Nonprofit Marketing and Communications
Amplify your mission and grow your impact with an integrated marketing partner who understands your unique world (starting with the fact that you probably weren’t looking for marketing).
Let's start with the elephant in the room: the word "marketing."
You likely call it "outreach," "advocacy," or "engagement." You might even be a little allergic to the term "marketing"—and you're right to be. It often feels corporate, transactional, and disconnected from the profound, purpose-driven work you do.
So why do I use it?
Because I believe that while "communications" and "outreach" describe vital activities, a true "marketing" framework describes the integrated strategy that makes them all work together toward a measurable goal. It’s the system that ensures your powerful story doesn't just get told, but that it connects with the right people and inspires them to act.
In my fourteen years as a pastor, we had a dozen different words for it—evangelism, fellowship, discipleship—but it was all part of the same unified work of building a thriving community.
That's how I see marketing for you. It's simply the strategic framework we use to advance what you call it: your mission.
The Unique Marketing Challenges of Nonprofits
Your work is driven by purpose, not profit. But while you might not have initially been thinking “I need to market my nonprofit,” the basic tools are the same. You just have a unique set of marketing challenges that typical commercial strategies often fail to address. Your organization faces distinct hurdles:
Communicating Complex Missions: How do you distill your vital, multifaceted work into a clear and compelling message that inspires action and secures funding?
Engaging a Diverse Audience: You need to speak to multiple audiences at once—donors, volunteers, board members, and the community you serve—all with different needs and motivations.
Maximizing a Limited Budget: Every dollar must be accounted for and stretched to its absolute limit, requiring a marketing strategy that is both highly efficient and demonstrably effective.
Proving Your Impact: Beyond storytelling, you need to clearly demonstrate your outcomes to build trust with supporters and grant-making organizations.
Cutting Through the Noise: In a world crowded with causes, earning the sustained attention and support your mission deserves requires a strategic, consistent approach.
“Alex was full of useful advice that was implementable and sensitive to our resource availability / budget constraints. I appreciated his deep perspective on the sector in general and was really happy with the advice he provided. I have a lot of avenues to explore now that he has suggested some ways forward.”
Acterra: Action for a Healthy Planet (Palo Alto, CA)
Media Relations Strategy
A Partner Who Speaks Your Language
Marketing a nonprofit isn't a typical business challenge. It's a calling. I know this because I've lived it. For fourteen years as a pastor and leader of a mission-driven organization, my core responsibilities were the very things you're focused on today:
Running funding drives to secure the resources essential to the mission.
Inspiring and recruiting volunteers to expand your team and impact.
Promoting community events to drive real-world engagement.
Building a thriving community around a deeply held, shared purpose.
I haven’t just studied these challenges from the outside; I’ve managed them from the inside. That hands-on experience, now combined with my PhD in communication and marketing expertise, gives me a unique perspective on what it truly takes to help your organization succeed. You focus on the work; I’ll build the strategy that supports it.
Services to Advance Your Cause
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Website Design & Development
Your website is often the first place a potential donor or volunteer will go to learn your story and affirm your credibility. I design and build clear, compelling Squarespace websites that make your mission shine, simplify the donation process, and make it easy for your community to get involved and take action.
Donation Pathway Optimization: Creating a seamless, trustworthy donation experience to maximize contributions.
Impact Storytelling: Designing pages that clearly and compellingly communicate your mission and results.
Volunteer & Event Integration: Integrating forms and calendars to make community involvement simple.
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Email Campaigns
Email is your most powerful tool for building lasting relationships across your entire community. I help you craft email strategies that serve everyone—from providing vital information to service recipients, to turning one-time volunteers into lifelong donors. We'll build campaigns that nurture every relationship, understanding that today's beneficiaries can become tomorrow's biggest advocates.
Fundraising Appeals: Crafting persuasive email campaigns to drive support for specific initiatives.
Donor Nurturing Sequences: Building automated email flows to welcome new donors and thank recurring supporters.
Impact Reporting & Newsletters: Keeping your community engaged with regular updates on your mission's progress.
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Public Relations
Your mission deserves a bigger stage. I use public relations to earn media coverage that builds credibility and broadens your reach. This includes crafting compelling communications for your most critical funding needs—from persuasive fundraising appeals to impactful annual reports that showcase your results to stakeholders.
Media Relations & Outreach: Securing coverage in local and relevant media to broaden your reach and build public trust.
Partnerships & Event Promotion: Building relationships with community and corporate partners to secure sponsorships, while providing strategic promotion for your key fundraising events.
Annual Reports & Donor Communications: Crafting professional, persuasive reports and appeals that showcase your impact to key stakeholders.
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Social Media Management
Let's turn your social media channels into a welcoming front door for your entire community. I manage your social presence to both reach people who can benefit from your services and to engage supporters, recruit volunteers, and inspire donations. It's about serving your community and building your base of support at the same time.
Community Engagement: Fostering an active, supportive online community around your cause.
Paid Advertising: Boosting content and utilizing paid advertising strategies to build your reach and engagement.
Event & Campaign Promotion: Using social media marketing techniques to drive attendance for events and awareness for fundraising drives.
Ready to Increase Your Impact?
A powerful mission requires a powerful strategy to support it. If you're ready to implement a marketing plan designed for measurable growth, let's talk.
The first step is a no-obligation discovery call to explore how a tailored integrated marketing strategy can help you reach more people, grow your support, and ultimately, multiply your impact.