We are in the midst of an unprecedented time of economic turmoil and insecurity. Competition for resources of all types, from individual donations to government contracts, will rise to the highest levels in recent memory. Nonprofit organizations, the trusted stewards of charitable resources, are being challenged to revisit the business models that have sustained them in the past.

While any successful nonprofit should strive to inspire trust and confidence among its supporters, this is doubly true during a recession. Individual donors are more discriminating about how their donated funds are spent, and foundations’ stock portfolios have taken a huge hit. Your organization must strike a funder as a sound investment; organizations giving off the slightest whiff of risk will be in danger of losing what may have been long-standing support.

So, what can one do in this time to ensure that funders are drawn toward your organization and motivated to invest their money, even when times are tight?

Differentiate your organization

Before you sit down to assemble the ultimate, game-changing fund development plan for your nonprofit, be sure you have successfully taken the first step in creating an effective fundraising strategy: ensuring that your investment-worthy organization is differentiated, efficient, measurable and compelling.

Are you wondering if your organization has these characteristics to survive and thrive during this economic crisis?

First, consider what makes your organization different. Differentiation is a critical element of an investment-worthy organization and means having a truly unique asset that allows your organization to deliver a service or product in a way that can’t be replaced or duplicated by any other organization. For example, if you are the only organization providing a critical service in your geographic area, you likely have strong differentiation. If not, you must have a unique program design, such as a trademarked training curriculum, or superior organizational capacity, such as a special ability to connect with and serve your target population, that gives you an edge over others providing similar services.

When your organization is truly differentiated, donors will recognize the weighted value of their financial support. They will understand that the consequences of reducing their contribution level would go beyond hurting your organization’s overhead to hurting the population or cause you are working to serve and they want to support.

Hone your efficiency

Second, an investment-worthy organization must demonstrate superior execution, a critical component of which is efficiency. Make sure your donors know that not a penny of their gift is going to be wasted. Everyone is tightening their belts in this economy, and it is important that nonprofits demonstrate a similar sensibility and commitment to maximizing return on investment. This is not easily achieved, however. Truly streamlined operations require more than sponsoring an initiative to look at cutting extraneous costs; your organizational culture should value and reward efficiency every step of the way.

A third characteristic of investment-worthiness is your organization’s ability to produce measurable results. A catchy buzzword from ten years ago, having “measurable results” is now a minimum expectation of any savvy donor; it is and will become increasingly difficult to find a foundation or individual that will not ask you to provide solid, and often quantifiable, evidence that your programs are achieving their stated outcomes.

As in the case of efficiency, this requires a culture that is committed not just to measuring effectiveness, but to continuously improving it over time. To do this, you need a practical evaluation system that produces data you can actually use and learn from. In addition to committing financial resources to this effort, you must ensure your staff understands not only how to collect and use data, but how to give it a central role in organizational planning and learning.

Does your organization have charisma?

In addition to establishing credibility as an investment-worthy organization—by being differentiated, efficient and producing measurable results—a fourth characteristic separates the thriving from the merely surviving: Are you truly compelling?

If your organization’s differentiation, efficiency and measurable outcomes speak to donors’ heads, being a compelling organization will speak to their hearts by tapping into their sense of possibility and optimism. It is important to recognize that this compelling quality is very difficult to establish if you don’t already have it. It goes far beyond having an ambitious mission statement. It is the proverbial “x factor” that transforms a previously overlooked subsector like micro-lending into a personally meaningful and investment-worthy organization like kiva.org.

In essence, this characteristic is organizational charisma. It can manifest as the power of an inspirational vision matched with strong leadership, which focuses the energies of staff, supporters and stakeholders like a laser. When this occurs at an organization, it ignites a feeling of excitement for stakeholders, and that feeling is contagious. It is success breeding success, and the momentum created by all that forward progress is the foundation of sustainability in organizations.

As this year’s holiday giving season comes to a close and your organization is reflecting on its capacity to generate support, consider these four characteristics of an investment-worthy—and exciting—nonprofit. Ask yourself straightforward questions, such as “How do we ensure we are differentiated?” or “How can we excite the imaginations and energies of our stakeholders?” Your answers are the key to being a nonprofit organization that thrives during the adversity that lies ahead.

By Alex Hildebrand, MSM, an associate with La Piana Consulting who specializes in organizational assessment, strategic planning, process improvement, board development and whole systems change. Contact him at hildebrand@lapiana.org.