“Clarifying the difference between fundraising and marketing will help you manage your tasks…”<\/em>\u00a0<\/i>tweet this<\/span><\/a><\/h3>\nSame Skills, Different Goals<\/h2>\n
Both fundraising and marketing are essential activities for your cause. Fundraising and marketing get put together because they often involve similar activities, and they definitely involve similar skills. It\u2019s not like combining fundraising and electrical repair, although depending on your organization, you might be responsible for that, too.<\/p>\n
Fundraising and marketing both involve:<\/p>\n
\n- Storytelling<\/a><\/li>\n
- Explaining your mission<\/li>\n
- Engaging an audience<\/li>\n
- Clear communication<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Marketing vs. Fundraising<\/h2>\n
Let\u2019s start by defining some terms. \u201cFundraising\u201d means raising funds. Okay, okay, you knew that. \u201cMarketing\u201d is a little more abstract; it\u2019s about making people aware of your cause and what your organization does. It generally doesn\u2019t (directly) translate to dollars.<\/p>\n
To further simplify, imagine you\u2019re at a party. If someone approaches you and makes the case for why you should give them twenty dollars, they\u2019re fundraising. If they strike up a conversation and get you excited about their life goals and what they\u2019re all about, they\u2019re marketing.<\/p>\n
Put On Your Marketing Hat<\/h2>\n
To be an effective marketer, for just a second, you need to think of your audience as consumers and your organization as a product you\u2019re trying to sell them.<\/p>\n
Just for a second! You can go right back to recognizing that your organization serves the human community, changes lives, and is making a positive difference that is so, so much more than a widget you need to peddle. But it\u2019s a lot easier to explain marketing strategy in terms of widgets.<\/p>\n
A good marketing strategy<\/a> supports the entire consumer decision making process. In order to make the decision to \u201cbuy\u201d your organization, the consumer will:<\/p>\n\n- Recognize their need for what you\u2019re offering<\/li>\n
- Search for information<\/li>\n
- Evaluate their alternatives (i.e. \u201cCheck out the competition\u201d)<\/li>\n
- Make the decision to \u201cpurchase\u201d what you\u2019re offering<\/li>\n
- Evaluate whether or not they\u2019re happy about their decision.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/causevox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Consumer-Decision-Making-Process.png\")
To support this process, you\u2019ll need to:<\/p>\n
\n- Demonstrate how you\u2019ll meet their need. (Raise awareness)<\/li>\n
- Provide useful and helpful information. (Educate)<\/li>\n
- Demonstrate how you\u2019re different than alternatives (Educate)<\/li>\n
- Offer them a purchase opportunity (Ask them to do something)<\/li>\n
- Continue to be useful and helpful after they\u2019ve made a purchase (Educate and support)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
Where Fundraising Fits In<\/h2>\n
Since you are a glorious and inspiring organization, and definitely not a widget, what \u201cpurchase decision\u201d is your audience making in Step 4 of the decision making process? There are a few things that may constitute \u201ca purchase\u201d for you, like signing up to volunteer or attending an event<\/a>, but the big one will be fundraising.<\/p>\nUnlike marketing goals, which are broad and long-term, like \u201cRaise awareness!\u201d or \u201cGet people to notice us!\u201d fundraising goals are concrete and short-term.<\/p>\n
“Unlike marketing goals, which are broad and long-term, fundraising goals are concrete and short-term…”<\/em>
\n<\/i>tweet this<\/span><\/a><\/h3>\nMarketing + Fundraising= BFFS Forever!<\/h2>\n
Marketing attracts attention and educates your audience, and fundraising offers them an opportunity to really become a part of things. They go hand-in-hand. Before anyone can make a donation<\/a>, they have to know who you are, what you do, and why it matters.<\/p>\n![\"Engage](\"https:\/\/causevox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Donor-Engagement-Cycle.jpg\")
The donor engagement lifecycle has components of marketing (recruit\/inspire, learn, engage) and fundraising (ask, thank, repeat).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nDonors who are engaged<\/a> are donors who are retained. Even after someone has given, especially after someone has given, you still need to market your cause and your work. This is what keeps them inspired and committed.<\/p>\nLet\u2019s go back to that party, wherein some random person has just asked you for twenty dollars. We can all agree it feels a little weird, right? This person hasn\u2019t made you aware of anything, or offered any helpful information, they just told you they need money. Even if you do give, you aren\u2019t forming a lasting connection, because you don\u2019t know what they\u2019re about.<\/p>\n
Now think of that other person, the one who got you excited about their life. What if you kept running into them in various places, and each time, you learned more useful information? Your respect for them and what they were trying to do would build. If, a while later, they asked you for twenty dollars for a specific purpose, you\u2019d be ready and excited to help.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s Get Started<\/h2>\n
One of our purposes here at CauseVox is to provide you with the resources<\/a> to support your organization\u2019s marketing and fundraising goals<\/a>. As your nonprofit moves from planning to implementation, request a free personal demo<\/a> to further leverage your fundraising resources.<\/p>\nAdditional Resources:<\/h2>\n\n- Nonprofit Fundraising Plan: 6 Must-Do Steps For Success<\/a><\/li>\n
- Nonprofit Marketing to Win Donors\u2019 Hearts and Minds<\/a><\/li>\n
- [Podcast] Farra Trompeter On Nonprofit Brand Strategy & Fundraising<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
How many hats are you wearing? As nonprofit fundraisers, the answer is often, \u201cToo many!\u201d or \u201cHold on, I can\u2019t hear you from under this pile of hats.\u201d Development professionals are often tasked with raising both funds and awareness for our organizations, which are two distinctly different activities that often get muddled together. Clarifying the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":50840,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9440","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article"],"acf":[],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/www.causevox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Screen-Shot-2017-04-26-at-2.43.31-PM-600x400.png","featured_image_src_square":"https:\/\/www.causevox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Screen-Shot-2017-04-26-at-2.43.31-PM-600x600.png","author_info":{"display_name":"Olivia Hosey","author_link":"https:\/\/www.causevox.com\/author\/ohosey\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.causevox.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9440","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.causevox.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.causevox.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.causevox.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/36"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.causevox.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9440"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.causevox.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9440\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.causevox.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50840"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.causevox.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9440"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.causevox.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9440"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.causevox.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9440"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Marketing vs. Fundraising<\/h2>\n
Let\u2019s start by defining some terms. \u201cFundraising\u201d means raising funds. Okay, okay, you knew that. \u201cMarketing\u201d is a little more abstract; it\u2019s about making people aware of your cause and what your organization does. It generally doesn\u2019t (directly) translate to dollars.<\/p>\n
To further simplify, imagine you\u2019re at a party. If someone approaches you and makes the case for why you should give them twenty dollars, they\u2019re fundraising. If they strike up a conversation and get you excited about their life goals and what they\u2019re all about, they\u2019re marketing.<\/p>\n
Put On Your Marketing Hat<\/h2>\n
To be an effective marketer, for just a second, you need to think of your audience as consumers and your organization as a product you\u2019re trying to sell them.<\/p>\n
Just for a second! You can go right back to recognizing that your organization serves the human community, changes lives, and is making a positive difference that is so, so much more than a widget you need to peddle. But it\u2019s a lot easier to explain marketing strategy in terms of widgets.<\/p>\n
A good marketing strategy<\/a> supports the entire consumer decision making process. In order to make the decision to \u201cbuy\u201d your organization, the consumer will:<\/p>\n Since you are a glorious and inspiring organization, and definitely not a widget, what \u201cpurchase decision\u201d is your audience making in Step 4 of the decision making process? There are a few things that may constitute \u201ca purchase\u201d for you, like signing up to volunteer or attending an event<\/a>, but the big one will be fundraising.<\/p>\n Unlike marketing goals, which are broad and long-term, like \u201cRaise awareness!\u201d or \u201cGet people to notice us!\u201d fundraising goals are concrete and short-term.<\/p>\n Marketing attracts attention and educates your audience, and fundraising offers them an opportunity to really become a part of things. They go hand-in-hand. Before anyone can make a donation<\/a>, they have to know who you are, what you do, and why it matters.<\/p>\n Donors who are engaged<\/a> are donors who are retained. Even after someone has given, especially after someone has given, you still need to market your cause and your work. This is what keeps them inspired and committed.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s go back to that party, wherein some random person has just asked you for twenty dollars. We can all agree it feels a little weird, right? This person hasn\u2019t made you aware of anything, or offered any helpful information, they just told you they need money. Even if you do give, you aren\u2019t forming a lasting connection, because you don\u2019t know what they\u2019re about.<\/p>\n Now think of that other person, the one who got you excited about their life. What if you kept running into them in various places, and each time, you learned more useful information? Your respect for them and what they were trying to do would build. If, a while later, they asked you for twenty dollars for a specific purpose, you\u2019d be ready and excited to help.<\/p>\n One of our purposes here at CauseVox is to provide you with the resources<\/a> to support your organization\u2019s marketing and fundraising goals<\/a>. As your nonprofit moves from planning to implementation, request a free personal demo<\/a> to further leverage your fundraising resources.<\/p>\n How many hats are you wearing? As nonprofit fundraisers, the answer is often, \u201cToo many!\u201d or \u201cHold on, I can\u2019t hear you from under this pile of hats.\u201d Development professionals are often tasked with raising both funds and awareness for our organizations, which are two distinctly different activities that often get muddled together. Clarifying the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":50840,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9440","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article"],"acf":[],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/www.causevox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Screen-Shot-2017-04-26-at-2.43.31-PM-600x400.png","featured_image_src_square":"https:\/\/www.causevox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Screen-Shot-2017-04-26-at-2.43.31-PM-600x600.png","author_info":{"display_name":"Olivia Hosey","author_link":"https:\/\/www.causevox.com\/author\/ohosey\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.causevox.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9440","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.causevox.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.causevox.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.causevox.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/36"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.causevox.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9440"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.causevox.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9440\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.causevox.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50840"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.causevox.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9440"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.causevox.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9440"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.causevox.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9440"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
To support this process, you\u2019ll need to:<\/p>\n\n
Where Fundraising Fits In<\/h2>\n
“Unlike marketing goals, which are broad and long-term, fundraising goals are concrete and short-term…”<\/em>
\n<\/i>tweet this<\/span><\/a><\/h3>\nMarketing + Fundraising= BFFS Forever!<\/h2>\n
Let\u2019s Get Started<\/h2>\n
Additional Resources:<\/h2>\n
\n