A sector divided

If you ask anyone who works in direct marketing for a nonprofit organisation the chances are they’ll have some experience of working with an agency. And for good reason. Have you ever tried to start up an in-house telemarketing team? What about an in-house face-to-face team? I’m exhausted just at the thought of it.

Written by
Alison McCants
Added
December 17, 2013
Make sure you’re both heading in the same direction: fundraisers need to learn how to successfully work with agencies.

As for direct mail – who has the time, skills and disposition to be data analyst, strategist, planner, fundraiser, copywriter, designer and print specialist? Don’t even mention trying to plan several well-crafted, well-targeted direct mail appeals alongside running any of the other kinds of direct marketing activity.

Let’s face it, there’s a lot of investment of both time and money to set up an in-house team of any sort. So most charities will work with agencies at some point in their fundraising lives.

So the obvious question (to me) is – how are fundraisers trained to learn how to work with agencies? How do we know how to get the most from an agency? And, dare I say it, how do we know when they’re not doing the job well enough?

Now hold on. I’m not so embittered that I swear off all agencies (and believe me, I know a few people out there who do...). I understand that an agency is a business in-and-of-itself. The account directors have budgets, too. And I’m sure they want the best for their clients, but I’m not going to be so naive to assume the agency doesn’t get some sort of profit. And that’s OK. In fact, it’s more than OK. We need these agencies to make money. They will only succeed, in the longer term, if we as their clients succeed. It’s a win-win for us both.

But there are price inflations here, a little added on the top there, ‘nickel-and-diming’ as we say in the US. There are head-to-head appeals where the in-house test pack blows the agency pack out of the water (and yes, I must admit, vice versa). Agencies do sometimes undermine the relationship of trust...but so do their charity clients.

I myself am guilty of it. I’ve harangued, threatened, accused, gotten my back up unnecessarily and generally created a spirit of discontent. Admittedly, I’ve only realised all of this afterwards; at the time I thought I was doing my job to protect the charity from unwarranted costs. I felt I owed it to my charity’s beneficiaries. Service cuts, closures, and vulnerable people left unaided because of lack of funding weighed heavily on my conscience.

And therein lies the problem. Charity workers are constantly torn between our donors (who expect us to raise money from zero investment), our target beneficiary group (who naturally want to be helped and treated with respect and dignity) and agencies (who expect us to be willing to risk investment on a new creative or concept or approach – where we bear all the burden of risk on our shoulders). But there is no formal training, no academia, no fundraising institute’s best practice guide to help us navigate the treacherous or highly rewarding path of agency relationships.

If I ruled the world (or at least the charity sector), I’d add ‘working with agencies’ to every professional development course. I’d create a best practice guide and I’d add at least one session on the topic to every Resource Alliance, Association of Fundraising Professionals, Institute of Fundraising convention or conference in the calendar.

This article was originally posted on A K McCants: thought alchemy.

About the author: Alison McCants

Alison McCants

Alison McCants is a fundraiser with a passion for charities. Currently Alison is Direct Marketing Manager at The Brooke, a leading UK charity dedicated to improving the lives of working horses, donkeys and mules (all views are her own). She is a member of the Institute of Fundraising (IOF) in the UK and holds a Certificate in Fundraising Management MInstF(Cert) from the IOF.

Recent Articles

Exploring the evolution and trends of mid-level fundraising

What is the difference between major and mid-level giving? What changes are we seeing after years of traditional mid-level programmes? What charities have been innovating in this area of fundraising? In a special long read written especially for SOFII, Simon Dickson explores all these questions and kick starts your thinking about what mid-level giving could look like at your charity.

Read more

ChatGPT and fundraising – what do you need to know? (part two)

In the second instalment of our series on ChatGPT and fundraising, SOFII talks to Cherian Koshy – the founder of a platform that democratises access to artificial intelligence and machine learning for nonprofit organisations. Dive in and explore Cherian’s in-depth insights and opinions on ChatGPT for fundraisers. 

Read more

ChatGPT and fundraising – what do you need to know? (part one)

You’ve probably heard about ChatGPT. You might have read about how it could revolutionise (or destroy) everything from internet searches to journalism. But as fundraisers, what do you really need to know? In part one of a two-part piece, we ask three digital fundraisers to give us their opinions on ChatGPT. 

Read more

The Legacy Showcase – where fundraisers share inspiring campaigns

SOFII knows that fundraisers like you understand the importance of legacy fundraising and are seeking new ideas to inform and inspire your work. Well look no further! The Legacy Showcase is a collection of short videos where fundraisers share their favourite legacy campaign and explain why they think it’s worthy of your admiration too.

Read more

I wish I’d thought of… charity shop Gift Aid

Charity shop Gift Aid. Is it fundraising history? Is it fundraising innovation? Is it a tax loophole for good? Honestly, it’s probably all three! Jonathan Cook takes you on the somewhat strange yet fascinating journey of how charity shops began making 25 per cent more for every pound they earned by simply selling the UK’s donated goods.

Read more

Also in Categories