Newsletter: Let's Be Clear: You Don’t Need a Big Research Budget 📊 ; Nonprofits That Forge Partnerships Survive Crises Better 🛟 ; Success Has Side Effects 🙌

Last week, I went live with Larry Weil—The Sponsorship Guy—to talk about ​The New Demographics of Sponsorship​. We kept coming back to one idea:

Sponsors aren’t looking for demographics. They’re looking for customers.

Larry and I worried that many of you would throw up your hands in frustration and say, "Great, now I need some expensive research project!"

Let me stop you right there.

Larry and I want to be clear on where you should start.

Scenario #1: You Have Demographic Data

Start combining signals from the basic information you do have:

• Age

• Gender

• ZIP codes

• Donor history

• Attendance

• Email engagement

For example, I shared an arts organization with:

• The majority of women ages 35–55

• Strong attendance from suburban ZIP codes

• Top email clicks around family events and kids' programming

The insight wasn’t:

“Our audience is women ages 35–55.”

It became:

“Our audience includes family decision-makers actively investing in educational and enrichment experiences for their children.”

Demographics + geography + behavior.

That’s where the magic happens.

Scenario #2: You Don’t Have (Much) Audience Data

Get started surveying your audience. ​Here's a resource to get started asking questions​.

And if you’re overwhelmed? AI might be your easiest starting point. Last month, ​I wrote about starting with an AI focus group​.

No, it’s not a replacement for real audience research, but it can help you generate ideas, identify assumptions, and ask smarter questions before investing in larger efforts.

Start small. Don’t wait for perfect data.

This week’s challenge: pull up what you already know about your audience and combine three signals.

Or if you have nothing?

Write three questions you wish you knew the answer to.

Either way, start. Replace worry with work!

✍️ Partnership Notes

One partnership insight that matters.

🛟 ​Nonprofits that forge partnerships survive crises better, study finds​. (I can send you this article)
A recent Chronicle of Philanthropy report found that nonprofits with stronger partnership networks tend to weather crises more effectively. That makes sense when you think about it: partnerships aren’t just sources of funding or visibility—they’re sources of flexibility, support, and options. The takeaway for nonprofit leaders: partnerships may be one of the best forms of insurance you can build. Organizations that invest in relationships before they need them often recover faster when challenges arrive. So, if you don't have any partnerships yet, what are you waiting for?

🤑 Marketing Your Cause

One move you should steal.

🎤 ​Don't confuse audience size with impact​.
This article makes the case for saying yes to interviews with smaller and niche audiences. Why? Because influence doesn’t always happen directly. A small audience can create social proof, put you in front of future advocates, and lead to second- and third-order effects you never see coming. The takeaway for when a smaller entity contacts you: stop asking only, “How many people will this reach?” Start asking, “Who might this reach?” Sometimes the biggest opportunities start with the smallest rooms. The riches are in the niches! 🙌

😎 Cool Jobs in Cause

Find your next adventure.

🤝 Corporate Partnerships Operations & Design Specialist, ​Greater Good Charities​, Remote

🧠🍌 Brain Food

One thing that is feeding my thinking.

⚖️ ​Success has side effects​.
This post makes a deceptively simple point: sometimes we get exactly what we ask for—and then discover it created new problems. Organizations often optimize for what’s easy to measure: more donors, more views, more leads, more partners. But every metric pulls behavior in a direction. Think about partnerships: if you optimize only for landing as many partners as possible, you may end up with lots of one-off deals but very few long-term relationships, case studies, or repeat business. The takeaway for nonprofit leaders: be thoughtful about what success actually looks like before chasing it. Growth is great—unless you accidentally optimize for the wrong thing.