How to Create the Conditions for Sustainable Revenue

In previous articles in our sustainable revenue series, we covered the beliefs and narratives leading to unsustainable revenue in the social impact sector and outlined some of the common reasons social impact brands struggle to reach their revenue goals. 

Now we’re going to make a case for a different approach and mindset to revenue generation that can be a powerful force lifting all of your existing efforts up — and might even give you some ideas for new ones. 

Rather than talk about different fundraising strategies or revenue generation models, we’re going to think about this a bit differently. We’re going to look at this through the lens of building a sustainable social impact brand. We’re going to put aside the tactics, playbooks, and campaigns, and instead focus on creating the conditions required to build sustainable revenue. 

In many ways, the strategies, ideas, and mindsets we often discuss are all put to the test when it comes to revenue generation. This is where you’ll see if the market validates your work, or if there’s still more work to do. 

The big takeaway here is that too many social impact brands focus on chasing donors, or selling to customers, but fail to build a brand that magnetically attracts them.

Keep Doing What Works

Now, we’re not saying you don’t still need to proactively fundraise, make clear calls to action, market your brand, earn attention, and all of the things you're already probably doing. You still have to be proactive. 

But if you can build a brand that creates trust, affinity, loyalty, and deeper community support, then it will make all of those efforts significantly more effective and give you the power to build support on your terms and create sustainability and resilience for your organization. 

4 Conditions for Building a Sustainable Revenue Brand

Let’s break down the key conditions for this magnetic attraction that can level-up your revenue generation. 

Spoiler Alert: Much of what’s coming is going to fall squarely in the brand-building approach we’ve outlined in previous articles and on our Designing Tomorrow podcast. And that’s not a coincidence. A big reason why we believe so strongly in building a brand for your mission is that many of the steps you’ll take to build your brand also create the conditions necessary to truly grow your revenue. 

Now, some of these points might seem basic or obvious. But really think about them deeply and ask yourself if you’re honestly nailing each of them fully. Frankly, it’s rare that we see social impact brands — even those who are quite successful — who don’t have room for improvement on any or all of these points. 

First: You Really Need to Own a Niche as a Brand

If you don’t clearly define your niche, articulate your point of view, and play into your strengths and differentiators, then it’s going to be really hard to make a solid case for supporting your brand over similar ones in your space. 

Even if you think you’ve got your niche down, ask yourself if your supporters, or potential supporters, can understand it on their own, without you walking them through a theory of change diagram. 

Because if your supporters or funders don’t know what bucket to put you in inside their heads, they won’t know how to justify your mission or how to explain it to their friends and peers. 

Your niche unlocks a sharper clarity of purpose, tighter and clearer messaging, and positions you as a category leader. 

But owning a niche is just the beginning. 

Second: You Need to Communicate Convincing Proof of Impact and Progress Towards Your Mission

You need to communicate your impact and mission progress in a couple important ways:

1. Retail donors and customers are going to be more influenced by human-centered emotional storytelling. Institutional funders are going to want more data-driven proof. If you aren’t set up to measure and evaluate the impact of your work, then this will be challenging. But even simple methods of evaluation can go a long way. 
    
2. To take this one step further, you need to learn to craft this content in creative and scroll-stopping ways. Because if no one actually sees or consumes your content, then it can’t be effective in communicating your impact. 

Often, social impact brands will tell us they are doing a good job with their impact storytelling, but our audits find that they aren’t leveraging this important element effectively. You can’t assume that your supporters and audience will consume or even see the majority of the content you publish and distribute. 

Although your content strategy should include more than just proof of impact, this should be the main focus of your strategy. Because it’s important for current and prospective supporters and customers. 

Third: You Need to Make a Compelling Case for Your Issue

You need to be able to clearly articulate why your work matters, why it matters right now, and why it will continue to matter tomorrow and in the future. 

Alongside proof of impact, you need to constantly communicate the importance of your mission. You need to educate your audience about why your work is significant and relevant, and why they should support it.

You have your finger on the pulse of this issue, but your supporters probably don’t — at least to the same extent that you do. And this is true for retail donors and customers as well as major funders. You have a responsibility to educate your supporters about the priorities, barriers, and opportunities for your issue area.

Make a strong case for your issue and it will unlock outsized support for your mission.

Fourth: You Need to Create Donor and Customer Experiences that Nurture Deeper Relationships with Your Brand and Build Community

You want to build brand loyalty and long term support from your community, not churn and burn supporters, donors, and customers you have to replace. 

Your supporters need ongoing reminders that your mission is worth supporting, that your organization is making a real difference, and that their continued support is a crucial part of realizing your mission. You need to help connect the dots for them and stop assuming they can or will do it on their own. This is the biggest miss we see so many social impact brand making in their brand and communications strategy and execution. 

You need your supporters to know and feel that their individual support has led to meaningful, measurable, consistent impact for the mission they care about. This is their return on investment — the payoff for their generosity. And when you do get this part right, you’ll reduce supporter churn, build deeper relationships with your supporters, and create a powerful community of advocates who will enthusiastically tell your story for you and build broader awareness for your mission. 

In short, providing supporters with a return on investment helps build your sustainable revenue base. 

It’s Time to Break Free

If you think deeply about the key points above, and put effort into improving each of them, you will absolutely create the conditions needed to build magnetic attraction for your mission and grow your revenue.

Creating the right conditions for revenue growth will make all of your existing marketing and fundraising efforts significantly more effective and allow you to invest in yourself and build a truly healthy and sustainable organization.

Sustainable revenue gives you the power to only accept support from those who truly align with your mission and vision instead of being influenced by outside opinions and priorities. 

This is the way to finally break free of the revenue-chasing rat race and earn the support and resources needed to fully realize your mission.

Lead by Example

Many organizations will continue to struggle to reach their revenue goals, build capacity, retain their team and their supporters, and ultimately fail to reach the full impact potential for their mission. 

We need to change the cultural beliefs and narratives that shape our sector and are holding us back. And the best way to do this is to succeed despite these structural barriers. To learn how to create the conditions for revenue generation. And to stop chasing revenue and instead learn to magnetically attract it. 

If you take one thing away from this article, let it be this: social impact organizations should not and can not accept a second-class status in our global business community. 

We are solving the world’s greatest problems. And to do that we need to attract and retain the world’s greatest minds and build healthy, sustainable, and resilient organizations — organizations that are fully resourced and given the proper conditions and support they need to do their best work. 

The world needs you. Make sure you have what you need to show up as your best self, with the resources and support required to fully realize your mission.