Bursting The Bubble: How Outside Voices Strengthen Nonprofit Marketing

Forbes

07-07-2025

Lynn Richardson-Godfrey, CXO at the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, is an expert in transformative marketing for nonprofits & iconic brands.
When was the last time someone inspired your organization to think bigger, act bolder and break through long-standing barriers? I'm talking about the kind of outside perspective that doesn't just validate your current approach but propels you toward innovative strategies you might never have considered on your own. If you're struggling to remember, you might be missing one of the most powerful tools in nonprofit marketing.
Mission-driven organizations naturally attract passionate champions deeply committed to their cause. This shared conviction creates a powerful culture but can sometimes limit our perspective on what's possible.
That's why building a structured way to invite outside voices into your strategic conversations is essential. An external advisory council has been a game-changing tool throughout my career, accelerating innovation while also helping us avoid potential missteps. The results have been so transformative that I'm convinced every nonprofit needs this kind of structured catalyst and reality check.
Why Outside Voices Matter More Than Ever
As the media environment has become increasingly fractured, breaking through the noise with your brand message is more challenging than ever. Consumers encounter between 4,000-10,000 brand messages daily, making it nearly impossible to capture attention without sophisticated strategies.
Outside perspectives help you navigate this crowded landscape by championing bold new directions while also identifying potential missteps before they happen. As I discovered during my time at Girl Scouts, when we faced intensifying competition for young girls' attention, sometimes your most valuable asset is someone who pushes you to be bolder than you thought possible and gives you the confidence to move in exciting new directions.
How External Advisors Build Stronger Organizations
Your external advisors can be champions for innovation, helping you build compelling cases for change that convince executive leadership and boards to embrace new approaches. This is particularly crucial when board members have limited marketing experience or when you're in an organization that hasn't traditionally prioritized brand strategy.
These advisors become invaluable allies when proposing big-swing initiatives or significant shifts in strategy. They provide the market validation and outside credibility that often makes the difference between a bold idea being approved or shelved. Long-term, they can help expand internal stakeholders' understanding of the value of marketing and brand investment in mission-driven organizations.
The secondary but equally important benefit is their ability to spot potential awareness gaps before they become problems. Our mission-driven culture, while inspiring, can sometimes lead to groupthink. External advisors help ensure we're seeing the complete picture while pushing us toward greater innovation.
Innovation Accelerator And Reality Check
At the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, our Brand Advisory Council consists of three outside marketing and communications industry professionals whose primary role is to accelerate our thinking and advocate for bold, innovative approaches that push us beyond our comfort zone. These are not board members, but trusted advisors who volunteer their time and expertise.
Our current council includes a for-profit advertising executive, a marketing strategist from another sector and a professional with both advertising and nonprofit experience. We meet quarterly for one hour to get unfiltered perspectives on key initiatives. I purposefully select people without deep knowledge of our organization because I want them to bring fresh perspectives unburdened by our historical constraints.
The results have transformed our work. Just this year, these outside voices have:
• Expanded our options for consumer research methodologies
• Offered strategies for quantifying brand ROI and measuring brand investment impact on donor revenue and mission delivery
• Given us the confidence to pursue bold initiatives that internal teams might have hesitated to champion
• Spotted market opportunities outside our traditional approach
This structure is remarkably efficient. For just four hours annually, we access insights that would cost hundreds of thousands in consulting fees. More importantly, we've created a mechanism that allows us to expand our vision of what's possible while building the confidence to pursue ambitious new directions.
Starting Your Council
"We already get feedback from our donors and board," I often hear when suggesting this approach. But those stakeholders are already invested in your mission. While valuable, their perspective often comes from within your established frameworks. Similarly, the excuse that "we don't have time for this" overlooks the tremendous return on investment in both accelerated innovation and avoided missteps.
You don't need elaborate structures to unleash this potential. Adopt our advisory council model or create your own. Here's how:
• Create a micro-advisory council. Recruit two to three marketing professionals from outside your sector who will inspire bold thinking and provide candid feedback.
• Institute innovation accelerator sessions. Before finalizing initiatives, invite outside perspectives to identify opportunities to amplify impact and reach.
• Bring in fresh perspectives. Connect with people who aren't yet engaged with your cause to discover new approaches and untapped opportunities.
• Shadow swap with commercial marketers. Arrange exchanges where your team observes how for-profit marketers operate, and vice versa.
Maximizing Impact And Attention
Nonprofit marketers compete not just with other causes but with Netflix, TikTok, work emails, 24/7 news cycles, family obligations and countless other demands for attention. In this environment, playing it safe is often the riskiest strategy of all.
Our organizations exist to create positive change. To maximize impact, we need advocates for bold innovation who also help us avoid potential pitfalls. External perspectives help us envision ambitious new possibilities while ensuring we have the strongest possible approach.
By incorporating outside voices into your strategic process, you gain powerful champions, particularly in organizations where marketing hasn't traditionally been a central focus. You might discover, as we did, that these outside voices inspire you to be bolder than you thought possible while ensuring you have the strongest foundation for success.
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