As a third sector marketing agency (an agency with extensive experience in this industry), we don’t just work with organisations to reach short-term fundraising targets but to create digital assets and strategic plans that ensure they flourish in the long-term.
In this article, we share the impact this can make for charities and non-profits with the real-life case study of our work with Asha. We’ve been working with Asha since 2006, and have watched them go from strength to strength. As they continue to expand their operations and set their sights on new targets. It’s been an amazing journey to support them through all this, using our skills and expertise to unlock greater resources to further their work and act as a source of information for all stakeholders.
The benefits of working with a third sector marketing agency
Charities, non-profits and social enterprises, as well as even second-tier third sector organisations and others in similar fields, all too often find that the greatest limitation on their work is a lack of resources. The resources to not only fuel the work that they do. But to grow and scale that work, to reach new audiences and raise awareness of the cause they’re supporting.
This is where experts in marketing for the third sector (and other adjacent organisations), can make a real impact by offering these specialist skills with an in-depth understanding of the landscape. Whether it’s knowing how to work within frameworks for restricted funds, creating plans that not only consider engaging new leads but also long-term donor stewardship, or even considering the ethical impact of the tools used (from sustainable low-carbon website builds to inclusive user designs).
The start of our journey with Asha
When we began working with Asha, a charity that seeks to provide better levels of healthcare, education and social empowerment in the extensive slums of Delhi, it was quickly clear that they were doing phenomenal work on the ground. Their teams were driving real change in these communities. Change that was also being led from within.
Asha means ‘hope’. But inspiring that feeling has always begun with showing the difference that can be made. Not only to those living in the slums. But also to those who could lend their support from outside…
Social enterprise marketing and unlocking new opportunities
Marcom’s role, as a third sector marketing agency, was clear. To share not only the extreme poverty many living in the slums of Delhi had to contend with, but also the amazing work Asha was doing to change this.
Our team began by creating a Strategic Plan for Communications and Fundraising in 2006, after rigorously researching Asha’s target audience, carefully considering the tone and style that best conveyed their work, and discussing the channels that suited their organisation. Today we’ve advanced to version 5 of this plan thanks to the continued success it has driven for Asha’s impact-led marketing.
Reaching an international audience with charity fundraising marketing
Asha didn’t need our help to spread the word of what they were doing in India. Their own tireless volunteers and champions working on the ground were already doing amazing work in this regard. They were even training women living in the slums to lead their own campaigns for land rights. Thus, ensuring greater security through land ownership.
But there was so much more Asha could do by sharing their work with an international audience. By unlocking these international funds, they have been able to greatly scale their work in the slums. Including providing emergency support during the Covid-19 crisis. From providing their Public Health Programme teams with full PPE and promoting community vaccination drives, to visiting isolated older members of the community in the lockdown and providing mental health support.
‘From humble beginnings as a medical charity for slum dwellers, Asha has grown to become a powerful force in the city of Delhi, highly respected, frequently quoted and on every visiting diplomat’s itinerary.’ – Mark Baines, CEO, Marcom
Building for the long-term as a third sector marketing agency
Most third-sector organisations aren’t only looking to solve an immediate problem, but to eventually build up sustainable solutions. This means creating established, dependable streams of fundraising. One of our aims in creating, developing and optimising the SEO of Asha’s website was to ensure there was a reliable way for people to donate money to the cause that could be easily found all around the world. Securing international support for the organisation.
The impact of charity SEO services
It should be clear by now that Asha is a charity that builds for the long-term. However, securing effective funding is a key part of achieving this. It’s not just a case of people finding you when looking to support a cause. But also that even donors who know about you can reliably find your website and see your recent projects. A specialist web development and SEO team who understands not only what potential donors are likely to search, but also how they will engage with your website, can create a site that will set you up for valuable online traffic.
One example of the transformative effect this funding has had is in education. Asha had been working on helping children complete primary and secondary education for a long time. But in 2008 they began a Program for Tertiary Education. Since then, they have supported over 5000 students in receiving a university education. This will make a huge difference in their future employment options, and in breaking the cycle of poverty in the slums.
Impact-led marketing for charities
An image can tell a thousand words, but it’s rarely enough to convince people to support a cause with just imagery. No matter how skilled the photographer. Donor stewardship, a speciality for non-profit marketing agencies, is about understanding what makes people commit to a cause in the long-term. And a big part of that is ensuring your funders understand what their donations are doing and feel like an active part of this.
The foundation of marketing is understanding your audience and what motivates them, and this is an essential part of our approach to fundraising strategies as well.
We’ve created a range of digital assets for Asha and have worked alongside them to evolve and adapt their strategy. Leveraging this in-depth understanding of their target audiences as they reached increasingly bigger audiences and their work itself made an even greater impact. Our team ensured that the impressive scale of this work was effectively conveyed to both new and current donors.
“We’ve been absolutely delighted…we can’t recommend Marcom highly enough!” – Alex Arnold, International Communications and Marketing Manager at Asha.
Partnering with a third-sector marketing agency
It’s easy when you’re working every day to get caught up in the operations of your charity. Without really reflecting on just how much you’ve done and how you can show this impact. Many make the mistake of focusing only on the severity of the problem that needs to be addressed. However, donors also want to understand why you’re the solution. What difference are you going to make?
Focusing not only on the devastation of poverty in Delhi, but also the extraordinary resilience of Asha volunteers and community members was a big part of our strategy. At Marcom, we’ve always understood that charities lead with purpose, and their marketing should reflect that.
“Marcom have supported us from our early days to where we are now. They have driven our digital communications and provided our charity with a strong online identity. They express our work, purpose and values to the whole world, as well as to local stakeholders. They’ve been wonderfully creative, technically strong and always willing and proactive. Their work is fundamental to the development and growth we have enjoyed since they started working with us.” – Dr Kiran Martin, Founder and Director of Asha.
Taking your cause further with expert support
For organisations in the third sector that are struggling to scale their operations, or even just reach the full potential of their current efforts, it can be difficult to know where to begin with a fundraising-focused marketing plan.
This can be because of the shortage of technical skills in-house to realise digital projects, problems scoping the full extent of what is needed to be compliant with business laws regarding digital channels (e.g. GDPR, EAA), or even uncertainties about a framework which can show how resources are used for marketing with transparency.
For Asha, partnering with Marcom, a skilled agency that had experience working in this area, was a great way to outsource this to experts who knew the sector. If you’re interested in finding out the difference partnering with Marcom could make for increasing the impact of your work, you can get in touch with our team here for a free consultation.
