote it more than once! For example, you could even promote it to new donors and customers as they begin to interact with you over the course of a year.

Examples of Year-End Social Impact Reports

After everything we’ve discussed above, would you like to see some impact reports from small nonprofits and social enterprises like you?

Atlanta Dream Center (now Frontline Response)*

This incredible organization has been doing good in Atlanta and beyond for a couple of decades now. So, they have some pretty great numbers to tout. However, one of the things I love about their social impact report is their vision for the future. At the end they show a photo and blueprint for their new headquarters as well as the budget they need for it. This allows their current donors to understand future needs and make the investment.

Gifts for Good

When you don’t have a designer on standby, you can follow Gifts for Good’s example and simply add a new page to your website with all the relevant stories and stats. A few of the creative stats they included were hours of employment, gallons of water save by using recycled materials, and chemo rides for cancer patients.

Refugee Coffee Co.*

My friends at Refuge got super creative in 2020 by telling their story through the lens of a fairy tale. If you have talented artists at your disposal, this is a fantastic way for their skills to intersect with your mission. You’ll see that they included cups of coffee served, hours of training, mentor/volunteer hours, and reiterated that their customers and donors helped them fight injustice.

Love Not Lost

My friend Ashley and her team at LNL had a heck of a year trying to help us all process grief in the midst of 2020. But they showed up in the ways that only they could, and loved on their community at a safe distance. Their report is a terrific example of what happens when you don’t make your goal. They were honest, upfront, and showed their donors and supporters their vision for 2021 with gusto! I know anyone who received this wasn’t disappointed—only proud to be a part of their community.

Kula Project

My friends at Mad+Dusty created this beautiful report, and the design was inspired by the founder’s quote about seeing the light and continuing to follow it. As you can see in this piece, they kept written content to a minimum but used the opportunity to show off the amazing photos of their work in action.

Goshen Homes

Another Mad+Dusty special, this one isn't quite an impact report, but it is still certainly a great model. Even without the beautiful design, you’ll see the testimonials scattered throughout that reinforce the importance of their work. And I love that it also shows you clear steps to getting involved.

Partners International

A huge kudos to Partners International for including a video with their annual report! It’s really the icing on the cake, and sets the stage for their work and impact. And for those who don’t like to write or don’t think you have much to say, note that their report doesn’t actually include a lot of words, but still does an excellent job of communicating what happened through powerful language and a beautiful layout. You’ll also notice that they include the donate button right after the report, which is another great move!

Conscious Capitalism

I love that this report starts off with the title, “A Pivot Toward the Future.” It’s hopeful, shows they are still standing strong after a hard year, and points to their work moving forward. I also like that they counted the attendees for their online gatherings as a stat. Finally, I love that they dedicated several pages to thanking their major partners, event donors, board of directors, and team. You can never thank people enough!

To The Market

This report stood out to me for several reasons. First, I love that they reinforced their work with stats about why their mission matters to the public at large. Second, they showed their growth very simply and in a straightforward way on page 5. (And yay for utilizing interns!) And, third, you’ll notice that their case studies are short and so is their social impact report. This is a terrific example of how you can communicate impact in a compact way.

Bi-Bett Corporation

Full disclosure—I wrote this report! Bi-Bett is a substance use treatment center in California, and they’ve been doing incredible work for over five decades. However, this was their first impact report so they wanted a hefty mix of stories, hard stats, creative stats, and showing their gratitude for everyone who contributes to their success. I loved the way we ended up quantifying some of the more emotional parts of their work such as safe nights spent in their care, observations by staff, days people felt supported, and people who turned their lives around. They have a lot to be proud of!

Signify’s 2020 Social Impact Report

I’m one person, so my stats are meager at best. But, again, that’s not the point and hopefully you’ve seen that by now. I show mine to you not to say, "Hey, look at what I did!" Instead, I show it to you in the hopes that you'll create your own and share it with your community.

I really do believe that one person can change the world—when you know what's important and what to count.

You're the one.
Get out there.
Create your impact.
Share it with the world.

PS: Have your own awesome year-end report to show off? Link to it in the comments!

* Past or present Signify client

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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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The Most Difficult Business Decision I Made in 2020

2020. What can I say?

My word for the year was TRUST, and good gracious, that was certainly put to the test.

There has been so much fear, anxiety, heartbreak, and unknown over the past 12 months, and though we are more well-informed today and a vaccine has arrived, we still don’t know what the long-term ramifications will be.

At times it feels like a constant free fall, doesn’t it?

Yet, we each also found some bright spots. There were signs of hope all around us—if we dared to look for them.

People working together.
Kindness being shown.
Justice taking hold.
Smiles behind the masks.

But I have to admit, I found myself struggling on a lot of days. From forced isolation to losing clients to my own chronic health issues to, you know, general pandemic junk like wiping down my groceries for months, I went through a lot of dilemmas last year.

However, there was one decision in particular that changed the course of my business and life.

Let me take you through a general timeline of 2020 from my perspective.

January

Remember when we all started 2020 with hope and fresh eyes? So many business plans and capital campaigns were built around the start of this new decade.

Themes were created.
Events were planned.
Anticipation was all around us.

I was right there with you. I had made progress in my business and health the previous year, but 2020 was going to be my best year yet! In fact, that sentiment is what I kept writing over and over in my planner: 2020 is my year!

And then . . .

March

It’s like our calendar re-started, isn’t it? Everything is “before the pandemic” or after.

As someone with chronic health issues for almost nine years now, I was safely tucked away in my apartment. Honestly, things weren’t much different. I already lived alone, as a solopreneur, I worked alone.

So, other than having to move a few of my meetings online and my amazing friend delivering my groceries to me, my routine didn’t change all that much. I actually thought I was kind of built for this, and as long as I was careful, I’d be fine.

BUT around this time I also started feeling bad. Not COVID bad, but I knew I had another kidney infection. They weren’t new to me, sadly. This one, though, wouldn’t go away.

Remember: I’m also running my own business during this time.

Not only did I have to work while dealing with this issue (which was super hard), but the world was just learning about what the pandemic could mean for us—and freaking out as a result.

During March I lost most of my clients, at least for the short-term.

The projects I’d mostly been working on in January and February were travel-related or for nonprofits . . . so, yeah. Gone. And even those that were in the works got put on hold, sometimes indefinitely.

Though I’ve been there before, I was truly looking into the future and unsure where money was going to come from. Frankly, it was scary, and you probably know at least some of how I felt from your own experience.

April - May

Over these two months, I had to rebuild my client base, keep in contact with past clients that might have future projects, and of course, stay inside.

Oh, and I still had the kidney infection.

I’ve never had one this bad. I went through four rounds of antibiotics, got treatment from both of my naturopaths, tried tons of homeopathic remedies, and slept a lot. It just wouldn’t go away!

(Side note: Having a kidney infection during a TP scarcity is not recommended. :)

I was extremely grateful to have work, but struggling to get it done because I just felt bad all the time.

My anxiety was also growing—and my hair was falling out from the illness and stress!

It was time to do something that I really didn’t want to do: see a specialist.

June - July

Two things were working in my favor at this point. First, my biggest client was actually having a great year because of the industry they’re in. So, that meant more work for me, yay! Second, I had a new retainer client that would be steady work for at least the rest of the year.

To be honest, I prefer project work to retainer work. But I’ll be the first to admit that I needed the stability these two clients gave me, both for my business and for my health.

At the same time, I was seeing more doctors and getting tests because they didn’t really know what was wrong with me. An x-ray, ultrasound, CT scan, blood work, and more. It wasn’t just a hassle, it was getting expensive! I didn’t have great insurance as an entrepreneur, and I was certainly paying for it.

Additionally, I’d formally started implementing my self-care plan: weekly trips to the Starbucks drive-thru! (And episodes of The West Wing Weekly.) With social distancing and oodles of Zoom calls, my baristas and a Tall Skinny Vanilla Latte were a welcome sight to my routine.

August would also bring a couple of big turning points.

August

Still not knowing what was wrong with me, I had a procedure done to help the docs suss it out. Guess what? They still didn’t know. I got yet another, “If it gets worse, let us know.”

I’d actually started feeling better since July, though. That was a good sign, but I was growing more frustrated by paying doctor fees and getting no answers, my anxiety was getting out of control, and my hair had gotten pretty thin.

I was not okay.

I was at a crossroads, and it was time to make my most difficult business decision yet:

I decided to get a “regular” job.

Oh, and I went on anti-anxiety meds. I needed a clearer and calmer mind to work, sleep, and live life. That was a very good decision, and I hope to go back off of them very soon.

Besides needing better benefits and additional stability, I also have to admit that the forced isolation was getting to me. Like I said, I was primarily by myself a lot anyway, and it actually doesn’t bother me. It is very rare that I feel lonely. But having the decision taken away from me was difficult. As was not traveling, which is really important to me.

For my mental health, I also knew I would benefit from working with a team again. It would be nice to have the support and regularly work with people toward a common cause. Even I couldn’t deny that additional benefit.

Let me also stop and clarify two things before moving on. First, I had no intention to close Signify. My mission, work, and clients matter a great deal to me and I wanted to continue growing my business in some way. I still know how much it’s needed, and I would find a way to continue.

Second, there was a lot of ugly crying involved. For my fellow entrepreneurs out there, you know what I gut-wrenching decision this was.

I felt like a failure.
Like I couldn’t hack it as a business owner.
Like I wasn’t fit to be an entrepreneur.

Now, I know that isn’t true. Part of this was my perfectionism talking and part of it was the anxiety. But it felt horrible and very, very real.

But I pressed forward and did what I need to do: I started looking for a job.

September - October

My body had healed itself by this time. I still don’t know what was wrong, and am praying it doesn’t come back.

But the financial damage was done at this point, and reinforced my decision to find a job. Between all the different healing avenues I’d taken, I’m guessing the costs totaled about $10,000. And, as a reminder, I’d been dealing with chronic health issues for almost nine years, so this was just additional debt to stress me out.

So, during the fall I networked, applied for a couple of jobs, had a promising interview, and continued my client work. However, the meds had kicked in at this point, so at least I felt more clear-headed, which was a huge blessing.

Oh, and of course, a vaccine was just around the corner!

November: THE BIG CHANGE

The first person I reached out to about a job had been a client for about a year, Vector Global Logistics. The founder, Enrique Alvarez, and I got along swimmingly. We had very similar business philosophies and believed in the power of business for social impact.

We were always trying to find ways to work together, and I thought this might be the next step. Luckily, he thought so, too.

It took us a while to work out the details, but I officially started working part-time for them—with benefits—in November!

I’m happy to announce that I’m the VP of Sales and Marketing for Vector Global Logistics.

Basically, Vector gets the products people care about from Point A to Point B. They provide commercial shipping and logistics services. So, they don’t ship you the new shoes you bought off of Amazon, but they do ship the containers of shoes just like them that came from far off places. Well, they do a lot more, but that’s the gist.

Plus, the reason they exist is to change the world. Because the supply chain affects so many aspects of our lives, they see it as a terrific opportunity to do good. They love giving back and do it every chance they get. Obviously, I can get behind that.

And this still allows me to work part-time on Signify as well. I’m deeply grateful, and have really enjoyed working with them over the past two months. They are an incredible and talented team, and I have to admit, it is nice to be working with a team again!

(I will take a moment to give a huge shout-out to all my previous interns, though, who have really helped shape Signify over the past few years. Plus, they have been a blast to work with!)

December

The most difficult aspect of joining the Vector team has been figuring out how to juggle my new responsibilities with my client work while still growing Signify. (And writing content like this!)

I’m a pretty organized person, but I’m definitely still figuring things out. I imagine it’ll be months of working through this process.

I love starting and building things, though, so working with Vector is a really fun and unique opportunity. It is an amazing company.

I’m excited for the future of what we can do together, and how it will effect Signify (and vice versa.) They are very supportive of my work for both companies, and I’ve got big ideas for both!

Overall, the end of 2020 worked out pretty well for me. It was certainly rough at times, but I clung to my word of the year, TRUST, and came through okay.

The Moral of My Story

Here’s the paradox of 2020 for me: I actually made more money than in any other year, whether as an entrepreneur or a full-time employee. But with the stress of the year, my ongoing (and new) health issues, the new debt, the forced isolation, and another uncertain year ahead, I decided to get a job.

Weird—the watchword of 2020.

I tell you my story not just to say “woe is me” or get your sympathy. I’m sharing what happened to me because it’s probably not all that uncommon and I wanted you to know that you’re not alone.

As the founder or leader of a nonprofit or social impact company, you’re always in a battle for better.

You want to do good and by working on behalf of a cause, you’re always sacrificing something of yourself. It could be your time, money, resources, or any number of things. It’s not easy, but you know it’s worth it. I do, too.

While I strive to be a genuine and authentic person, I admit that I’m not always an open book. I do keep things close to my chest because that’s just the way I operate and internally process. But I wanted to share my difficult decision with you because I know you get it.

You may not have been in the same situation as me, but you know how hard it is to run an organization and what you might have to do or give up as a result, both personally and professionally, to see your mission move forward.

Let me remind you, though, just like in 2020—and just like in your work—there are always bright spots in dark times.

How to Find the Right Social Impact Job for You

There are lots of websites, blogs, podcasts, and more that tell you how to find a great job you’ll love. But let me share two pieces of advice that really helped me last year.

• Create a great network. When you find yourself with some sort of need, you need a great network to turn to. Cultivate relationships with lots of amazing people, in life and in work. Be generous with your time and resources because it’s the right thing to do, but also because those wonderful people will return the favor. When I was looking for a job, I wasn’t doing it in a vacuum. There were a few amazing friends and peers who were looking out for me, too.

• Make a list of what you want. I didn’t want just any job. I knew exactly what I was looking for and I went in search of it. I made a list of all the tangibles and intangibles that wouldn’t just give me a paycheck, but a career, and some place I could really contribute to. Near the very tippy top of that list was a strong culture. I wanted to go somewhere that I would feel encouraged and supported, and everyone else felt the same. Vector checks almost every box on my list (and it’s a long list!). Of course, I’d also had the privilege of working with them for a year, so I knew they walked the walk. I was fortunate in that way, but a good network will also know other good people, so that reinforces the first point as well.

So, there you go! That’s my story of 2020. Now you know the most difficult decision I had to make last year—and know that I’m here for you in your difficult decisions as well.

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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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