In the world of nonprofits, it’s easy to view similar organizations as competitors vying for the same limited pool of donors and resources.
And that may be true in cases where there are multiple organizations providing the same services, and history or something else prevents you from working together.
What if we changed that narrative with a slightly different approach? What if, instead of rivals, we saw potential allies in our mission to make the world a better place? And instead of working with our “competitors”, what if we work with other parts of our “village”?
The power of co-marketing
The biggest benefit to working together is the ability to leverage your shared audiences to build your own and amplify your message.
- Expand your reach: Tap into each other’s audiences, spreading your message further than ever before.
- Stretch your budget: Pool resources to make every marketing dollar count.
- Boost credibility: Show donors and supporters that you’re truly committed to the cause, not just your organization.
- Offer comprehensive solutions: Address complex issues more effectively by presenting a united front.
- Spark innovation: Cross-pollinate ideas and approaches, leading to creative new strategies.
It’s not the same as partnerships
Partnership and co-marketing are related but distinct concepts. A partnership is a broader, often more formal arrangement where organizations collaborate on various aspects of their operations, potentially including shared services, joint programs, or resource pooling. Co-marketing, on the other hand, is an informal way of collaborating on marketing efforts, usually for free.
Instead of working directly with what seems like your “competition”, comarketing enables you to work with organizations that may dovetail or be adjacent to your cause, but not directly the same.
Why it works
In co-marketing, organizations work together to promote each other’s services or a joint initiative, typically without integrating other aspects of their operations. It’s easier, friendlier, and gets the job done: leveraging each others’ audiences to introduce them to adjacent causes and movements they may be interested in.
Simple ways to co-market might be sharing social posts, including a mention in your newsletter, highlighting them in a blog that helps with your site’s SEO, creating an “orgs we like and you might too” page on your website, cross-promoting events, or even sharing ad space online, in print, and out-of-home.
Co-marketing in action: 6 inspiring examples
Let’s look at some examples of how nonprofits can team up:
- Social media cross-promotion: A food bank and a community garden share each other’s posts. The food bank promotes the garden’s volunteer opportunities, while the garden highlights the food bank’s upcoming donation drive. This simple strategy expands both organizations’ reach without any additional cost.
- Collaborative content creation: An environmental organization partners with a local political action committee to create infographics explaining each political candidate’s conservation history. This helps both groups inform their audiences while remaining non-partisan, establishing them as valuable information sources.
- Joint email campaigns: A youth mentoring program and a local education foundation create a joint email newsletter. They showcase success stories from both organizations, share resources, and promote each other’s events to their combined subscriber list, effectively doubling their audience.
- Co-hosted webinars: A mental health nonprofit collaborates with a workplace wellness company to host a series of webinars on stress management. By promoting the series through their respective channels, they attract a diverse audience and establish themselves as thought leaders in their field.
- Shared advertising space: A group of small, local nonprofits with complementary missions pool their resources to purchase a billboard in a high-traffic area. The billboard rotates messages from each organization, giving them all exposure they couldn’t afford individually.
- Newsletter exchange: An animal shelter teams up with the local library for a creative exchange. The library features an “Adoptable Dog of the Month” in their nonprofit newsletter, while the shelter promotes an “Animal Book of the Month” in theirs. This partnership not only cross-promotes both organizations but also creates engaging, varied content for their respective audiences.
Taking the first step
Make a list of all the organizations in your area that you know do great work, and eliminate any that are totally unrelated or too similar. Anything that’s left are your potential matches. For example, if you’re an animal shelter, you could be collaborating with libraries, youth programs, adult education, rehabilitation and therapy centers, art centers and youth theaters, crossfit gyms, or military communities.
We’re all fighting for good causes, after all. Joining forces in your marketing efforts, might be the answer to building your own audience while also creating a more unified community for issues that matter.
Why not take that first step? Reach out to a similar organization and start a conversation about how you might work together on a co-marketing initiative. You might be surprised when it helps grow your online donations or opens other doors that weren’t there before.
Sometimes a creative way forward is to link arms with others who share our passion. In the world of nonprofits, a rising tide truly can lift all boats.
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