As a Fractional CMO, I work with many different nonprofit organizations, each with their own budget constraints, priorities, and goals.
I can’t count the number of times I’ve heard nonprofit leaders share some form of “We don’t have enough money to hire strategic marketing expertise,” when discussing their nonprofit marketing budget.
And I get it. When budgets are tight, it can be tough to decide where to invest and where to cut back. Marketing is often one of the first budget items to go, if it ever existed at all.
However, working some marketing dollars into your overall budget is one of the best things you can do for the future of your organization.
And it may not be as financially out of reach as you might think.
Your Nonprofit Needs a Marketing Budget
I’ll start by simply saying it as it is – your nonprofit needs a marketing budget.
When you work in a mission driven field, the topic of marketing sometimes seems taboo. Maybe it makes you think of slimy sales tactics or maybe you feel pressure to keep as many dollars as possible in direct programming.
Whatever the reason, it’s important to know that a good marketing strategy can actually help you grow your mission more than anything else.
Think of it this way. A solid nonprofit marketing strategy is like an instruction manual and a road map all in one. It helps you understand and define your audience’s desires, interests, and frustrations and it gives you a sense of how your organization fits into their lives. It also gives you a roadmap of how to get where you want to go.
Investing a portion of your budget to high-quality marketing efforts can help you:
- Increase your fundraising revenue
- Clearly and concisely communicate your work
- Focus your efforts on your target audience
- Become visible to more stakeholders
- Position you as an expert in your field
- Gain more volunteers, stakeholders, and supporters
But how do you make all of that happen with limited resources?
How Nonprofits Should Budget for Marketing
The main pushback I hear about budgeting for marketing is that resources are limited. When we live in a feast or famine state, there is little to no wiggle room to spend money on marketing channels that may or may not get you results.
You won’t catch me recommending expensive trial and error methods of advertising and marketing. However, a scattered DIY approach doesn’t cut it either, no matter how well intended it may be.
The best investment to up your marketing success and get the most value out of your limited marketing budget is in your team.
There is no one-size-fits-all prescription for the best marketing tools and channels for nonprofit organizations because every organization is so unique. A small nonprofit with little online following may need to start with word of mouth campaigns, in person events, building their email list, or refreshing their social media. While a larger organization may be looking toward more robust SEO efforts, content marketing, Google Ad Grants, or pricier platforms and tools to manage campaigns.
The common denominator of need here is someone with expertise to analyze your organization’s current resources and efforts and then guide you through your highest ROI actions.
Working with experts is the most important investment in your marketing budget because the right people will do wonders for your efforts. Skimp here, and all of the marketing efforts in the world may not lead you anywhere.
Stretch your Nonprofit Marketing Budget by Investing in Expertise
Making sure you work with the right people to both create your nonprofit marketing strategy and implement it is what will set you apart and get you the most bang for your marketing bucks.
A solid marketing strategist and a skilled marketing team will not only illuminate who your audience is and how to reach them at each stage of their journey, but will help you choose a path that makes the most sense for your organization’s size, budget, and resources.
Building a team with strong marketing expertise can look many different ways.
First, take a look at your current team. Are there opportunities for education, growth, or honing of the skills that your current team already possesses? Perhaps your team members have skills that haven’t been utilized by the organization yet. Starting here – investing in growing the skills and expertise of your current team – is a great way to amplify your marketing efforts in an empowering and effective, mutually beneficial way.
Next, identify the gaps in your team’s skills and knowledge. Perhaps you have a great email writer, but really could benefit from working with someone who has design experience. Or maybe you have strong staff members working on social media and grant writing, but no copywriter to help make your language as compelling as it could be. Here is where you can consider whether or not you have the budget to hire on new full-time or part time staff to fill in the most essential gaps.
Taking your time here is key. It may be tempting to hire someone quickly and jump right in looking for quick results. But this likely won’t bring you the success you’re hoping for. Local San Diego Nonprofit Executive Recruitment Firm Blair Search Partners shares that taking your time to find and retain top talent that’s a genuine fit for your organization and the specific role you are hiring for will pay dividends over time. It is an intelligent and strategic way to spend your marketing dollars.
Is a Fractional CMO right for you?
Investing in personnel to stretch your nonprofit marketing budget doesn’t always have to mean hiring new full-time or part-time staff members.
While having quality marketing experts on your team is helpful, another way to invest in high level strategic marketing support is by working with a Fractional CMO or contracted marketing expert to guide your team in the right direction.
A strong Fractional CMO has experience working with many different organizations, giving them a unique perspective and well rounded marketing expertise. They can do many things for an organization to stretch the resources you already have.
For example, a Fractional CMO is likely able to manage your internal team members who are already providing copywriting, grant writing, graphic design, email marketing, and other marketing elements in a way that helps them grow professionally while also ensuring the organization gets the very best of their skills and talents. This helps your small but mighty team – wholikely already taking on lots of work but struggling with consistency and lack of strategic direction – to move forward and be more effective in their roles.
Bringing in someone to help provide strategic direction and guidance allows current team members to work more effectively and efficiently with the direction, strategy, and cohesion brought on by the strategist.
Whether you decide to invest in new full-time or part-time staff, build the skills of your existing team, or work with a Fractional CMO or marketing contractor, investing in people who understand marketing strategy AND have the necessary skills and capacity can stretch your marketing dollars much further than purchasing the latest platform or hopping on the most recent trends and crossing your fingers that it works for you ever could.
Don’t Waste your Nonprofit Marketing Budget
There’s a lot of advice out there about where nonprofits should focus their marketing efforts. But at the end of the day, DIY strategies or fragmented trial and error methods will only take you so far.
Utilizing your nonprofit marketing budget to work with a professional and strategic marketing expert and to enhance the skills and expertise of your marketing team will help you increase the value you’re getting from the team you already have, guide you to the strategies and tools that make the most sense for your specific organization, and provide you with both an instruction manual and road map for your efforts – all for a fraction of the time and costly ups and downs of DIY efforts.
It’s the best way to make the most of your limited dollars and is essential for establishing a marketing strategy that will help your organization thrive long term.
—–
If you’re interested in learning more about what working with a fractional CMO could look like, contact us at Wayward Kind, and we’ll see what makes sense for you and your organization.
