The Heart of Public Engagement

So many of the nonprofits that I’ve worked with over the years say they face a similar challenge: They want to connect with and engage the general public. It’s a strategy that makes sense. A key barrier, though, is the way organizations talk about what they do and why their work is effective—which shapes the public’s understanding of the organization. While many nonprofits identify the public as a primary audience, a brief research project I conducted in 2023 (through a survey of 308 American adults across multiple generations, locations, and income levels) gives us a window into how difficult it is to build these bridges with the general public. And the significance for many organizations is real. A study by the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at Indiana University shows:In 2023, individual giving accounted for 67% of all nonprofit giving, with Americans contributing $373 billion—up from $319 billion (64%) in 2022. While these numbers show growth of 1.9% in 2023, adjusting for an inflation rate of 4.1% shows that giving declined by 2.1%.

Even in challenging economic times, people continue to support the causes they believe in. But how can organizations connect with the general public effectively? My research shows that engagement can be strengthened with four strategies:

• Us messages that speak to shared values
• Give people stories that stick
• Show people goals that they can envision
• Provide clear evidence of real change in communities

Nonprofits often focus too much on their mission and use their “inside voice” to connect with people. And this is where they begin to fall short. The study tested how well people could match well-known organizations with their public statements—their missions, taglines, and core messages. The results showed a clear gap between what organizations are saying and what people hear and remember.

Even well-known organizations struggle to create lasting impressions. The YMCA’s core messages connected with 46% of people—the strongest and perhaps most well-known brand in the study. The Rainforest Action Network’s mission could be identified by only 27% of respondents, while the Sierra Club’s statement was identified by just 9% of respondents.

The Sierra Club’s results tell an especially interesting story about the decline across generations. People born between 1962-1977 recognized The Sierra Club’s mission statement at higher rates (27%) than other age groups. This suggests nonprofits should explore new ways to bridge generational understanding and look for cultural relevance in their brand and messaging.

Why do some of these messages miss their mark? One insight is that many use broad language that could fit almost any organization. When the YMCA talks about “strengthening communities” or the Sierra Club aims to “protect the natural environment,” they’re talking about goals that could belong to countless groups. Organizations need to find more distinctive and “sticky” ways to tell their stories.

Make-a-Wish includes cues in its mission statement that tie back to its name and what it does: “Together, we create life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses.” But not all organizations have that ability. Charity: water’s mission statement comes close in its simplicity and clarity: “Bringing clean and safe drinking water to people in developing countries.”

Consider how language choices also shape understanding. Top Nonprofits conducted a study that graded nonprofit mission statements based on readability and grade reading level. The March of Dimes was given an A grade. It was written for a 3rd-grade reading level and speaks directly: “Leads the fight for the health of all moms and babies.” There’s power in its clarity, simplicity, and specificity. Compare this to the New York Public Library’s mission “to inspire lifelong learning, advance knowledge, and strengthen our communities,” which was given a C grade. It could easily be used as the mission statement for many other organizations. And, in a city where fewer than 40% of residents hold college degrees, being written at a college freshman reading level creates unnecessary barriers.

When people decide to support a nonprofit, they follow clear patterns and priorities:

Values come first. People support organizations that reflect their own beliefs about how the world should work—even more than having any personal connection to an organization. Real impact comes next. People want to see actual change happening in communities. Next, they look for clear missions they can understand quickly. They look for honest information about how money gets used. And they want straightforward explanations of what organizations actually do. Traditional branding and a modern appearance matter less than these fundamental elements of connection.

Values show up in everything an organization does—the issues it works on, how it approaches problems, who it partners with, the words it uses, and even how it looks. Every choice tells part of a larger story about what an organization cares about. Look at how Human Rights First and Human Rights Watch approach similar issues through vastly different digital experiences and are working toward similar outcomes. Even though they have different voices and visual styles, each are authentic to their own way of working, and create distinct perceptions about each organization.

Organizations should strive to show their impact, not just describe it. This means both keeping people aware of progress (action is important) and telling stories of real change. Many organizations tell stories of “advocacy.” Instead, they might position this work through stories that talk about registering voters or organizing community meetings. Rather than talking about “capacity building,” they can tell stories that demonstrate how they develop community leaders and strengthen the leaders within organizations.

The research points toward a clear path forward. Nonprofits succeed when they:

• Speak in clear, human terms about what matters
• Show real results in ways people can understand
• Stand out by being specific about their unique work
• Meet people where they are in both language and values

The most interesting finding might be this: While people don’t always think about nonprofits as “brands” the way they might think of consumer brands, they deeply value the elements that mak brands effective communicators—differentiation, clear values, visible impact, and speaking in ways they can understand and remember.

Successful nonprofit communication requires an authentic expression of an organization’s purpose and possibility. It invites people into a shared story of change, where their support becomes part of something larger, but not too large. There are many organizations with overlapping missions and varying degrees of coordination within larger movements.

For example: A mentoring organization I worked with found that their focus on students in the academic middle made them unique. These are students whose grades were too high to qualify for extra support that would help them excel, but low enough that they would likely graduate high school but not go on to college. We used Blue Ocean Strategy to help them see how their focus on students in the academic middle was unique. It was easy to see the potential in these students and the gap that many mentoring organizations weren’t designed to fill. This was one of the important pillars that had always guided the organization, and instead of trying to serve all students, they re-connected to the uniqueness of their work. This clear focus resonated with students, staff, schools, and donors. And in 2024, they received a $2 million dollar grant from Yield Giving—a fund led by philanthropist MacKenzie Scott.