Lead with Strength, Not Scarcity:
Why the Need Statement Might Be Holding You Back
Notes from Shannon, SMC Scribes
If you’ve spent any time in fundraising, development, or nonprofit communications, you’ve heard it again and again:
Start with the Need Statement.
It’s the first lesson most grant writers are taught. Begin with the problem. Set the stakes. Make the case by describing what’s missing, what’s broken, what’s urgent.
So we lead with statistics on poverty, trauma, food insecurity, displacement—believing that if we amplify the crisis, funders will respond with the same intensity.
We understand that instinct. We’ve followed that playbook too.
But here’s the truth: that playbook is outdated. In 2025, the “Need Statement” is no longer the most effective way to open a grant proposal—especially if your work is rooted in equity, community voice, and long-term systems change.
What we’ve learned—alongside our clients and partners building bold, community-led solutions—is this: when we lead with need alone, we disappear what actually makes our work powerful.
What gets lost is the heart of the story—your community’s strength, your team’s strategy, your program’s impact.And when that’s missing, so is the reason to invest.
When We Lead with Scarcity, We Shrink the Story
Every time we frame our work only around what communities lack, we unintentionally reinforce a deficit-based narrative—one that doesn’t reflect the full truth of who we are or what we do.
- We make our people small.
- We make our organizations reactive.
- We flatten resistance, brilliance, and collective strength into a single line about hardship.
- And that doesn’t just cost us money—it costs us power.
Because today’s funders, especially those centering racial equity and community-based leadership, are no longer satisfied with charity models. They’re not looking to fix people. They’re looking to fund what works.
If we don’t name our strengths, our leadership, and our results, we disappear ourselves from the story.
What to Do Instead: Tell the Whole Truth
At SMC, we’ve worked with organizations across the country that feed, heal, house, and organize—often with limited resources and limitless creativity. We’ve helped rewrite narratives that once leaned on urgency and instead leaned into clarity, effectiveness, and voice.
- Because the best proposals don’t hide the struggle. They tell the whole truth: the need and the response. The challenge and the strategy. The pain and the possibility.
- Here’s how to make that shift: Lead with your unique value.
What do you do better than anyone else? What does your community count on you for? What’s the track record that proves it?
Are your programs shaped by those most impacted? Is your staff reflective of the communities you serve? Funders want to know—and they care.
- Make the need the context, not the headline.
Yes, the need is real. But your story doesn’t start or end there. Start with what’s working. Lead with the solution. Here’s the Shift.
Before:
“In our service area, 40% of youth live below the poverty line and face daily exposure to violence, housing instability, and food insecurity.”
After:
“Rooted in deep relationships with Black and Latinx youth, our programs support young leaders to build safety, power, and opportunity in their own communities. Last year, 87% of participants re-engaged in school, employment, or civic life—with support grounded in cultural relevance and lived experience.”
Both are true. Only one builds confidence, clarity, and trust.
- You Don’t Have to Perform Pain to Earn Support
We’re not saying abandon the truth of hardship. We’re saying: don’t let it be the whole story.
- Because your work is not a band-aid—it’s a blueprint.
Your team is not just compassionate—they’re strategic, culturally rooted, and community-embedded. And your participants aren’t just surviving—they’re organizing, leading, and shaping the solutions they need.
The old rules told us to lead with need. But the new reality demands we lead with value.
So the next time you sit down to write, ask yourself:
- Am I telling the full truth?
- Am I starting with what’s broken—or with what’s possible?
- Because the most powerful stories don’t begin with the storm.
- They begin with the people who are rebuilding the roof.
- And if you’re reading this, you’re one of them.
Expand Capacity Without Overstretching Staff
This season is asking too much from too many nonprofit teams. If your people are maxed out, let us help carry some of the weight. At SMC, we’re offering discounted hourly packages to help ease the load, with expert support in fundraising, data visualization, grant writing, annual report design, and strategic planning. Regular rate is $100/hour—but for a limited time, we’re offering 25% off:
- Available packages:
- 10 hours – $750
- 20 hours – $1,500
- 6-month retainer (5 hrs/week) – $1,500/month
- You don’t have to stretch your team to the breaking point. Let’s build a smarter, more sustainable way forward—together. Want more information email Shannon@smcscribes.com
About Us
At SMC, we partner with organizations on the frontlines of change. We’re not consultants who write reports and disappear—we’re embedded thought partners who bring strategy, storytelling, and infrastructure support when it matters most.