Clear Communicators for the Win
"The clearest communicator will always win. People do not buy the best products and services,
they buy the products and services they can understand the fastest."
– Donald Miller
As a nonprofit leader, you may not be selling a product or service, but you’re selling your impact.
When someone visits your website or reads your newsletter for the first time, can they figure out what you do and why it matters in about seven seconds?
For many nonprofits, it’s not so clear.
And I get it. Your work is complex. The issues you're addressing have layers of history and nuance that can't be captured in a simple sentence. You want to honor that complexity because it's important.
Here's the thing about clear communication:
Clarity doesn't mean dumbing down your work. It means making your impact accessible to the people who want to help.
When someone lands on your website, they're not looking to learn everything all at once. They're asking three basic questions:
What do you do?
Why does it matter?
How can I help?
The faster they can answer those questions, the more likely they are to stick around and get involved.
But sometimes clarity feels harder than it should be:
You know your cause area inside and out. But often we suffer from the curse of knowledge, and expect that everyone else knows and understands it too.
This isn't anyone's fault—it's just what happens when you're deeply in the weeds of your work. But it's worth asking yourself, are you accidentally creating barriers between your mission and the people who want to support it?
Quick test: Can your grandmother understand what you do after looking at your website? If she can explain it to her neighbor, you're probably on the right track.
So here are some shifts that make a big difference:
Lead with the transformation, not how you get there
Instead of: "We implement evidence-based intervention strategies"
Try: "We help kids succeed in school"
Instead of: "We provide capacity building for grassroots organizations"
Try: "We help small nonprofits grow their impact"
Replace jargon with everyday words
You don't have to eliminate all professional terminology, but consider your audience. If you're writing for supporters (not grant reviewers), speak their language. Always consider my golden rule of communication: "show me you know me" while keeping your audience in mind.
Make it specific
"Helping families" could mean anything. "Making sure kids have breakfast before school" is clear and concrete.
A food bank could say "We work to address food insecurity through comprehensive nutrition assistance programs and community-based distribution networks."
Instead, they could say "We make sure families have groceries when money's tight."
Both are accurate. One is much easier to understand and remember.
The beautiful thing about clear messaging
When your supporters can easily understand and explain what you do, they not only get involved themselves, but they can tell their friends about your work. They can explain why they support you. They can invite others to get involved.
Clear communication doesn't just help people understand your mission—it helps them share it.
Your work is too important to hide behind complex language. The clearer you can make it, the more people you'll be able to bring along on the journey.
After a decade as an in-house nonprofit marketer, Jordana Merkin founded Voice for Good to bring her insider knowledge and outsider perspective to help growing nonprofits like yours clarify their messaging to raise awareness and funds for their missions.
Her work with nonprofits includes messaging guides, communication strategy, and copywriting. (Learn more here!)
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