I know I link to Seth Godin often but I think this link is particularly instructive to all of us.
In his post, he basically offers the case for support of the Acumen Fund, a nonprofit organization.
Normally I would just send you over to the post, but in this case I really want to break down how he lays out a strong case for support in a very concise manner.
Every case for support starts by laying out the problem, which Seth does for the Acumen Fund here:
About forty percent of the world lives on $2 or less a day.
We can all agree that isn't a good thing, but then he hammers the impact of that problem:
If you are bitten by a malaria-carrying mosquito, you need to buy medicine and so there’s no money for food. If you need more water, you have to spend two hours walking to and from the nearest half-decent water spot, and those two hours are the two hours you were going to spend harvesting the food your kids need.
So again, we clearly have a problem. Then Seth goes into how the group he supports, the Acumen Fund provides a solution to this problem.
But not just "a" solution . . . a solution that is fairly unique to the Acumen Fund. That solution is a bit complex so I'll finally link to Seth's post.
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Let me be clear about this. If you want to have a successful nonprofit organization you MUST be able to explain both the problem you are attempting to solve AND how your group solves that problem in a unique way.
If you can't, then your growth will be permanently capped.
Take a look at the post and I'll see you Monday.
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