The first meeting with a potential corporate partner for one of the education initiative I led was a revelation—but not in the way I'd hoped. Despite my thorough presentation on learning outcomes, impact measurement approaches, and reporting mechanisms, their blank stares told me they had understood only half of what I was saying. As a funder accustomed to development jargon, I had to quickly learn their conceptual frameworks and terminology before any meaningful collaboration could begin. Language matters in philanthropic funding and social impact work. A lot. And not just the languages you immediately think of, like the ones that I speak for instance (German, English, Spanish, French, Arabic and Greek).
I rather mean the sector and sub-sector specific slangs, if you will.
Given that I've worked across various types of sub-sectors or domains within international cooperation and the social impact world, I've consistently experienced this subtle language switch whenever I changed from one job to the next one, or when trying to bring those worlds together in multi-stakeholder partnerships.
And those slangs carry prestige, prejudices, ideological worldviews and human capital. As sociologist Pierre Bourdieu's has explained with his concept of linguistic capital, mastering the specialized language of your social impact sector isn't merely about communication—it's about establishing credibility and belonging. Each sub-sector or domain operates as its own "linguistic market" where specific ways of speaking carry social currency.
Through my different job stations, I've learned key terminology and slangs that are relevant for each sub-sector:
Government-driven bilateral and multilateral development cooperation: In my work at the Swiss Foreign Affairs Ministry, Irish Aid, UN HQ and UNHCR Syria and my second Master in International Cooperation (ETH Zürich), I learned about the power of formalistic writing, diplomatic language, (over)correct mentioning of hierarchical leadership as well as key terminology when it comes to sensitive policy negotiations and comprehensive results frameworks and M&E.
Non-governmental organisations: At NGOs like Helvetas and civil society organisations in Uganda I learned about the power of advocacy language, pushing governments for increased accountability and at the same time using submissive language to align to donors' needs.
Philanthropic foundations: In my work experience at the foundation I worked for, and in close collaboration with other philanthropic funders, I learned about the importance of the type of funding priority (e.g. evidence-based programming, trust-based funding, participatory funding, systems change) and the slang that comes with it, as well as on the more secretive approaches that every foundation has.
Impact investing: Impact Investing has become increasingly important for a variety of philanthropic funders, and so I was partly entering this field of funding and investing at my philanthropic foundation assignment. I learned about how to align and coordinate impact with financial and business frameworks, as well as how impact language which on paper looked very similar to the one used in the NGO and governmental development cooperation world, was completely different in the sense that it was (at that time) much more superficial and higher level not using much of the Theory of Change, and outcomes frameworks already existing for decades in the other world.
Corporate and private sector: In my multistakeholder partnership work, I experienced first hand what it means to communicate with sustainability staff at major corporates and how to build trust with them as an outsider. This is where I understood about the importance of talking about business cases, looking at supply chains, internal politics and lack of (fruitful) government relationships.
Research: Through the various collaborations with researchers and universities, I also started to understand valued terminology for researchers and their incentives of using certain type of language. Bringing in nuance, as well as correct and structured writing have been key aspects I learned.
Refugee & migration, education and AI/Tech for Good sectors: I've worked intensively in the global refugee and migration, as well as education space. And now more recently, in the AI for Good space. Where key concepts, terminology and frameworks for each of those sectors apply.
When I look at this overview and long list of sub-sectors it gives me a sense of pride and it looks very nice on paper. But to be honest, it was sometimes hard to navigate. As it is almost always the case when learning a new language in a foreign country. Because you feel often times stupid, not valued and misunderstood as you use reference terminology from another sub-sector.
I vividly recall my first exposure to impact investing presentations where partner impact investors proudly showcased their 'impact' through simplistic metrics like 'number of customers reached' or vague references to 'environmental benefits.' Coming from the rigorous impact measurement world of development cooperation, I found myself questioning whether this was enough to count as impact — and voiced these concerns. The enthusiasm in the room immediately cooled, and my critique was dismissed as being too academic and impractical. It was a stark reminder that my definition of 'impact'—shaped by years in traditional development work—carried different value in this emerging field from the financial sector that had developed its own linguistic norms.
What has helped making those language learning transitions easier?
- Reading a lot. Reports, interviews, and whatever is available about the sub-sector.
- Listening to people. At conferences, meetings, at lunch.
- Doing the boring note-taking and back office stuff. I was in a lot of junior positions. Which was not my dream career or position, but just the way it worked for me. However, this forced me to observe, take note and imitate a lot of the language and jargon used.
- Strong line managers. Having coaches and mentors along the way that introduce you to the world and provide you with feedback also on your language, can be highly valuable.
- Courses. At one point, I had the sense I needed to get a more formal training to better understand the financial, business and corporate language. That's where I decided to to an EMBA. I don't think, however, that formal training should be the first and only way to learn the language of a given sub-sector.
Now, most of you know that I also reflect and engage a lot about AI's role in the philanthropic and funder world. AI tools are already transforming how we navigate these linguistic barriers—from translation tools that can help newcomers decode sector-specific documents to AI writing assistants that can adapt content to match the expected tone of different audiences. Will this democratize access to different social impact spaces by lowering linguistic barriers? Or will it create new forms of inauthenticity when people use AI to sound like insiders without truly understanding the cultural contexts? And what becomes of the traditional learning path of internships when AI can generate perfect funder-friendly language without the years of note-taking and observation that shaped my own professional development?
Curious to hear your thoughts on this.
What is true for me is that I now feel comfortable navigating all these worlds, and I've come to recognize this linguistic flexibility as perhaps the most undervalued skill in the social impact space. In an era where funding paradigms are dramatically changing and cross-sectoral collaboration is no longer optional but essential, those who can translate between worlds—who can speak NGO to a foundation, business to a nonprofit, and policy to a corporate partner—will become the vital bridges our sector desperately needs. Building this capacity isn't just about individual career advancement; it's about enabling the meaningful collaborations that complex social problems demand.
The question is: how will you start building your own multilingual social impact vocabulary today?