You care deeply about serving your community and helping others, but when it comes to communicating the value and impact of what your nonprofit can do so you can get others on board… 

Your marketing is falling flat.

It’s not for lack of effort. You’ve created all the content, sent all the mailers, designed all the flyers, and put thousands of hours and dollars into trying to tell others about your nonprofit. 

But you’re not seeing the engagement, donations, or turnout that you need to power your mission and engage donors. 

There are typically a few specific reasons your nonprofit marketing plan isn’t as effective as it could be, and today we’re pulling back the curtain on what is holding you back. 

Once we’ve helped you identify what’s in your way, we’ll share some expert, concrete tips for improving your marketing plan and getting better results. 

Nonprofit Marketing Plan Problem #1: Decentralized Content Creation

The most effective marketing plans employ content created by one central team or specialist.

If you’ve split content creation responsibilities between teams or team members, you are likely sending different messages, employing different strategies, and confusing donors.

When each department creates their own materials, there are discrepancies and differences in the colors, fonts, styles, patterns, and aesthetic. 

The good news is that you don’t have to have a dedicated content creation team to benefit from centralized content creation. 

How can brand strategy and design turn things around?

Investing in professional brand guidelines can help you centralize your efforts and create more cohesive content. 

Different departments or team members can follow the brand guidelines to generate content that looks like it all came from one person or team. Having brand guidelines gives you the professional design edge you need to move past random, inconsistent content creation and look like a streamlined pro. 

Nonprofit Marketing Plan Problem #2: Inefficient Approval Processes

What does the design approval process look like in your nonprofit?

If you require multiple sign-offs from different departments or stakeholders, you’re getting in the way of the creative process and slowing down your design team member(s). 

Unnecessary levels of approval can also rob creative designs of their original intent and result in lackluster, unoriginal visuals and graphics. 

How can brand strategy and design turn things around?

Streamline your approval system!

Keep things as simple as possible to ensure the team members completing the creative work have the bandwidth to get things done and incorporate helpful, efficient feedback. 

Nonprofit Marketing Plan Problem #3: Rushed Design Processes

There’s an order for design: copy first, then design.

It’s nearly impossible to complete meaningful, intentional design work without finalized copy. 

If you’re not seeing results from your marketing efforts, it’s worth seriously reflecting on the timelines you’re creating and allowing for design work.

Rushed design work is never going to get the same results as measured, carefully considered design that takes place after finalized, effective copy.

How can brand strategy and design turn things around?

Develop a structured creative process.

Giving your creative team or team members a predictable schedule and plenty of time to execute will lead to better results. 

An appropriate schedule will ensure that copy and any other pre-existing work is taken into account and completed before the design process begins. 

Nonprofit Marketing Plan Problem #4: Lack of Specialized Design Expertise

While most nonprofits would love to have a dedicated design team, the reality is that most organizations operate with small, generalized teams that are responsible for a number of different tasks.

This can work pretty well for some things, but when it comes to specialized design for advanced graphics, website design, or video production – not having a design expert will hurt your marketing.

How can brand strategy and design turn things around?

You can solve this problem quickly and effectively by leveraging external design expertise.

At Acton Circle, we step in and serve as your expert design team without any of the overhead of payroll expense. 

The beauty of our work is that we can supplement your existing design team or team members, helping out when you need high-level, complex design skills to execute your marketing plan and engage your donors. 

Your Marketing = Your Impact

Nonprofit marketing is about more than getting attention or visibility.

The better your marketing strategy, the bigger impact your nonprofit will be able to make.

Attracting new donors and keeping existing donors engaged in your work is the key to helping more people, serving more communities, and improving more lives. 

Marketing isn’t a luxury or a bonus. It’s the central force fueling your nonprofit’s work. 

What’s Next?

Now that we’ve identified the design-related challenges that are holding you back from cohesive, impactful marketing efforts and offered a custom solution for each issue, it’s time to take action. 

We created a specialized quiz to help you highlight where you need to make improvements (in addition to what you’ve identified from this post). Once you know where you want to make changes, the quiz will also equip you with a specific action plan so you can feel confident moving forward. 

‍Take the quiz and get your action plan!