Avoiding Potholes

That’s fine, as long as the methodology or message you want to appropriate for your own organization actually aligns with your mission. Some formats make perfect sense for one nonprofit but are too much of a stretch for others. The same is true for messaging.

Figure out what you do better than anyone else — and then do that. Being small and unable to differentiate your organization from the larger competition isn’t a good thing. Being small but having a clear differentiation that you proclaim over and over can be a great thing. Tell your donors repeatedly why you are different and what you do better. As Jack Trout, founder and president of Trout & Partners, said, “Differentiate or die.”