Early in my tenure as an Executive Director, when people asked me “what does the Oregon League of Conservation Voters do,” I got excited and would launch into a list of our major programs and strategies.
I was pretty good at it.
Yet, the conversations felt emotionless and there was always something intangible missing.
About 4-5 years into my tenure, I had the chance to attend a 2-day fundraising training led by Kim Klein, author of Fundraising For Social Change, now in its 7th edition. During that training, she taught a powerful technique during which nonprofit leaders can better answer the question: “what do you do.”
The technique: don’t immediately answer the question, but rather begin by reciting 1-2 things that the organization “believes” and only then pivot to giving some examples of what you do as a consequence of the belief.
When I started using this technique, I could see the difference in how people reacted to me and it translated into significantly better fundraising relationships.
Why is this technique valuable?
And how do you use it?
Why is the We Believe Technique Valuable
In short, because marketing and other communications work better when you put the Why before the What.
Here’s a Ted talk by Simon Sinek on the topic.
The “why” is where you connect with people emotionally.
People are more motivated to understand the what (which can be complicated) if they understand and agree with the why.
If people don’t understand the context (the why), information is more likely to be just a series of unconnected bullet points. We do X. We do Y. We do Z.
But if you first explain why you’re doing what you’re doing, they’re more likely to connect the dots as their brains slot the X, Y, and Z into the appropriate context.
How does this technique work
I’ll start with an example from the Oregon League of Conservation Voters, where I first applied it.
If people asked us what we did, my answer was: we elect pro-environment candidates and hold them accountable, while working to pass strong pro-conservation policies. Or something along those lines.
Here’s how I responded after learning the We Believe technique.
“What does OLCV do?”
“We believe that Oregon’s natural legacy will only be protected if community members exercise their rights in our democracy to stand up to powerful special interests who profit from pollution. That’s why we bring together people from across the state who band together through OLCV to elect pro-environment candidates, hold elected officials accountable, and pass policies that protect our natural legacy for future generations.”
Or something along those lines. Depending on the audience, I sometimes would deliver this without referencing the “oppositional” threat of powerful special interests.
How would this apply to other nonprofits?
I’ve worked with many nonprofits who partner with public lands agencies.
“What do you do?”
“We believe that America’s parks and public lands only exist because people demanded them as essential tools to defend wildlife, clean water, and to provide our families a chance to experience the power of nature to renew our spirits. That’s why we believe in partnering with INSERT NAME OF SPECIFIC PUBLIC LANDS AGENCY so that we can be part of this legacy. We do this by X, Y, and Z.”
What about a nonprofit that has nothing to do with the environment?
Homeless shelter: “We believe everyone has the right to shelter and that a good community makes sure that right is protected. That’s why we . . . “
Educational institution: “We believe that for our community to thrive everyone should have the opportunity to reach their potential by learning INSERT SOMETHING OF RELEVANCE TO THE TYPE OF EDUCATION. That’s why we . . .”
Fill in the blank with your own “type” of nonprofit.
Other uses of the We Believe Technique
It’s not just useful when people ask what you do.
I’ve found when strategic planning it’s also a useful exercise to help develop Vision and Mission statements.
Or generally when working on your communications/marketing.
At various times as a consultant, I’ve taken both staffs and boards through an exercise where everyone is asked what the organization believes and to provide one sentence beginning “We believe” and to share their sentence as part of a round robin.
It’s led to some powerful material that’s been used, as well as serving a team-building function.
Bottom line
Put the why before what.
Tell people what you believe before you tell them what you do.