Fluent in Nonprofit? How to Humanize Your Fundraising Messaging
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
Table of Contents
If you work in the nonprofit sector, phrases like building capacity, expanding access, and increasing service delivery probably make perfect sense to you. They may also be exactly the right language for a grant application, board report, or conversation with a funder.
But would you use those same words to explain your work to a friend? Probably not.
That’s the challenge with nonprofit fundraising messaging. Development teams spend so much time talking about the work internally that organizational language can easily slip into donor communications. The message may be accurate, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s meaningful to the person reading it.
The challenge for development and communications teams is translating the organization’s needs into something most people can relate to. Now, this doesn’t mean dumbing down the message. It means making the message easier for people outside your organization to understand and connect with.
Practical Examples
Let’s talk about what this looks like with a few examples:
“We need additional funding to build capacity and expand access to our services.”
There is nothing technically wrong with that sentence. But now consider:
“There are 100 more people who need our services in Nashville this month. Will you help us reach 10 of them?”
We’re talking about essentially the same need. But the second version gives the reader something and someone to visualize.
“Capacity” is an organizational concept. Ten people are human beings. That distinction can make a big difference in whether someone decides to donate.
Individual donors aren’t necessarily giving because your organization needs to increase capacity. They’re giving because now they know there are ten people their gift can help, and increased capacity makes it possible.
So, move away from the fancy words and tell people what they need to know. Attention spans are short, and calendars are busy.
If additional capacity means 50 more children can receive tutoring, say that. If expanding a program means 20 more older adults can receive meals each week, say that. If hiring another case manager means families won’t have to wait as long for help, tell donors about the families.
Data Still Matters
Humanizing your message doesn’t mean abandoning data. Sometimes numbers should lead the conversation. Lawmakers, institutional funders, board members, and other stakeholders may need to understand how many people you served, whether outcomes improved, how efficiently resources were used, and whether your organization is moving the needle.
Individual donors need evidence, too. But numbers become more powerful when people understand what they represent. For example:
“Demand increased 25%” offers information.
“Last year, we served 400 families. This year, another 100 are asking for help” gives that information context. And context matters because it frames the story.
Then take it one step further. Who is one of those families? What brought them to your organization? What changed because help was available?
The data establishes the size of the need. The story helps us understand what that need feels like. You need both to win donors over.
One Story Can Represent Many
Nonprofit storytelling comes with an important responsibility, particularly when your organization serves people experiencing vulnerability. Protecting dignity and privacy should always take priority over producing a compelling fundraising appeal.
But protecting the people you serve doesn’t mean you can’t tell stories. With appropriate consent and safeguards, tell the story of one person whose experience helps supporters understand the larger issue. Then connect that individual story back to the broader need.
For example:
“Because of donor support, Maya received the tutoring she needed to get back on track in school. There are 37 more students waiting for the same opportunity.”
Now the donor isn’t being asked to solve a general organizational problem. Through the impact story, they’ve met Maya. They understand what happened. And they know 37 other stories are still waiting to be written.
That’s where storytelling and data work together to humanize the messaging, making it more relatable, impactful, and easier to understand.
Check Your Fundraising Messaging
The next time you write an appeal, newsletter, social post, or donor communication, look for the language you’ve become accustomed to using. Words like capacity, sustainability, programming, service delivery, underserved populations, and community impact.
Then ask yourself: What does this actually mean to the person I’m sending it to?
Don’t misunderstand. You don’t have to eliminate “industry jargon” altogether. But you’ll need to recognize when you’re talking about the organization instead of helping people understand the lives affected by its work.
Your supporters already care about your mission, and future supporters need to understand your mission. Good nonprofit fundraising messaging reveals the people behind the work, shows what donor support makes possible, and reminds us that more people are still waiting to be reached.
