Next Stage - Social Impact Services

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Communications

The Dangerous Allure of Win-Win Strategies – A Response

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My staff team at Next Stage are saints. No, truly. They put up with a lot, because when I get excited about something, I sort of can’t shut up about it. Such is my fascination with win-win strategies.

I’ve spent most of my working life trying to build strong philanthropic cultures inside nonprofit organizations with the goal of encouraging donations. For most, a philanthropic transaction is viewed as a “selfless act of charity.” I thought that way too until I started reading the work of Penelope Burke, the author of Donor-Centered Fundraising. She opened my eyes to the concept of “warm glow altruism” – the idea that a donor to a nonprofit gets something in return for making a contribution in the form of a positive feeling of accomplishment. A big ol’ dopamine hit. Her assertion is that a nonprofit can create a marketplace for these good feelings and can generate more donation revenue when it ratchets up the exchange. And with that, my love of win-win strategies was born.

Lately, Next Stage has turned its attention to “rewiring social good” between area companies and nonprofit organizations. Here we are exploring “win-win-win” strategies (aha! An extra win!) with the idea that our community benefits when nonprofits and private sector companies are able to work out an exchange that makes the partnership with each other an essential part of both business models. We have shorthanded it as “profit and purpose.” We believe so much in this direction that we are pivoting our firm to pursue new “win-win-win” frameworks. You can read more about it here.

With so much recent focus on “win-win-win” here at Next Stage, an article from the Winter 2021 edition of Stanford Social Innovations Review, a must-read publication, caught our eye.

The Dangerous Allure of Win-Win Strategies” (link), published by researchers with Andrew A. King and Kenneth P. Pucker, unpacks how many of the supposed breakthroughs in the past that were meant to change society ended up landing with a thud.

The points they make are extraordinarily well-researched (this is SSIR we’re talking about after all) and I was left to reflect on how we can learn from these failed initiatives of the past. Here are three 3 ways we can do better in future “win-win-win” efforts:

Avoid Inauthentic Expressions – If you’re engaging in social good purely for profit, it is not likely to have a great outcome. 

King and Pucker outline how the industry attempts to correct negative environmental impact through the creation of new mitigation industries have largely failed. Recycling efforts will never fully undo the harm done by plastics, for example, no matter how much profit there is in it.

It is a point well made. Efforts to create platforms for collaboration between corporations and nonprofits can only be successful if they begin with authenticity. Shining up corporate greed with social good does not work, and only exposes both sides to unneeded risk.

Seek Multi-Faceted Alignment – For many of the strategies outlined, the solutions being trumpeted were specific and narrow, often arising from the businesses themselves as a means to overcome a business challenge.

The examples given focus on big, sector-wide initiatives that were over-sold from the start.

We think solid strategies are formed when we seek to serve a broader set of needs. Social good has lived in the marketing side of the private sector for a long time, and it has largely been relegated to business-to-consumer companies where the customer is the target.

Our vision is for social good alignment to be multi-faceted, addressing many underlying business needs for companies and nonprofits both. It is also important that these win-win-win strategies be highly customized to these needs and rightsized with realistic outcomes.

Focus on Data & Measurement – Speaking of outcomes, the SSIR researchers were toughest on the lack of solid evidence that the concepts outlined actually did what they were sold as doing.

Some of this was attributable to overly-ambitious visioning, but a lot was just an inability to measure impact.

This is the biggest obstacle to overcome for local companies, who see investment in nonprofits as a “soft cost” where they have a hard time justifying the return on investment. I have heard the budget of corporate social responsibility called “a slush fund” for feel-good projects.

This must change if we want to encourage increased investment in social good, and Next Stage is leading the way to build strategies that start with data first.

All this to say, our enthusiasm for win-win-win strategies is not diminished but certainly better informed. What we are constructing is not built on relentless optimism – just the opposite. We see the challenge ahead of us with clear eyes and an open heart, and we know building proof is the key to unlocking amazing (though not limitless) potential.

How to Write a Compelling ‘State of the Organization’ Update

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On Friday, May 1, Next Stage hosted an accomplished panel of social good leaders for The New Normal, the firm’s digital nonprofit roundtable that takes place each Friday at noon. The topic was Budget Shortfall and Bold Leadership, and the conversation was outstanding. I encourage you to check it out.

Panelist Chris Jackson from Goodwill Industries of the Southern Piedmont recently published an excellent first-person statement on LinkedIn entitled Leadership in the Era of Coronavirus. In it, he not only lays out a strong, matter-of-fact update on the impact of COVID-19 on the local Goodwill affiliate, but also offers his views on how to lead a large nonprofit during a time of great change.

As he noted during The New Normal, he never thought he would need to temporarily close all of the organization’s 26 retail stores or furlough more than 750 employees. These were significant decisions that needed to be made quickly and courageously. By outlining how these decisions were made and offering insider insights, Chris took control of his agency’s narrative and set a positive, hopeful vision for the future.

Many nonprofits have posted some sort of COVID-19 statement on their websites – typically a short, formal statement using organizational voice. Next Stage believes the leaders of area nonprofits should follow this high-quality example and consider drafting their own “from the desk of leadership” statements.

Interested in writing your own? Here are some tips:

  1. Use First-Person Voice – There is a time for writing in the ‘grantspeak’ of third-person, but this isn’t it. You want your audience to feel your presence through this communication, and that is best done when it is clear who is doing the speaking. Using “I” and “me” makes it clear that the nonprofit leader is communicating personally.
  2. State the Facts – A ‘State of the Organization’ requires a forthright update on current conditions. That means outlining how programs have been disrupted, staffing impacted and finances analyzed. While this may mean sharing less than favorable news, it is also a time to outline the positives – how innovation has overcome obstacles and how human and financial resources have been mobilized. Your constituents want to know what is happening and it is important to provide a meaningful, data-driven update.
  3. Be Vulnerable – These are unprecedented times and no one is expected to be infallible. Everyone is still making sense of the long-term impact of this public health crisis. Be truthful with what you know and what you do not. This can be difficult for leaders who are more accustomed to projecting a positive image at all times. Vulnerability is a trait we seek when times are tough as it suggests our own fears and concerns are appropriate.
  4. Include a Story – Understanding how the last two months have transformed your nonprofit may be difficult for people without a lens on the nonprofit business model. Telling a story about a constituent served, a staff member impacted or a board member leaning in can help to illuminate current conditions for those reading it. This update is meant to be human-centered and emotionally evocative, and storytelling can be a very effective communication tool.
  5. Share Your Vision – The era of COVID-19 will end (at some point, right?) and your organization will still be here (we certainly hope). What are you hopeful to achieve? Three months ago, we all had ambition and strategic plans we were eager to implement against the backdrop of a strong economy. While the conditions may have changed, one hopes your desire to advance your mission has not. Your constituents want to know that you have the will to succeed. Your hopeful view of the future is needed now more than ever.
  6. Publish It Publicly – It may seem counterintuitive to air vulnerability and less-then-positive news in the bright light of day, but this is perhaps the most important feature of a strong leader statement. Your 501c3 is a publicly-held nonprofit, which means that everyone is a stakeholder whether an active donor/volunteer or not. Having the confidence to lower the barriers to access for this messaging demonstrates bold leadership and the courage of one’s convictions.

Need help conceptualizing this leader statement? Still trying to figure out how your organization will overcome the challenges of COVID-19? We’re here to help. Reach out today to schedule a chat.