You never signed up to be a marketer.
You stepped into leadership in Am Yisrael to make an impact. To build Torah. To help people.
But let's be honest—every time you sit down with a donor, you are marketing. You’re communicating why your mission is worth their hard-earned money more than a thousand other good causes.
So… what’s the most effective way to do that?
Many mosdos start with the facts. Program numbers. Budget requirements. Outcomes. What makes them unique. And all of that has value.
But the most effective marketers—begin somewhere else.
Apple’s Steve Jobs was legendary in branding. In a rediscovered 1997 presentation, he shared the thinking behind the campaign that would save Apple from collapse and catapult it into its global dominance.
“It’s a very noisy world,” he said. “And we’re not going to get a chance to get people to remember much about us… So we have to be very clear on what we want them to know about us.”
And that was 1997.
Today, our donors are hit with constant messages — every scroll, every WhatsApp status, every flyer, every campaign. Good causes, urgent causes, all competing for the same few seconds of attention.
Which means if your identity isn’t crystal clear, it doesn’t just blend in…
It disappears.
Then he asked a powerful question: “Who is Apple? What do we stand for?”
Apple wasn’t simply “making boxes for people to get their jobs done.” That was merely the function. Their core identity—what they wanted people to believe and feel—was something far deeper:
Apple existed to “honor the people who think different and move this world forward.” Because “we believe that the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who actually do.”
And the campaign distilled that identity into just two words.
“Think different.”
It was wildly successful. And all these years later, people still buy Apple products not just for their technical merit—but because of what using them says about them.
When you use a Mac, you’re a little more innovative, a little more cutting-edge than your friends on PCs.
Now, what about your mosad?
What’s its core identity? What core value does it stand for?
If consumer brands can attach profound values to pieces of plastic, metal, or rubber—your avodas hakodesh certainly has a core identity worth articulating.
And when you articulate it well—when you clarify who you are as an organization and express it in a way that resonates—you connect with donors on a deeper emotional and spiritual level.
Which naturally elevates your fundraising.
A closer example: Hatzalah of New York
If I asked you, what is Hatzalah, you’d probably say: an organization that provides volunteer emergency medical support.
True—but that’s just the function.
Hatzalah doesn’t define itself that way. The first words on their website are:
“Life is sacred. It’s Hatzalah’s honor, duty and mission to preserve it.”
When they ask for donations, they build on that same identity:
“Life is priceless. Help Hatzalah preserve it.”
On their “About” page, under “Hatzalah’s calling: Hatzalas Nefashos,” they detail the enormous effort and cost involved… and then qualify:
“But in a community that values life above all else, there is simply no price too high or effort too great.”
Everything—every number, statistic, and appeal—flows from that core value.
So when donors give to Hatzalah, they’re not just funding ambulances.
They’re joining the identity of people who preserve life at all costs.
So take a moment
- What is your organization’s core value?
- What identity do people embrace when they support your cause?
- And going forward, what must you adjust so this core identity sits at the center of how you communicate?
Clarify that—and you’ll transform not just your messaging, but the way donors see themselves in relationship with your mission.
Have a fabulous fundraising week,
Avraham
Copyright 2025 © Avraham Lewis & Co.