Why is charity marketing so hard?

Yours is one of around 170,000 charities in the UK, which means that you've got a lot of work to do just to get known about, remembering that before someone can access your support, donate to your cause, or give their time as a volunteer, they have to know you exist in the first place.

Even when you are well known, you're competing with all the other good causes out there that are trying to do what you're doing. This is especially true when it comes to generating income through individual and corporate giving, where you're essentially all fishing in the same pond looking to hook the same people and businesses.

And on top of all that, there's the fact that donations are made on a discretionary basis, after necessities have been bought and paid for, which means you're also up against businesses that are vying for a slice of that discretionary spend too.

It's a similar picture when it comes to volunteers. Not only are you competing with other charities to attract people who are inclined to give some of their free time to support good causes, those people have other demands on that time.

Success isn't guaranteed by a noble cause alone. It requires a tireless effort to stand-out and win the hearts, minds, and wallets of a limited pool of supporters in the face of stiff competition. That's where we come in.

(Read about our brand new quarterly public attitudes tracker for charities and non-profits)

Pricing and charging for charity marketing and PR

How we calculate our prices

There are generally two components to our pricing: things we do in-house, and things we buy-in.

Everything we do in-house ourselves is based on the time and resource committed to deliver the work we're hired to perform, multiplied by an hourly rate that's designed to recover all associated costs and leave us with a profit.
Things we buy-in, like print or advertising, are charged at cost plus a small handling fee (to cover some of the cash flow risk we take on).

Charities and non-profit social enterprises automatically qualify for a discount on our hourly rates.

Our charity charging models

Every client is different and has its own unique circumstances, and so when it comes to the way we charge for our work, we try to be as flexible and accommodating as we can.

Project pricing: fixed cost
If cost certainty is important to you, we can provide you with a fixed price for a given project. When you opt for this approach, we'll tightly define the scope of the project and invoice you the agreed cost - with an important caveat: if you alter the scope of the project once it's underway, any amendments will be put through our Change Control process, and you will be billed separately for any additional costs incurred as a result of the requested changes.

Project pricing: time-based cost
This is perfect for those projects and initiatives where tightly defining the scope isn't always as easy. We agree an hourly rate at the outset, maintain detailed timesheets to record all work performed, and then invoice you accordingly during the life of the project.

Retainer pricing: fixed monthly rate
You might be looking for a longer-term, more strategic partnership. In this case, a retainer model might be more attractive. You can buy monthly 'blocks' of time ranging from 4 to 16 hours a month and pay a fixed amount by direct debit every month.

Retainer pricing: monthly 'collar-and-cap'
Sometimes, you might want a longer-term relationship but with extra flexibility built-in throughout the year to adapt to expected seasonal fluctuations for example. This is what our 'cap-and-collar' pricing is best suited to. Each month, you'll be invoiced somewhere between the agreed minimum amount (the 'collar') and a maximum (the 'cap') based on our time invested at the agreed hourly rate. If we encounter a situation in which it looks likely even the cap will be exceeded, you'll be given the opportunity to either temporarily increase the cap that period or accept reduced output and activity (below the collar) in a subsequent period. This gives us a degree of income certainty and helps us plan our resource deployment in a way that also allows us to scale-up and meet your additional demands when needed without constantly having to seek additional approvals, but where you're always in control of your expenditure.

Longer = better

We know that the longer we work with you, the better the results will get. It's simple really: we get to know you in more detail, and that allows us to gain clearer insights into your audiences so we can hone your promotional PR and marketing messages for greater impact.

We also value longer-term commitments because of the income visibility that provides for us.

Our pricing reflects this synergy.

One-off, ad-hoc projects always attract our highest hourly rates. Retainer agreements, whether on a fixed monthly rate or collar-and-cap basis, attract lower hourly rates - and these reduce even more depending on the length of your commitment, so you'll pay less if you sign-up for two years than if you sign-up for six months.