SPN 146. Thinking Beyond CAC
Brand and DX are the true levers for sustainable fundraising; plus, lots of jobs that took my fancy this week
A very warm welcome to all the new subscribers.
You’ve joined a community of 2k+ marketing and fund raising operators at mission-driven Org’s. I’m thrilled to have you as readers and truly appreciate your feedback and support.
In this week’s SPN:
A campaign video published by UN Women Iceland is gaining plaudits
Setting the scene with a Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) example
Brand IP isn’t sufficient
Simple and high value approaches to Org brand development to deploy
and, plenty of Jobs & Opps that took my fancy this week.
Let’s jump in!
Did you know that your Org can process one-time and monthly donations in real-time from channels like Face-to-Face, Direct Mail, Events directly in Fundraise Up?
Their REST API is designed to process donations from your non-digital channels and seamlessly integrate donor and transaction data into your CRM and other platforms, like your BI tools.
Outcome → a smoother, more relevant donor experience that drives higher engagement and giving retention.
Game-changer? It is for me.
Campaign of the Week
A report released March 6 shared that 1 in 4 countries reported backlash on women’s rights in 2024. The UN issued a global call to mobilize around International Women's Day, and reverse this backwards trend.
This is the campaign video that UN Women Iceland released in support (currently sitting at #2 on the Ad Forum’s “best ads and advertising campaigns of the week worldwide” list) →
The message is on-point but it feels 30 seconds too long.
Brand is the New Moat
If you think about the way that DTC brands have evolved, it’s fascinating.
Back in the day, local neighborhood shops would keep communities stocked with all the essentials. Those were the equivalent to the marketplaces online today, but there were also different stores that would only sell their products.
Then came a wave of mass retail conglomerates (Walmart, Kroger, Costco, etc.) who eliminated the need for the smaller stores. Very similar to what Amazon did digitally for a lot of DTC brands - why shop at 8 stores when you can just go to one place and scoop everything up at once? Those were technically also “DTC” brands, just without the serif fonts and pastel colors ;)
And then with digital marketing becoming an opportunity to gain market share and distribution at a low cost, entrepreneurs realized they could put a good product at the center, and build a simple process: find a good product, run ads, grow revenue.
-> Build a program - run ads - grow donations <- sound familiar?
The flywheel around these businesses still included brand building, customer experience, operations, fulfillment, talent, capital, but at the center was always the product. It was okay though because there were two factors working in their favor:
The cost of getting distribution (aka running ads) was cheap
There wasn’t much competition, so if the product was good, that was good enough to encourage customer loyalty
When the barrier to entry became (obviously) lower, the ability to launch and scale brands centered around a single product diminished. Remember what happened with meal prep companies - when you have no real value propositions, and no real WHY as to why a customer should stay loyal to you, it eventually becomes a race to the bottom with price.
When you can get the same product, possibly even coming from the same contract manufacturer, how do you differentiate from the others?
It comes down to one thing: building a brand that people care about.
A handful of times this quarter, a chief development/SVP philanthropy of an Org has bluntly said to me (paraphrasing):
The business of fundraising is very different than 2 years ago.
We haven’t and we must carve out a really strong and unique position for ourselves.
There’s too much competition to just rely on ads.
Competition not only leads to higher donor acquisition costs. It makes it even more important for donors to remember WHY they chose you and what it is about your Org that makes them want to come back, to upgrade their giving to monthly, to give in honor of someone, to put you in their own will.
The last decade of fundraising has relied SO heavily on software and apps, and many Org’s have forgotten they need to build the brand piece, which you can't necessarily do with software or just by hiring an agency or a consultant. Yes, you can add QR codes or even send Postscript reminders with coupons, but technology is just the equivalent of leading the horse to the water. The horse still needs to want to drink it!
Today, there are two things that move into the center of that flywheel, that were on the outside ring, in the years prior:
Brand
Donor experience
Think about Peloton’s home bike versus the Nordic Track at-home bike... which one would you grab if both were free? That’s brand.
In conversations with fundraising teams I always ask how they plan to build the brand and get to a point where their paid donor acquisition is just one of 17 functions to bring in new donors, rather than it being 1 of max 3 functions today. And people often give me a pretty vacant look.
SPN Tip: Core to getting to that “17” number is landing on a very descriptive understanding of who the donor is, what apps do they consume, where do they get their news, how do they find out about new stuff, what do they retweet or post on their IG stories, etc. Without descriptive and detail-oriented data points like that, you can’t even acquire donors on paid media channels without breaking the bank or relying on their 4th donation, which isn't sustainable for many Org’s.
I put together what I think is the start of a modern-day ingredient list for brands.
Shoot me a reply with what you think is missing because there's always more to add. I’ll take everyone’s suggestion and make a post to share out of it.
A reason to exist and the problem you’re solving. Against 5 Org’s promoting similar programs what brings people back to you? Is it the community around your programs or your Org proposition? Is it the sense of belonging people gravitate toward from the content you create?
A story to relate to - the “why”. Why should someone donate to you over the next Org? Do you have a special ingredient? What do you do that makes you stand apart, not necessarily on the shelf, but as an Org? (I had a conversation with a Head of Talent this week and we chatted about marketing through the lens of prospective candidates, which sparked a ton of ideas).
A content engine. To cover your bases on owned, paid, and earned media, you need to be able to pump out new content, create moments that earned media can talk about, and also iterate and refine your messaging.
A deep understanding of your donor. Like I mentioned, you should know much more about your donor than their geo location… You should know what their friends like, what they consume, what they do on weekends, etc. You can’t create good content if you don’t know how they'll consume it.
A unique messaging and visual identity. You have to stand apart. Liquid Death is still my favorite example of this in the beverage space, being so far away from “normal” bottles of water. People don’t talk about the taste of the water. They talk about the feeling they get from holding their tallboy cans.
Consistency across donor touch points. There are so many channels you’re running on - email, SMS, website, display ads, press, influencer shoutouts, etc - you need to stay consistent with your messaging and creative. I read a super example of this recently about a women’s fashion brand called Cuyana. They do an exquisite job of staying consistent in details like ensuring the shadows on their photoshoots are the same. If you were to compare their 2025 creative to their 2019 creative - you’d think they were shot on the same day. I love that kind of attention to detail.
The desire to do right by the donor. This one is displayed less upfront, but is realized over time. When you just care about donor acquisition cost and the shortest path to conversion (or sending 45 emails in 3 days at EOY) over the donor experience, it becomes felt through donor interactions and the way you build the brand.
Purpose-led. If you don’t provide value, it’s hard to be talked about, or remembered to donate to. It’s memorable stories that resonate with people which lead to good outcomes. The authenticity of the human touch will always shine through.
All that said, there’s a lot of ways to interpret building BRAND, depending on your mission and programming, or how you bring value to your donor base, or potential donors.
These are some simple ideas I like to exercise, but also reply with ones you think are good, and I'll put them together and share them all with you →
Use landing pages with details. Don’t just send donors to your donation page, where your entire goal is to get the donation. Lead with education. Think about any experience at an Apple Store, you’re never sold to right away. The Apple employees will educate you on the products, and it becomes your idea to make the purchase and try it. As you find things that work on the landing pages, move those modules over to other web pages.
Lead with stories, not just your mission statement. When I changed the messaging for a food insecurity Org from “We provide meals to families in need” to a testimonial-type quote: “This organization helped my kids go to bed without being hungry for the first time in weeks,” everything improved: email open rates, donation conversions, organic social shares…
How would a donor or supporter explain to a friend why they give to or volunteer with your Org? In this case, it’s: “They helped a mom like me feed her kids.” That’s what you lead with. Let the emotional outcome - not the operational description - do the talking.
Use creators to tell your Org’s brand story. Creators are powerful and the reason they have a following is that they’re good at what they do. Test whether having them create content for you works. I’ve seen it really work and really not. It can be a more cost-effective way to produce content and your potential donors get the perception that your Org is in more places than they thought and they might be the last to hop on the brand wagon.
Create content around the persona, as well as your mission. Your social channels, email list, and blog have to be centered around your Org. But in parallel, can you create a newsletter that leans more into persona? For example, if you're a kids education-oriented Org, use the newsletter to deliver more value to parents. Include printable coloring-in sheets, 30 second videos, other brands they might love, upcoming events, etc.
Host IRL events. Do you know what increases donor LTV? Participation. Whether they’re as simple as running clubs, or as complex as dinners and parties, invite your donors to participate. It sets you apart from the brand next to it on the shelf. Digitally, you can host activations as simple as surveys to see what your donors like, don't like, and understand why. The more they participate, the more "in" the brand of your Org they are.
Make organic shares your KPI for owned content. Whether it’s your newsletter, Instagram posts, or a blog post, if you optimize the content for organic shares, you’ll get 3 extra sets of eyes for every 1 that you bring. It’s valuable and creates quick brand awareness. The “catch” here is that it can lead to poor or off-brand content, so balance it.
OK, that’s all for today.
Let me know if there’s anything you’d add to either list. I hope you’ve found one nugget today that you can put into play next week.
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And huge thanks to this Quarter’s sponsor Fundraise Up for creating a new standard for online giving.
Now onto the fun stuff!
Jobs & Opps 🛠️
If you have any jobs that you’d like me to profile please send them to me. There’s a lot of great talent looking for opportunities right now.
London Marathon: Marketing Director
Live Action: Director, Digital Fundraising
Obama Foundation: Senior Director, OPC and Brand Marketing ($166,820 - $208,573)
Gates Foundation: Deputy Director, Partnerships for Impact ($254,700.00 - $394,700)
The Rockefeller Foundation: Director, Content Strategy ($150,500 - $185,400)
Tides Foundation: Executive Director
Doctors Without Borders (UK): Corporate Manager (Fundraising) (£58,282)
Good360: Chief Marketing & Fundraising Officer ($185,000+)
Royal Society for the Protection of Animals: Digital Content and Production Lead (£45,074 - £53,028)
Disasters Emergency Committee: Direct Marketing Manager-Acquisition (£40,600)
British Heart Foundation: Product Owner (£43,000 - £45,000)
New York Public Radio: Vice President, Philanthropy ($200,000 - $225,000)
DigDeep: Director, Development ($100,000 - $120,000)
Weekly Reads 📚
Expect “Very Negative Outcomes” As Advertising Growth Stagnates Into 2030 (AdExchanger)
How a computer that “drunk dials” videos is exposing YouTube’s secrets (BBC)
Younger Consumers Are Choosing Creator Content Over Premium TV and Movies (Deloitte)
How Software Engineers Actually Use AI (Wired)
Why Empathy Is Accessible For Workplace Success (Fast Company)
Mom, The Brands Are Fighting Again (WSJ)
China’s AI Boom Is Reaching Astonishing Proportions (The Economist)
US Reaches 100M Paid Music Streaming Subscribers For the First Time (Tech Crunch)
Early Warnings Signal A Recession May Already Have Begun - What Brands Need to Know (AdAge)