Raise more money by getting rid of marketing & communications

Guest post by Richard Perry, Founder of Giving Pathways

Every nonprofit, no matter the size, has marketing communications (MarCom). Either as a department or as a function. It’s built on the idea that something more is needed to communicate with the public than what comes out of the fundraising programs.

I agree with this. Something more is needed. But only in this way: The MarCom scope of work should be limited to building and maintaining the brand – that would be Public Relations.

MarCom should not be producing fundraising materials: direct mail, proposals, annual reports, newsletters, websites, social media, etc. Those things should be done by the fundraising department/division.

Think about it this way. Separate from regulatory publics that some nonprofits need to influence — what other public is there? It’s just the donating public. Individuals and institutions of all types who can give resources. That’s it.

So, when it comes to communicating with the public, there are two agendas:

1. Get people to give resources – the job of the fundraising folks.
2. Build, enhance and maintain the brand – these are the MarCom folks.

Nothing more.

This is where things often go wrong in many nonprofits. Non fundraising personnel are hired to “do” MarCom activities and those activities include producing messages that are then pushed on the fundraising folks to use.

That might be okay if those MarCom persons were (a) experienced in fundraising and (b) reporting up to the fundraising leader.

But usually, they aren’t. They report to a very good MarCom person, with vast experience in communications and public relations, but rarely with experience in fundraising. This type of person doesn’t usually understand the donor pipeline and the type of messaging needed to acquire, cultivate, upgrade, and retain donors.

What they do know is how to build and enhance the brand and produce good looking, well written and highly produced communication products.

The problem is that this product is practically useless for the fundraising folks. Why? Because fundraising does three specific things:

1. It is about solving societal problems and reporting back on the difference a donor is making through their giving.
2. It is about talking to the donor or the prospective donor about what they care about vs the attributes and successes of the organization and its people.
3. It is often emotional and “messy” — because societal problems are emotional and messy.

There is a fine line here, but for the most part, MarCom product does not work for fundraising. And way too much money is spent on MarCom functions in most nonprofits – budget which would be better used in acquiring, cultivating, and retaining donors.

What can you do if you are in this situation? Take the following steps:

1. Make sure MarCom reports up into a talented and experienced fundraising professional who also manages the fundraising functions.
2. Make sure MarCom personnel, in addition to having MarCom experience, have proven fundraising experience.
3. When vetting people to hire in MarCom, carefully check their view and operating philosophy on fundraising.
   • Are they donor driven?
   • Do they understand that fundraising messaging is about addressing a problem and that all copy and images need to support that goal?
   • Do they understand that communication vehicles, including the website and social media, should be biased towards presenting societal problems to solve and not how great the organization is?
   • Do they understand and accept that every societal problem statement to the general public should be an opportunity to acquire a donor and that copy, messaging and response mechanisms need to be provided to make that happen?
   • Do they understand the importance of continually telling the donor that their giving is making a difference?

All these points are so important in your hiring of MarCom people: creatives, strategists, planners, etc. Ignore this at your peril.

To be clear, I really do value the MarCom function in a nonprofit. And, no, you don’t need to get rid of it as the title of this post suggests. But it does need to change. The primary objective of MarCom must be to support the fundraising objectives of the organization and do that in a way that also builds and enhances the brand.

Remember, when you think about what matters in a non-profit it boils down to this: The main objective of a non-profit is to address a societal need and secure resources from like-minded people and institutions who will align to its cause. Nothing more. Keep that in mind.