How do we get every leader saying the same thing?
A volunteer board needed to describe its organization the same way in every conversation. I wrote the key messages, talking points for three situations and answers to the hard questions.
- Key messages
- Talking points
- Leader enablement
- Q&A
Pro bono engagement. Hawaiʻi State Chapter of Children’s Justice Centers, through Catchafire, April 2026.
Find the confusion first
Three kinds of organization share one name. How they relate was the most common point of confusion for donors, and the first thing the message had to settle.
One shared name: Children’s Justice Centers
Serve children directly: interviews, care and advocacy.
Each one supports a single Center.
Trains the professionals who work the cases.
Give everyone the same sentence
One line a board member can say from memory, built so none of the three sounds like a competitor.
The Centers care for the children. The Friends support each individual Center. The Chapter trains the professionals who make all of it work.
The rule that goes with itNever position the three as competing. Each plays a distinct role.
When a donor already gives to another groupThank them first. Then explain the different job the Chapter does.
Write for the room they’re in
The same facts at three lengths, for three situations. Board members are told to make the words their own and keep the facts.
- Length
- 20 to 30 seconds.
- Use it when
- A casual encounter or a brief introduction.
- How it works
- Opens with the children the Centers serve, then names what the Chapter does for the people handling their cases.
- The ask
- None. Its only job is to earn a longer conversation.
- Length
- About 60 seconds.
- Use it when
- Community events, galas and introductions at meetings.
- How it works
- Moves from the children to the professionals behind their care, then to why training has to be taught and paid for.
- The ask
- An invitation to hear more, not a hard close.
- Length
- A one-on-one conversation.
- Use it when
- The donor can make a major gift and already cares about child welfare.
- How it works
- Leads with leverage: training is the lever that moves the whole system. Explains the reimbursement grant in one comparison.
- The ask
- Names the campaign goal and asks for a conversation about it.
Cover what happens after the pitch
The request was an elevator pitch. The playbook also covers the conversation that follows it, and the follow-up after that.
- AddedCore message
Mission, the one-liner, the three-way explainer and the facts to know cold.
- What was askedThree pitch scripts
Quick, standard and major donor.
- AddedDonor conversation guide
Questions to ask back, how to make the ask and answers to four hard questions.
- AddedFive templates
Board introduction, donor follow-up, warm introduction, thank-you letter and annual appeal.
- AddedProof points
Testimonials from trained professionals and a survivor, with guidance on when to use each.
- AddedFive marketing recommendations
Ranked by priority and sized for a part-time staff.
“He captured our organization’s mission and how we can distinguish ourselves from our collaborative partners in a way that is succinct and impactful.”Terri L., Chapter Coordinator, in her Catchafire review
The challenge
A half-time coordinator, a quarter-time assistant and a volunteer board run a statewide training program on a federal grant paid by reimbursement. The pitch was to be the foundation of a campaign to raise working capital.
What I did
Sent 15 written discovery questions before the first call. Then I built the playbook from the coordinator’s answers and the Chapter’s own materials.
Where it applies
The same parts go into the leader toolkits I write at work: key messages, talking points sized to the setting and answers to the hard questions.