Work with me?
I give in.
I’m crying, uncle.
I’m finally admitting it. 😅
It’s long past time for me to hire an Executive Assistant, so I’m starting with this community instead of announcing a public job description. This EA will help me for a few hours per week (to start) with tasks such as Mighty Ally partnership inquiries, marketing analytics, and speaking engagement coordination.
And because most of our work is from the Global South, I’d love for this person to be as well.
Reply here or comment below if this could be you!
— Kevin
💪🏽💛
Three insights
Who made you care about chimpanzees: a conservation NGO or Jane Goodall?
Who introduced you to the concepts of courage and shame: the University of Houston or Brené Brown?
Here are two more. ⤵
Where did you first read about global health: a nonprofit annual report or the book Mountains Beyond Mountains about Paul Farmer? Whose name comes to mind when you think of microfinance: Grameen Bank or Muhammad Yunus?
And to bring the illustration closer to home, was it from Mighty Ally or me that you originally learned about being fundable and findable?
I think I know the answers.
Almost every thought leader has an organization around them, but the individual is the tip of the spear. So here’s the uncomfortable truth nonprofit leaders often avoid: you are the brand too.
✅ Your credibility opens doors your logo can’t.
✅ Your voice builds trust your website never will.
✅ Your story moves donors your annual report won’t.
❌ Goodall didn’t save chimps by perfecting her org chart.
❌ Farmer didn’t transform global health with a website.
❌ Yunus didn’t democratize finance with a rebrand.
They showed up… repeatedly… loudly… personally.
So yes, build a fundable, findable organization.
But also, build a fundable, findable YOU.
Understand this too:
Your organization’s visibility and your personal visibility are not competing forces. When aligned well, they’re magnetic.
Movements need messengers.
Quit struggling to produce more or new content.
Start distributing content you already have.
Because most nonprofits spend days creating blog posts, research papers, fundraising campaigns, annual reports, videos, or infographics. Then minutes hastily posting it to social media or your email newsletter — just once.
Then poof, that’s it.
And we expect the world to take notice? We expect donors to give?
It doesn’t work that way.
Imagine you send a message to 2,000 email subscribers and post on social media for 2,000 followers. Only:
435 people will open your email
120 Facebook followers see your post
40 X/Twitter followers will see your tweet
Not great.
“The truth is that you can create a great piece of content, but if it doesn’t get in front of the right people, then it’s for nothing” says Ross Simmonds, author of the book Create Once, Distribute Forever.
So what should you do instead?
Spend as much time distributing as creating
Break big content pieces into small chunks
Repurpose old content every 4–6 months
Prioritize quality content over quantity
Use data to refine your distribution
(See the Weekly Bonus below for a full guide.)
Stop wasting content.
Start maximizing reach.
Great content deserves great distribution.
Stop chasing the wrong type of funding.
Get to know your options. ⤵
Each of the five categories has its donor motivations, advantages and constraints for you, plus capabilities you need internally to attract and retain those funders. So focus your fundraising.
The most common donor type for big nonprofits?
40% of nonprofits at $50M+ budget get most funding from government grants.
Program services (earned revenue) and corporate donations are the next most prevalent funding categories.
Just 12% of big nonprofits get the bulk from foundations and high-net-worths, but this is the fastest-growing source.
Only 3% of big nonprofits rely on small gifts under $10,000 as the lead source.
Right donors, right fit.
Rocket fuel for your brand.
P.S. This newsletter grows when you share it. It’s quick and free for you, but super helpful for me. Because this content is part of our own nonprofit mission. Thank you.
From the book
A line worth sitting with, from my four-time bestseller Fundable & Findable: The Brand-New Way to Fix Your Nonprofit Fundraising.
The weekly bonus
Get a free Ultimate Guide to Content Distribution from Ross Simmonds.
(Ross and I both gave keynotes at the Nonprofit Innovation & Optimization Summit.)
He says:
“Content distribution is crucial for the success of your content marketing strategy because it allows you to maximize the reach and impact of your content.
With the ever-increasing amount of content being produced and shared online, simply creating high-quality content is no longer enough. It needs to be actively distributed to stand out among the competition and reach its intended audience.”
P.S.
Cuddle up to your funders.
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