Three words, three fundraising killers.

Why and how to avoid the most common nonprofit buzzwords

Portrait of Kevin Brown, Co-founder & CEO of Mighty Ally

KEVIN L. BROWN

The three most harmful words in fundraising are marginalized, vulnerable, and empower. Why? Let’s break it down.

Marginalized and vulnerable (plus similar terms like at-risk and underserved) are all dangerous for the same reasons: they’re cliché (everyone uses them), they’re deficit language (painting people in a negative light), and they don’t tell the donor anything specific about why your community needs help.

Think about it.

People can be vulnerable, marginalized, at-risk, or underserved because of poverty, hunger, gender, climate, political oppression, displacement, poor health, lack of education, lack of clean water, lack of employment, lack of housing, lack of legal protection, and on and on and on.

What’s the solution then? Use specific, plain language, like these examples:

At-risk children → Kids not in school

Vulnerable women → Women seeking jobs

Underserved families → Families with a parent in prison

Marginalized communities → Communities without electricity

Sure, it’s a little longer, but it’s a lot stronger.

And here’s the tough love. If you think you’re solving countless different types of vulnerabilities in a single mission and can’t describe your people in plain language, that might mean you’re not focused enough.

The other nuance here?

Always list the people or communities first, so that who they are defines them. Not what they’re currently experiencing.

We’re not saying this is the perfect solution for every organization. But we are saying we can quit dancing around the terminology, avoid the deficit language, and just state the facts.

DONOR:

“Who do you serve, specifically?”

NONPROFIT:

“Our work focuses on people who are vulnerable, at-risk, marginalized, and underserved. Especially communities that are fragile, in need, disadvantaged, left behind, under-resourced, excluded, hard-to-reach, and disenfranchised.”

DONOR:

“You just described the world.”

Empowerment isn’t fundable.

Similar to the terms marginalized and vulnerable, the word empower is also a problem for three reasons:

The term is generic and cliché. Millions of nonprofits use it, so you sound like everyone else. Remember, difference = donations.
It’s a substitute for a stronger verb that’s more specific to your model, like shelter or train or fund or treat depression instead of empower.
It carries a savior vibe; you must have power to empower another. Especially an issue for expats working in communities not their own.

Look, we at Mighty Ally get it.

Many of you communicate in a second or third language, or you’re not a creative writer. So there’s no shame if you currently use the term.

But it’s easy to fix. And we’re glad to help you: just reach out to us with your current language and we’ll empower you. (We’re being a bit cheeky, but see what we did there? See how the word is confusing?)

What we could have said instead is: reach out with your current language and we’ll brainstorm options with you.

In short:

Stop the buzzwords.

Then our donors will better understand, and our communities will be better understood.

“While the term ‘empowerment’ is used with the best intentions, describing all kinds of not-for-profit work this way can unintentionally reinforce the inequalities we aim to address.”

PAUL HUNT

A final tip.

Here’s a simple way to improve your messaging: give ChatGPT your current language with empower in it. Also give ChatGPT a lot of text about what your organization does, like copy/paste your annual report.

Then ask it to brainstorm 25 more targeted, unique verbs for you. Debate with your team and pick one.

We generated these 50 verbs that you could start with:

Protect
Shelter
Train
Fund
Teach
Equip
Support
Guide
Mentor
Lift
Boost
Treat
Heal
Feed
House
Mobilize
Educate
Defend
Build
Strengthen
Counsel
Coach
Develop
Elevate
Advance
Enable
Supply
Provide
Deliver
Restore
Sustain
Serve
Connect
Assist
Back
Sponsor
Nurture
Activate
Foster
Improve
Cultivate
Inspire
Reform
Transform
Amplify
Secure
Uphold
Rescue
Employ

Remember: stop empowering, start getting specific.