For nonprofits, uniting marketing and fundraising teams is critical to success. But this is often easier said than done. Marketing and fundraising require different skills and mindsets, and teams can easily become siloed. However, with leadership, communication, and shared goals, marketing and fundraising can work together effectively.
The first step is getting leadership on board.
The executive director and board must understand why marketing and fundraising alignment matters and push for collaboration. They should bring teams together, set shared priorities, and make cooperation a key performance indicator. Without leadership buy-in, other efforts are unlikely to succeed.
Improving communication is also key.
Teams should meet regularly, share updates, and understand each other’s challenges. They should review each other’s content calendars and campaigns to identify opportunities to share messages and leverage resources. A shared project management platform can also help keep everyone on the same page about workflows, deadlines, and responsibilities.
Finally, teams need shared goals to work toward together.
For example, they could aim to increase website traffic by 25% or acquire 500 new email newsletter subscribers. Joint goals give teams motivation to cooperate and share insights. They also make it easier to measure the impact of collaboration.
While united marketing and fundraising teams require effort, the payoff can be huge.
Working together, they can tell a nonprofit’s story in a powerful, compelling way. They can also save time and money, eliminate duplicated efforts, and gain a more complete picture of donor relationships. With leadership, communication, and shared goals, nonprofits can overcome divisions between marketing and fundraising for better results overall. Alignment may not happen overnight, but with commitment, teams can get there.
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