When many nonprofit leaders hear the phrase competitive assessment, they pause. Isn’t competition a for-profit concept? Should nonprofits even think this way?
At Prosper Strategies, we understand that discomfort. That’s why we prefer to talk about “comparator assessments” instead of “competitive assessments.” While nonprofits don’t exist to out-sell or defeat one another, you do operate in an environment where other organizations offer similar programs, serve overlapping audiences and compete (yes, compete) for funding and attention. Understanding this environment is essential to creating an effective strategic plan.
In this post, we’ll explore:
- Why the nonprofit sector should talk about “comparators,” not “competitors”
- What a comparator assessment is
- How to conduct one
- Why it’s an important part of strategic planning
Why “Comparators” Instead of “Competitors”?
Nonprofits often shy away from thinking of peer organizations as competitors because their missions are collaborative, service-oriented and community-focused. After all, it takes more than one organization to solve our world’s greatest challenges. But there’s a lot we can learn from one another, and ignoring the reality that donors, funders, volunteers, clients and partners choose where to give, invest, or seek services won’t help your organization thrive.
Instead of framing this as a zero-sum rivalry, think about comparators: other organizations whose work overlaps with yours in ways that matter for strategic decision-making.
Comparators may:
- Serve the same population or geographic region
- Address the same issue in a different way
- Compete for the same funding sources
- Be potential partners, collaborators or acquisition targets
By studying comparators, you gain insights into the environment you share, uncover gaps and opportunities and can better articulate your reason for being, or your nonprofit’s unique impact.
What Is a Comparator Assessment?
A comparator assessment is a structured process for researching and analyzing other organizations that do work similar to yours.
Your goal is to understand how these organizations approach the same challenges you do so you can make better decisions about your own strategy.
A good comparator assessment helps you answer questions like:
Do they have a publicly available strategic plan?
If so, it can reveal their priorities, goals and intended direction—valuable context for your own planning.
How do they position themselves?
What’s their mission and vision? How do they frame the problem they’re trying to solve and what language do they use to describe their work?
What programs or services do they offer?
Are they offering similar services to yours, or are there key differences? Do they have unique models or approaches that work well?
How many people do they serve—and across what geographic area?
Understanding their scale and reach helps you see whether you’re serving similar audiences or if there are opportunities to fill gaps.
How many staff members do they have?
Their staffing levels can give you a sense of their capacity, growth stage and ability to deliver on their mission.
How are they funded?
Review their revenue sources (grants, donations, government contracts, earned income, etc.) to see how sustainable their model is—and whether you’re competing for the same funding pools.
How do they communicate their impact?
Do they share an annual report or impact report? What metrics or stories do they highlight? How compelling is their case for support? Do they use strength-based communication?
How to Conduct a Comparator Assessment
Here’s a simple step-by-step process you can adapt for your organization.
Identify Your Comparators
Start with 5–10 organizations to study in depth. Look for those that:
- Serve similar audiences or regions
- Address similar problems
- Are of a comparable size or scope
- Compete for similar funding or partnership opportunities
Don’t limit yourself to local peers, regional or national organizations can also yield valuable insights.
When choosing your comparators, consider including aspirational organizations—those that are larger, more established or especially effective in ways you want to learn from. Even if they’re not direct peers right now, they can inspire ideas about what’s possible for your own growth.
Also look for organizations with similar nonprofit business models, for example, nonprofits that:
- Rely on the same types of funding streams (grants, government contracts, earned income)
- Operate under the same type of structure (network, federated, affiliated, multi-program);
- Deliver services in a similar way.
Understanding how these models work (or don’t) in other contexts can help you refine your own strategy. By selecting a thoughtful mix of local peers, aspirational organizations and model-aligned organizations, you’ll get a well-rounded view of the landscape and richer insights to guide your planning.
Gather Publicly Available Data
Then, review available information, including each organization’s:
- Websites
- Annual reports
- 990 forms
- Social media
- Grant databases
ChatGPT has also become a tremendous asset for these types of assessments.
Organize Your Findings and Analyze for Insights
Create a comparative matrix or profiles for each organization. This makes spotting similarities, differences and trends easier.
Incorporate Insights Into Your Strategic Planning
Your comparator assessment shouldn’t be treated as a stand-alone research project you do once and file away. It’s an essential input into the real work of strategic planning—making decisions about your direction and priorities.
Here’s how to put those insights to work:
Refine your mission, vision, and values
As you learn about how other organizations define their missions, you may see opportunities to clarify or sharpen your own. Are you articulating your purpose in a way that truly resonates with your stakeholders? Does your vision feel distinctive and compelling, or does it sound like everyone else’s? The assessment can highlight ways to stand out while staying true to your core values.
Define your reason for being
Your reason for being is what sets you apart in the landscape. By comparing your programs, messaging and outcomes with those of your comparators, you can pinpoint what you do differently or better—and make that the center of your strategy and communications.
Identify service gaps you can fill
A good comparator assessment will often reveal unmet needs in your community or population. Are there areas no one is covering well? Groups that are underserved? By spotting these gaps, you can prioritize them in your strategy, ensuring your resources are focused where they’ll make the most difference.
Avoid unnecessary duplication
Nonprofits often unintentionally overlap in their services, which can confuse clients and donors, stretch resources thin and reduce overall impact. Your assessment can help you see where duplication exists so you can make informed choices: Should you shift focus? Partner with another organization? Combine efforts? Strategic planning is the place to make these calls.
Identify collaborators and partners
A comparator assessment isn’t only about competition—it’s also about collaboration. By seeing who else is working in your space, you can spot opportunities to build partnerships that extend your reach, improve your effectiveness or share resources. Strategic planning is the perfect time to think intentionally about who you want to align with to advance your mission.
Identify potential acquisition or merger targets
For organizations considering growth through acquisition or merger, a comparator assessment is a critical first step. It can help you evaluate which organizations might be a good strategic fit, share complementary services or strengthen your impact if combined. Even if you’re not planning this immediately, understanding potential opportunities can help you plan for the long term.
Build stronger cases for funding
Funders want to know why your work is necessary—and why you are the best organization to do it. A comparator assessment arms you with data to make that case clearly. You can demonstrate that you understand the landscape, that you’re not duplicating services and that you’re filling a unique and critical role. This makes your grant proposals, donor pitches and partnership conversations far more persuasive.
Why Include a Comparator Assessment in Strategic Planning?
Here’s the short answer: You can’t chart your path without understanding the landscape. At Prosper Strategies, we believe that nonprofits do their best work when they’re informed about the ecosystem they operate in—not to “win” against other organizations, but to maximize collective impact. That’s why we help our clients replace the language of competition with comparators and make these assessments a standard part of strategic planning.
