The Power of Big Idea: Why Narrative IP Matters

When done right, your narrative IP is rooted in your unique belief about what the world could be, made real through your work, and repeated consistently in every communications moment.

For most of my professional life, I’ve admired Acumen, a nonprofit venture capital fund founded in 2001 by Jacqueline Novogratz. It started as a personal fascination with the organization’s mission to tackle global poverty by channeling philanthropic dollars into market-based solutions. But now, after a decade of working on nonprofit brand strategy, I finally understand what made (and continues to make) Acumen so magnetic—and what so many nonprofits struggle to replicate. It's something I call “narrative IP”: the missing factor that helps impactful organizations move from scattered messaging to captivating, mission-driven storytelling.

In 2010, I was a dewy-eyed 22-year-old who had moved to New York City straight out of college. I had  grown disillusioned with my corporate job after less than a year and was eagerly searching for a meaningful role. Acumen, one of the early and more visible nonprofits pioneering a different kind of philanthropy, was enjoying darling status in the media (between the years of 2006 and 2012, it was profiled or mentioned in the NYTimes at least 5 times).

I listened to Jacqueline Novogratz’s TED talk on "patient capital." I devoured her memoir, The Blue Sweater, published just a year earlier. I read the now-retired Acumen Manifesto more times than I can count and still reference it as a best-in-class example of brand language. I scoured their website almost every week for job openings (even though I had no relevant skills). After months of searching, I found +Acumen, an official community of young professionals who were passionate about and supported the organization through fundraising and networking.

What made Acumen so appealing wasn’t just their good work and their radical take on making an impact where it mattered the most. It was that everything—from the memoir to the TED talk to the +Acumen experience—was in service of a singular, strategic idea: patient capital. It was their narrative IP. Their dedication to spreading the idea of "patient capital" has allowed them to consistently punch above their weight in cultural cachet and visibility.

What is narrative IP?

Narrative IP is the big, simple idea that positions your organization with clarity in the minds of your audience. It’s what gives your organization gravity—the kind of pull that draws donors, partners, and allies into your orbit.

This big idea is supported by a 3-part worldview:

• why the status quo is broken

• what an alternative could look like

• how you propose we make the alternative a reality

Let’s break down Acumen’s narrative IP:

Why the status quo is broken
Charity takes away agency. Markets only go where the money
already exists. Both fail to meet the needs of the poor because
they prioritize short-term results and neglect the dignity of the
people on the receiving end.

What an alternative could look like
Fund businesses serving poor markets with long-term capital,
so that people living in poverty can access critical services and
products.

How Acumen proposes to make the alternative a reality
Raise philanthropic funds and deploy them as patient capital.
Pair this with deep listening, strategic support, and a
commitment to long-term systems change.

Big idea
Patient capital: investing in businesses for the poor with the
patience and humility to prioritize impact over immediate returns.

“Patient capital” is Acumen’s answer to what is broken, what is possible, and how they’re building a new reality. 

Finding your narrative IP is not a wordsmithing exercise to find a catchy slogan (although finding a compact and resonant phrase can definitely help). It’s about understanding what you do well, where there is whitespace in the big ideas defining your space, and whether there are any glaring gaps in your capabilities that may erode your credibility to carry this message into the world. 

Once you understand the concept, you realize that narrative IP is all around us. Think Simon Sinek’s Start With Why, Dove’s Real Beauty campaign, and Sheryl Sandberg's Lean In. Narrative IP is what made these ideas magnetic and enabled them to move further and faster to define big conversations of our time.

The cost of not having narrative IP

Despite doing work that matters deeply, effective narrative IP is surprisingly rare in the nonprofit world. Without the rigor and consistency that narrative IP brings, nonprofits are instead drowning in jargon, addicted to communicating the uncompromising nuances of our work, and stuck in a cycle of endless content creation with no clear strategic direction.

We’re left with incredible organizations, mandated with important missions but suffering from a lack of compelling messaging, that have no emotional anchor, floating in a sea of fragmented, forgettable stories.

No clarity. No meaning. No visibility.

How close are you to narrative IP?

Some of you are closer to narrative IP than you think. Maybe you’ve coined your big idea, but haven’t fully embedded it across your communications. Maybe you have a few competing ideas, and need to choose one to go all in on. Maybe you’ve been circling around one, but need some help to whittle it down into a pithy kernel of an idea.

Ask yourself:

• What do you believe is broken about the world and why should people care?

• How do you see your issue differently from others?

• What belief drives your approach to change?

• What’s uniquely valuable about your contribution?

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If you’re struggling to name your big idea—or feel your message isn’t landing like it should—let’s talk. I help mission-driven organizations uncover and articulate their narrative IP. Reach out to me here.