Changemakers and nonprofits strive to make the world a better place, unite communities, and help those in need. Everyone should recognize and support their cause, yet their crucial message often gets lost in the noise.
Nonprofit marketing agencies specialize in helping people understand the ‘why’ behind your cause and draw more attention to it.
In this guide, we’ll learn about marketing agencies for nonprofits and how to choose the right one to ensure your message becomes more than a whisper in the wind.
What is a Nonprofit Marketing Agency?
A nonprofit marketing agency uses marketing tactics to communicate with potential supporters, build connections, and help raise funds for your cause.
Nonprofits juggle multiple tasks on a tight budget. Nonprofit marketing agencies can take this burden off your shoulders as they have the expertise to create successful marketing strategies.
Using creativity, the power of storytelling, and strategic marketing, they help develop an authentic message that inspires, connects, and summons emotions that resonate with your cause.
While their purpose may sound similar to for-profit marketing, some key differences help separate the two, such as:
- Core objectives:
The core objectives of the nonprofit and for-profit agencies are different. Nonprofit marketing revolves around the cause, raising awareness, encouraging volunteerism, and securing donations. The focus is on creating social impact rather than finding ways to maximize profits.
- Message:
The message of nonprofit marketing summons emotions and a sense of social responsibility, driving actions for the greater good. For-profit agencies create a marketing message around the features and benefits of the company’s products and services.
- Target audience:
The target audience is a significant deciding factor when creating marketing tactics. The nonprofit’s target audience includes donors, volunteers, and supporters of the cause. For-profit marketing targets customers and businesses interested in purchasing products or services.
- Measuring success:
Nonprofits measure success through the number of donors, awareness raised, donations received, etc. For-profits focus on financial metrics like sales growth, ROI (return on investment), customer retention, and market penetration.
Why Do Nonprofits Need a Marketing Agency?
Mission statements get lost in the noise if people do not hear your message and what impact your initiatives make. Marketing agencies shine a needed spotlight on your cause and reach the hearts of many.
Their role goes beyond promoting the cause. The aim is to connect hearts and minds to the mission and gather as much support as possible.
Here are other reasons why hiring a marketing agency can be a game-changer for nonprofits:
Increasing Visibility and Awareness
Marketing agencies leverage their exposure and expertise to help nonprofits gain visibility by creatively narrating impactful stories that attract attention.
This helps people know what you are doing, why it is important, and how you are changing lives. The heightened visibility opens doors to potential donors, supporters, and funding.
Getting Donations and Funding
Nonprofits run on donations. If people are unaware of your cause and mission, convincing them to show generosity becomes more difficult.
Since they understand your unique cause and the motivations of potential supporters, they help craft compelling messages that will resonate and inspire supporters to join the mission and donate to the cause.
Building Better Relationships with Supporters
Acquiring and retaining donors and support is crucial for nonprofits. With the right expertise and in-depth knowledge, marketing agencies help nonprofits build strong relationships with supporters. They create donor journeys that lead supporters from initial interest to loyalty.
Saving Time and Costs
Many nonprofits fall short of meeting their fundraising and campaign goals. Marketing agencies in the nonprofit sector use best practices and more integrated approaches to spread your message.
Many marketing agencies offer discounts and run special programs for nonprofits to generate results.
What Does a Nonprofit Marketing Agency Offer?
From amplifying your fundraising efforts to helping manage Google Ad Grants, marketing agencies work as an extended team of your nonprofit. Here are the marketing services you can expect from a reliable agency:
Branding
Brand identity makes your nonprofit organization memorable and sets it apart from the crowd. It is essential to connect with your target audience and convey your cause, mission, values, and uniqueness.
Branding experts will work closely with your organization to create a logo, visual elements, messages, a consistent brand voice, and other digital assets. Through strategic branding, they create an authentic and trustworthy image to set you apart in the digital space.
Digital Marketing
Online presence can help reach millions of supporters. Email marketing and website optimization help drive traffic and increase donation opportunities. Agencies create comprehensive strategies that generate measurable results.
Promotion of Fundraising Campaigns
Nonprofits rely on various fundraising campaigns to gain resources and achieve their objectives. Peer-to-peer fundraising, capital campaigns, auctions, etc., help inspire potential donors to support the cause.
Marketing agencies handle all fundraising activities, including creating donation appeals, tracking performance, reaching new supporters, and maintaining donor relationships.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
The nonprofit sector is a crowded space. Your nonprofit will likely share the search engine results page (SERP) space with like-minded national and international organizations.
A marketing agency can conduct SEO audits on your website to make it stand out in search results. By strategically using keywords, they ensure future donors land on your web pages with their search queries.
Social Media Marketing
An active social media presence helps reach millions of potential donors and build awareness for fundraising efforts. With a strategic marketing approach, marketing agencies use platforms like Facebook and Instagram to tell stories and attract users toward your mission.
Another approach to leverage social media is through influencer marketing. Marketing agencies help find ambassadors to spread the word about your organization’s mission. Influencer marketing has proven to be an excellent strategy for nonprofits.
Content Creation
Content creation for nonprofits is about distributing valuable and relevant information to attract and engage mission supporters through:
- Blog posts
- Landing pages
- Emails
- Thank you letters
- Donation forms
- Videos and infographics, etc.
Along with other strategies, content marketing helps nonprofits grow donor bases. Numbers do not lie - 13.7% of nonprofits grow their donor base through regular engagement. Marketing agencies create creative content to foster donor engagement.
Google Ads Grant Management
Google Ads Grant offers $10,000 a month of in-kind advertising spending for nonprofit search campaigns. With such marketing services, these agencies help nonprofits use the Ad Grant to increase their online visibility.
They understand the ins and outs of search intent and Google Ad Grants best practices to get the most out of the program.
Factors to Keep in Mind While Choosing a Nonprofit Marketing Agency
Selecting the right marketing agency is critical for nonprofits to promote their cause and engage donors effectively.
When evaluating potential partners, key considerations include the agency's experience in the nonprofit sector, understanding of your organization's unique goals and values, proven track record of success, and expertise across various marketing channels.
By carefully assessing these factors, nonprofits can find an agency that aligns with their mission and can effectively amplify their message.
Alignment with Your Mission and Values
Look for an agency that understands the nonprofit sector's unique needs and shares a genuine passion for your cause and mission. Agencies that align with your core values will be more effective partners.
Experience with Nonprofit Organizations
Experience in the nonprofit sector must be one of your top priorities. Ask if they have handled similar marketing needs for other nonprofits and inquire about their experience level.
Services and Expertise
Marketing firms with one-stop-shop solutions can handle most of your promotion needs. A full-service marketing agency offers digital marketing, branding, social media management, content creation, and more.
Ensure they cover services that align with your specific needs. Some agencies have more experience serving nonprofits in a particular sector, such as faith-based organizations or educational institutions.
Portfolio and Case Studies
Review the agency’s portfolio and read case studies to understand the impact they created. Search for evidence of successful campaigns they handled for other nonprofits.
Testimonials and References
Statements and reviews from other organizations can provide social proof of services. Gather insights to learn about the effectiveness and reliability the agency offers.
Cost and Budget Considerations
Consider the fees before hiring a marketing agency and ensure their charges are within your organization’s budget.
Many agencies offer discounted rates for nonprofits, so ask them upfront and compare costs with other agencies.
Top 8 Nonprofit Marketing Agencies to Boost Your Cause
- Best Advertising Agency: Media Cause
- Best Google Ad Grants Agency: Getting Attention
- Best SEO Agency: Cornershop Creative
- Best Direct Mail Marketing Agency: TrueSense
- Best Branding Agency: Loop
- Best Social Media Marketing Services: SmartSites
- Best Telemarketing Agency: Donorly
- Best Email Marketing Service Provider: GetResponse
1. Best Advertising Agency: Media Cause
Media Cause provides tailored advertising solutions designed to boost the outreach and impact of nonprofits. The agency offers premium advertising strategies to build trust and ensures that campaigns stay true to the organization’s values.
Media Cause offers nonprofits the following services:
- Data-driven insights to optimize campaigns
- Real-time performance tracking and analysis for informed decision-making
- Helps you manage advertising platforms like Google Ads
- Customized advertising services for the nonprofit sector
2. Best Google Ad Grants Agency: Getting Attention
Getting Attention helps nonprofits apply for the Google Ad Grant program, which equips eligible organizations with $10,000 in monthly Google Ads credit.
Google Ad Grant's user-friendly interface makes it easy to use and helps with the application process.
Seeking assistance from Getting Attention is the best way to reap the program’s benefits, allowing you to concentrate on your mission.
Use this Google Ad Grant management service for:
- Free consultation to interested users
- Writing ad copy for nonprofit campaigns
- Helping with keyword research and copy strategy
- Tracking and analyzing ad traction, conversion, and other relevant metrics for success
3. Best Search Engine Optimization Agency: Cornershop Creative
Cornershop Creative helps nonprofits feature on search engine results pages. It makes the content of your organization’s website SEO-friendly.
Search engine optimization is crucial for websites to align with Google’s algorithmic preferences so that your content ranks higher for specific keywords.
With so many businesses and nonprofits vying for attention in a crowded digital landscape, making your website stand out can be tricky. That’s whereCornershop Creative comes in, crafting your campaigns with the utmost care and employing the best SEO practices.
This digital marketing agency for nonprofits offers:
- Help with content creation tailored to address donor search intent
- In-depth competitor analysis based on donor engagement and conversions
- Technical and on-page website search engine optimization audits and strategies
- Thorough keyword research
4. Best Direct Mail Marketing Agency: TrueSense
TrueSense Marketing is a direct mail marketing agency. While direct marketing is a tried and tested marketing channel, creating, printing, and delivering marketing materials takes time. The agency helps nonprofits with all the complicated logistics from start to finish.
TrueSense helps nonprofits with:
- In-house printing, text, graphic design, and image customization
- Direct truck delivery
- Printing customized QR codes to lead donors to your website
5. Best Branding Agency: Loop
Loop is a nonprofit digital marketing agency that offers branding services to improve a nonprofit’s positioning, message, personality, and tone.
Loop helps design digital assets for a powerful and new brand identity, building credibility and attracting more traffic. Here are some of their service offerings:
- Stakeholders, including donors, volunteers, team, etc., engagement
- Brand concepts and brief (including logo design, color palettes, typography, icons, and graphic designs)
- Brand identity guide
- Digital assets directory
6. Best Social Media Marketing Services: SmartSites
SmartSites offers digital and social media marketing solutions for nonprofits, helping organizations improve social media profits, attract donors, and engage existing supporters.
Their PPC marketing plan helps expand the reach of nonprofits through result-oriented marketing practices. The company offers web design expertise to help create highly responsive designs for organizations, improve donors’ digital presence, and convert donors.
Here are some top services they include for organizations in the nonprofit sector:
- Optimized social media profiles on each platform
- Monthly content calendars for supporter engagement
- Custom graphic designs that improve your brand image
- Keep the conversations open on platforms and engage with the audience
- PPC plans to boost posts for better visibility
- Help make the most of influencer marketing
7. Best Telemarketing Agency: Donorly
Donorly is recognized as one of the leading providers of professional telemarketing services, helping to connect and strengthen relationships with donors to drive your fundraising efforts.
Their telemarketing consulting and fundraising offerings include:
- Call coaching
- Tools and guidance to launch capital campaigns
- Telemarketing strategy development
- Reports on conversions and other KPIs
8. Best Email Marketing Service Provider: GetResponse
GetResponse is an email marketing provider for nonprofits that helps you save time on email optimization by using drag-and-drop builders and a clean interface.
GetResponse offers easy A/B testing capabilities to test any aspect of your email. Many nonprofits use it to test subject lines, call-to-action buttons, or images.
GetResponse is great for email marketing for offering:
- Highly personalized email builder with rich features
- Easy to use with powerful automation
- Quick customer services
Case Studies of Successful Nonprofit Marketing Campaigns
Multi-Year Digital Marketing and Fundraising Program for St Joseph's Healthcare Foundation
The challenges faced by the St Joseph’s Healthcare Foundation were community outreach, brand building, and marketing. They aimed to improve their fundraising through a best-practice digital program for a community-focused General Hospital.
Hewitt and Johnston consultants implemented the following strategies and tactics. They:
- Applied an integrated approach to align digital marketing and fundraising programs with the hospital and the foundation's strategic pillars.
- Introduced an automation tool to manage emails and fundraising activities online.
- Trained the team to use digital tools to keep the good work going even after the marketing campaign ends.
Measurable outcomes of the strategies included:
- Digital fundraising contributions increased from 1% to 13% of overall donations.
- The email file expanded from 1,000 to almost 12,000 subscribers.
- The average online gift size increased from $90 to $181.
- There was an increase in the number of first-time donors.
TrueSense Helps Veterans with K9s for Warriors, Raising Over $11,000 from 340 Donors
K9s for Warriors rescues, trains, and pairs shelter dogs with veterans suffering from PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) to help restore their physical and emotional independence.
The K9s for Warriors has a large social media following, but many of their Facebook followers were not donors. TrueSense organized a Facebook Fundraiser on June 27th to raise funds for PTSD Awareness Day.
TrueSense’s strategies to increase awareness include the following:
- Harnessing the power of social media, particularly Facebook, to cultivate engagement, they set up Facebook fundraiser pages.
- Running ads on Facebook to spread the word.
- Sharing stories, like Greg and his service dog Utah, to connect with people.
Measurable outcomes through this campaign included:
- Raised more than $11,000 in funds.
- Brought attention to PTSD Awareness Day by letting people connect emotionally and inspired them to support the cause.
Wrapping it Up on Nonprofit Marketing Agencies
Nonprofits can rely on marketing agencies to spread their message, attract new donors, and make a difference. With professional marketing, your organization can reach potential donors and get more support for your cause.
A good marketing agency knows how to weave a compelling story that touches hearts and inspires people to act. They use tried-and-true tools and tactics to deliver measurable results.
If your marketing efforts are not working as you expected, hiring a marketing agency can be beneficial. Professional marketers have the skills and experience to help your nonprofit reach its goals.
Use the above tips and look for agencies that understand your vision. Ask questions to find if they have enough nonprofit sector exposure to help see through your vision and achieve it.
Your cause needs the best chance to reach the masses and gather support, and an expert marketing agency can help.
Nonprofit Marketing Agency FAQs
What is digital marketing for nonprofits?
Digital marketing for nonprofits includes promotion strategies that rely on the Internet and related technologies. Nonprofits need digital channels to spread their message, seek donations, promote events, and increase engagement.
Digital outreach strategies include social media, texting, search advertising, or any other approaches to gain new donors and fundraising opportunities.
What are the different types of marketing agencies in the nonprofit sector?
Nonprofit marketing agencies can work under three categories.
- Full-service marketing agencies: They offer a full range of digital marketing services, including SEO (search engine optimization), advertising, content marketing, web design, and more.
- Specialized marketing agencies focus on providing specific marketing services, such as branding and event marketing.
- Traditional marketing agencies: These marketing agencies focus on traditional channels, such as print, television, and radio to spread the nonprofit’s message.
