Strategic Growth for Nonprofits through Inclusivity

Pricing Pointers, Issue #44 🍎

Scaling your mission doesn’t require compromising your values. By trading fixed fees for strategic inclusivity, you unlock revenue while expanding reach. This collection of my past LinkedIn posts (similar to Substack notes) provides practical advice for implementing fee systems that ensure financial sustainability without creating barriers to access.

1️⃣ What if you could increase fee revenue without compromising your commitment to inclusion?

Every manager struggles with the proper place of user fees in their organization. They bring in vital funding, but they often exclude the very people your mission directs you to serve. Most organizations treat this as a zero-sum game: more revenue means less reach, and vice versa. It doesn’t have to be this way. The solution lies in how you tailor your fee, not the fee itself.

2️⃣ Is your fee strategy accidentally limiting your organization’s impact?

Maybe you’re asking the wrong question. “What fee should we charge?” is the question that keeps mission-driven leaders up at night. You want to be fair and accessible, but you also need to be sustainable.

The solution isn’t to find a single perfect number. The more powerful question is: “What 𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 of fees should we charge?” This shift in perspective is the key to serving a diverse user base, expanding your reach, and securing your organization’s financial future all at once.

3️⃣ Is your program’s fee limiting its reach and diversity?

Make your programs more inclusive with this fee strategy.

Tiered fee structures allow organizations to increase their funding and serve a more economically diverse audience by offering a range of fee options.

This strategy provides three key benefits:

[1] Increased program reach. Lower-priced options make programs more accessible to individuals with tighter budgets, increasing inclusivity.

[2] Increased fee revenue. Organizations can generate more fee revenue by offering higher-priced tiers with additional benefits and enhanced experiences.

[3] Perceived fairness and transparency. Users can select the option that best fits their needs and budget, promoting fairness and transparency.

4️⃣ Three ways to keep your nonprofit’s services accessible while ensuring sustainable revenue

[1] Pay-What-You-Can. Offer flexibility through pay-what-you-can pricing with a suggested fee. The suggested fee provides an anchor point that typically increases overall revenue.

[2] Sliding Scale Fee. Design your fee structure based on documented ability to pay. This ensures services remain accessible while capturing more revenue from those with greater means.

[3] Tiered Fee Menu. Create a list of options at different fee levels that any user can choose. This allows users to self-select based on their specific needs and financial capacity.

5️⃣ If you’re ready to introduce tiered fees, don’t stop at two options

Two tiers is a good start, but three is ideal for balancing user experience and maximizing fee revenue. The reason is simple human psychology: when faced with a decision, most users will choose the safe, middle-tier option.

This middle choice generates crucial revenue and simplifies the decision process. Use the lowest tier to attract new or budget-conscious users and the highest tier to help fund the costs of serving everyone.

The Bottom Line

Shift your mindset from a fixed fee to a strategic range of fees. Start by auditing your current fees. Apply these tiered strategies to build an inclusive system that scales your mission without creating barriers to access. Secure your organization’s future while removing the financial barriers to your mission.

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