UNICEF USA’s President and CEO on finding meaning, the long tradition of American philanthropy and America’s leadership and legacy in humanitarian aid.
I almost never buy a book from a display rack at the airport. They seem to be either self-help books (my current favorite title: “Make Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life … And Maybe the World”) or similarly styled business books (“The 1-Page Marketing Plan”). Nothing against them, really; just not my thing.
But when I recently saw Donald Miller’s latest book, “Building a StoryBrand 2.0: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen,” I had to read it.
I’ve followed Miller since his first coming-of-age travel memoir, “Prayer and the Art of Volkswagen Maintenance,”published in 2000. (I had driven my own VW Bus that often needed prayer, maintenance and, at one point, a simple rubber band to get the engine running again.) As he came to understand the power of stories, Miller developed a self-help approach he called Storyline as a way to help people proactively rewrite the stories of their lives. That idea later turned into a marketing concept and company Miller founded also focused on the power of story that he called StoryBrand.
His new book drives home the point that customers — their wants and aspirations — must be at the center of whatever marketing story a company tells. The story can’t be about the company or even its products or services. It must be about a desire a customer has and the company’s role in guiding them toward fulfilling that desire.
Reading StoryBrand 2.0 had me wondering: As the leader of a mission-driven organization, who is my customer? And what do they want?
For 25 years, I have run nonprofit organizations with missions focused on supporting some of the world’s most vulnerable people. In a real sense, our customer was the mother taking her child to the clinic for malaria treatment in a place like Malawi. That’s who we were working for. So was the girl leaving a village to attend secondary school, and the family accessing clean water for the first time.
But nonprofit organizations have other “customers,” too – donors and advocates who support their work and advance their missions. Like the woman at her kitchen table writing a check to support community health workers, or the philanthropist transferring stock to fund a digital education program, or the company choosing to invest in clean water technology.
In my current role, I lead UNICEF USA. We are a private, U.S.-based not-for-profit that exists to rally the American people to support the lifesaving work of UNICEF, an agency of the United Nations and the world’s largest organization delivering programs to benefit vulnerable children. In that sense, my organization is similar to a university or hospital foundation that supports its affiliated institution.
I guess I might say one example of UNICEF’s customers is children in refugee camps. My customers, then, are the American people who support this work themselves and through their institutions, both private and public.
So, what do my customers want? What desires are they trying to fulfill?
In my experience working with American donors and U.S. organizations and institutions that support our cause, I think there are three key desires: to satisfy a responsibility, find meaning and receive a benefit.
I don’t mean “satisfy a responsibility” as a negative, as if it is a burden. I mean it more as responding to a calling or sense of duty. That might come from a faith tradition, a commitment to public service or a moral belief that those with resources should share with others. The long tradition of American philanthropy, America’s leadership and legacy in humanitarian aid, our collective identity as a nation of helpers is anchored in this sense of responsibility.
Finding meaning is one of the customer desires Miller outlines in his book. He describes it as inviting customers to participate in something greater than themselves, to join a movement, to champion a cause. I have seen this over and over again in my work with donors and supporters who have gotten more deeply involved in our work.
The third desire — to receive a benefit — is also not meant negatively. That benefit might be a tax deduction for a donation. It might be special access to events or institutions, such as member benefits from a museum. It might also be a broader belief that the investments we make supporting others around the world should, in turn, make our own country safer, stronger and more prosperous.
That’s a phrase we are hearing more today to justify our country’s investments in aid to people in developing nations. I believe such investments meet that test because poor nations with broken economies lead to migration flows that can impact our country, fragile governments can breed conflict and violence that spill over borders and weak health systems won’t stop disease outbreaks that spread globally. Humanitarian aid and development organizations work to combat all of that, while also helping to build up lower-income countries that will be future political allies and economic markets for trade.
Here at UNICEF USA, our mission is to show the American people that, on the one hand, investing in the work of UNICEF supports every child to become healthy, educated, protected and respected, while, on the other hand, such investments fulfill an individual and collective sense of responsibility, provide meaning and provide benefits for themselves and our country.
Together, we are Americans standing up for every child.
Right now, the lives of the most vulnerable children hang in the balance as conflicts and crises jeopardize the care and protection that they deserve. Dependable, uninterrupted and effective foreign aid is critical to the well-being of millions of children. Please write your members of Congress and urge them to support ongoing U.S. investments in foreign assistance.