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The 10 Best Nonprofit Marketing Agencies
BLOG / Marketing 26 April 2023
According to research by Zipia, there are more than 1.5 million nonprofit organizations in the US alone! If we look on a global scale, the number of nonprofits easily surpasses the 10 million mark!
With the presence of so many nonprofits and even new ones registered every day, it can become difficult for a nonprofit to stand out and make its presence known in the world!
But have you ever wondered why some nonprofits are more popular than others?
Part of that could be their excellent work and effort in improving our world. But a just as significant reason behind this popularity can be attributed to the marketing efforts of these nonprofits!
So, if you also want to get more volunteers, donors, and exposure for your nonprofit organization, then you need to step up your marketing efforts as well!
However, marketing should only be carried by professional hands. And that’s where nonprofit marketing agencies come into play.
When a nonprofit hires a digital marketing agency, the former can outsource services such as market research & strategizing, content creation, spreading brand awareness, social media management, SEO, etc.
It is usually best to leave these tasks to experts rather than in-house teams to get the best results & more exposure!
But since most of these agencies operate in the 4 figures and higher, it might be rather expensive for some nonprofits! If you happen to be launching on a budget, you might find more relevant content for you in our article about marketing automation for nonprofits!
Anyways, today we will look at the best nonprofit marketing agencies to help you reach more people & further its cause.
So let’s get started!
These are the 10 best nonprofit marketing agencies
My assistant and I have literally looked and reviewed hundreds of marketing agencies the past few days trying to spot la creme de la creme for you!
We definitely focused on agencies that either specialize or pioneer in offering services for nonprofits. We, then, have come up with the top 10 names!
But those are based on our research and our perspective. It’s not factual! Yet, we believe the ones below are really crushing it & they’ll be good options for you!
You can also compare the ones below based on criteria like budget, types of services, & other factors that matter the most to you. That’s how you ensure you’ll pick the right nonprofit marketing agency that meets your requirements.
Here are our top-10 go-to agencies for your noble cause:
Social Driver
- Rating: 4.9/5.0 (Clutch) | 5.0/5.0 (Google Reviews)
- Service Focus: Social Media Marketing, Web Design, Web Development, Advertising, Branding, UX/UI Design & Video Production.
- Minimum Project Size: $25,000
- Employees: 10-49
- Location: Washington, DC
Social Driver is a well-rounded US-based digital agency that provides services related to social media, websites, digital presence strategy, branding, and video production. Basically, they offer all the marketing services that a nonprofit needs for more exposure and increased awareness.
The reason we have put it in the top spot is due to its overwhelming positive ratings across different platforms, including Clutch & Google. In addition, they have been around for more than 11 years. And as a marketer myself, I ensure that sufficient experience in the marketing field makes a huge difference, no matter how educated one is.
For web development, Social Driver mainly focuses on WordPress and Drupal CMS; both of which are fairly popular and good website builders for nonprofits.
As for branding, they can help an organization with its corporate identity, brand strategy, brand messaging, and naming.
In addition, they can also help nonprofits with social media marketing on platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Snapchat, Twitter, and TikTok!
Another service offered by Social Driver is video production… They can help produce different types of videos (explainer, branded, interview, and corporate videos).
Although they offer an all-in-one solution for nonprofits, the minimum project size they accept is $25,000. So, for a small nonprofit organization, that might prove to be a barrier.
But if your budget can cover the 25 grand marketing cost, these guys are your go-to!
According to Social Driver, some of the prominent non profit organizations that are using their services include:
- American Nurses Association
- Modern Military Association of America
- Elizabeth Dole Foundation
- Goodwill Industries International
Art & Science
- Rating: 4.9/5.0 (Clutch) | 4.8/5.0 (Featured Customers)
- Service Focus: Pay Per Click (PPC), Digital Strategy, E-Commerce Development, Web Design, Content Marketing, Media Buying, Data Mining, Front/Back End Programming, & Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
- Minimum Project Size: $25,000
- Employees: 50-249
- Location: Toronto, Canada
Art & Science is based in Toronto (Canada) and brings a lot of skills to the table from its in-house marketing team. From PPC to content marketing to SEO and even web design… they offer a lot of services without which a nonprofit won’t bloom.
In addition, Art & Science has also won multiple global awards. This makes it one of a kind.
If we look at the employee numbers of this Canadian agency, it is within the range of 50-249, which tells us that they do a lot of their work in-house!
In some cases, too many employees may mean that the company’s losing control over the quality of its deliverables. However, I reviewed some recent reviews, and the company seems to be covered against this issue!
For web development, Art & Science uses popular CMS & frameworks, including WordPress, AngularJS, React Native, Laravel, & others.
They also offer development and design services for e-commerce systems such as Shopify and Woocommerce.
In Pay Per Click (PPC), which is one of their main service offerings, they mainly work with Google Adwords, Bing Advertising, and YouTube Advertising.
And for SEO, they offer mobile optimization, content development, on-site optimization, local search, and reputation management services.
If we look at the portfolio of the Arts & Science digital agency, some of the prominent nonprofits which are using their services include:
- Knowledge First Financial
- Precision Nutrition
- VetStrategy
- Canadian Cancer Society
- Sagen
As you can see, they have a lot of famous Canadian nonprofits as their clients… The fact that they are also based in Canada makes them very approachable and a good choice for Canadian nonprofits especially.
However, that’s not to say that they can’t deliver exceptional marketing services for others!
So if you have a budget of $25,000 or more for marketing, then Art & Sciences is a worthwhile agency.
Signature Video Group
- Rating: 5.0/5.0 (Clutch)
- Service Focus: Video Production, Content Marketing
- Minimum Project Size: $10,000
- Employees: 2-9
- Location: Toronto, Canada
Signature Video Group (SVG) is based in Toronto and mainly specializes in video production. And it is potentially one of best nonprofit video marketing agencies.
SVG devotes its human capabilities to help nonprofits turn their stories into engaging and powerful videos.
If we look at some of their clients, they have a lot of big names, such as Samsung, Autodesk, Maple Leaf, Best Buy, and Intel. Although these companies are not 100% nonprofit, they do engage in charity, fundraising, and support various social causes.
So, whether your organization needs to attract more donors or wants to explain its cause with a stunning video, SVG can be a good choice!
If we look at their employee count, it is small, but their strong portfolio and stellar rating of 5.0 is enough of a reason to mention them in the #3 spot!
SVG also offers video production for many different campaigns. Think broadcast commercials, aerial cinematography, product demos, explainer videos, event films, corporate communications, explainer videos, etc.
They can basically handle all the aspects of video production from the storyboarding phase, to the casting, directing, filming, sound effects, voiceovers, etc…
In other words, a nonprofit only needs to tell about its core values and philosophy & SVG then handles everything from that point onwards.
The only downside of Signature Video Group is that they only focus on video production and content marketing. For a nonprofit that wants a broader mix of marketing services, it would have to hire another marketing agency.
But regarding video production, there’s no doubt that SVG is at the top!
SEO Brand
- Rating: 4.9/5.0 (Clutch)
- Service Focus: Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Pay Per Click (PPC)
- Minimum Project Size: $1000
- Employees: 10-49
- Location: Boca Raton, Florida
The next name on our list is an SEO pioneer that provides top-tier SEO and PPC services. The talk is about the award winning agency SEO Brand.
So, again we ask the question, what made us put this agency fourth when there are thousands of SEO agencies out there?
Well, it is their extensive experience in the marketing field and their exotic client portfolio. The latter includes big names such as The Weather Channel, Montblanc, and The Ritz Carlton.
To give you some perspective, the clients of the SEO Brand have a retention rate of 88%, which tells us that they absolutely love this agency! In addition, they also do not bind clients with long-term contracts and are very approachable, even for small brands.
PPC and SEO are the services that are needed by most nonprofits.
However, the minimum budget required by most marketing agencies fluctuate in the $10,000 range or higher. But SEO Brand agency accepts small projects worth $1000, which makes it a good choice for even small nonprofits.
The SEO service offered by this marketing agency focuses on content development, on-site optimization, link earning, local search, reputation management, and mobile optimization.
For nonprofits seeking PPC and SEO services, SEO Brand is the go-to of the niche. As for other marketing services like social media, you may want to rely on other marketing agencies.
Sure, this would take a little more management, but you will be hiring a marketing agency that really excels in SEO & PPC.
SEO Brand has numerous big names as their clients, such as:
- Mont Blanc
- McGill University
- Giorgio Armani
- Duty-Free Americas
- US Department of State Ritz
3 Media Web
- Rating: 4.9/5.0 (Clutch)
- Service Focus: Web Development, Web Design, Logo, Digital Strategy, SEO, Conversion Rate Optimization, & Lead Generation
- Minimum Project Size: $50,000
- Employees: 10-49
- Location: Marlborough, Massachusetts
The #5th name on our list is 3 Media Web, a versatile digital marketing agency for nonprofits & for-profits alike.
According to 3 Media Web, they have more than 20 years of experience providing marketing services such as SEO, inbound lead generation, web design/development, logo, and others.
For a nonprofit organization, all of these services are relevant and can help it reach more donors & thus further its cause.
As for why we picked 3 Media Web in our list, I would primarily highlight that they have a stellar clientele and star rating (again). And add that they are an award-winning agency in website design & digital marketing!
From enhancing engagement to conversion to growth, 3 Web Media provides it all to its clients!
If we are to highlight one downside to this agency, it would be that it only provides web development/design services for WordPress CMS.
This does mean that they’ll excel in WordPress, yet, this means that they’re not available for everyone!
According to data from Clutch, around 10% of their clients are from the nonprofit industry! This indicates that they do have sufficient experience in the industry & know what’s needed for success.
Some of the prominent nonprofit organizations that rely on the services of 3 Media Web include:
- Catholic Charities Boston
- Cape Organization for the Rights of the Disabled
- North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce
- Americares
Burst Digital
- Rating: 5.0/5.0 (Clutch)
- Service Focus: Branding, Graphic Design, Web Design, Logo, Social Media Marketing, Web Development, UX/UI Design, SEO
- Minimum Project Size: $5000
- Employees: 2-9
- Location: London, United Kingdom
Burst Digital also supports a large clientele, 10% of which nonprofit organizations. This alone is a good starting reason to add it to our list of marketing agencies for nonprofits.
The agency’s also physically located in New York as well as London, which makes them accessible to a lot of nonprofits in the most vibrant continents.
It is essentially a great option for nonprofits from the US and UK who are looking for a marketing agency with a physical presence!
And if we look at the ratings of Burst Digital, it is overwhelmingly positive on Clutch, Glassdoor, and Featured Consumer’s websites. Once again, this is a sign that they are providing results to their clients through their marketing services.
Burst Digital is more of a one-stop solution for marketing services since its service lineup is very diverse. From branding to web development to graphic design, they offer everything a nonprofit would need to succeed!
The branding service offered by Burst Digital involves corporate identity, product branding, brand messaging, brand strategy, and naming.
For new startups that need help with their branding, it can be a good idea to consider Burst Digital. And to top it all off, the minimum project size is only $5000, which will be a good starting point for many nonprofits.
As for their SEO service, they can help nonprofits with content development, local search, link earning, on-site optimization, and reputation management. Once again, they offer a comprehensive SEO package that involves all the aspects of search engine optimization.
In addition, Burst Digital also provides social media marketing on all popular platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, and Twitter.
According to Burst Digital, their portfolio includes many big-name brands, such as:
- Lucinda Green
- EA First
- Vivienne Westwood
- China Unbound
- Clean Kitchen
Ladybugz Interactive Agency
- Rating: 5.0/5.0 (Clutch)
- Service Focus: Web Design, Web Development, Advertising, & Marketing Strategy
- Minimum Project Size: $10,000
- Employees: 10-49
- Location: Hudson, Massachusetts
25% of LadyBugz Interactive Agency’s portfolio are nonprofits projects. This is already way higher than other marketing agencies.
A share of this magnitude means that Ladybugs Interactive Agency has enough exposure to the marketing challenges faced by an average nonprofit.
The service focus of LadyBugz Interactive Agency mainly revolves around creative web design, web development, and paid advertising. So, from the start of your website (design & development) to advertising it to the right audience, this agency can handle it all.
The stellar reputation of LadyBugz Interactive Agency on Clutch & various other rating platforms is a fundamental factor why this name’s on our list.
In addition, the agency, which saves itself a chair in the best nonprofit marketing agencies hall, also has a lot of clients from the nonprofit industry, which is an additional plus point.
Still, the only downside we could spot is that they only work with the WordPress platform. No room for Drupal 9 or Magento or any other CMS users with LadyBugz! But considering how 43% of all websites are powered by WordPress, this might not be a problem for many.
Regarding the minimum project size, they have set a limit of $10,000. But if we look at the web design & development industry, the price tag of this is actually pretty standard, considering they bring a lot of creativity into their projects.
Some of the prominent nonprofit clients of LadyBugz Interactive Agency are given below:
- The Home for Little Wanderers
- Discover Hudson
- Assabet Community Education
- Martin Trust School for Early Learners
PBJ Marketing
- Rating: 4.8/5.0 (Clutch)
- Service Focus: Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Pay Per Click (PPC), Website Development, & Ad Creative
- Minimum Project Size: $10,000
- Employees: 10-49
- Location: Washington, DC
PBJ is one of the best nonprofit marketing agencies that specialize in SEO & PPC. You can definitely rely on PBJ marketing for all things related to these forms of advertising (search & social).
Many reviews on Clutch stated that the team at PBJ Marketing remains at the forefront of the latest developments in the search platforms. This gives them an edge over other marketing agencies which are offering SEO and PPC.
Some of the services offered by PBJ Marketing include paid advertising on search engines, social media, and other platforms. They also offer retargeting marketing and the development of ad creatives.
For nonprofits that are only interested in the SEO and the PPC aspect of marketing, PBJ Marketing can be a good choice.
Needless to say, this agency also offers website design, website development, and conversion tracking, but most of their customers seek their services for SEO and PPC.
Unlike other marketing agencies whose portfolio only contains a small percentage of nonprofits, PBJ Marketing is an exception. According to data from Clutch, around 20% of PBJ Marketing clients are nonprofits.
OurOwnBrand
- Rating: 5.0/5.0 (Clutch)
- Service Focus: Branding, Video Production, Social Media Marketing, Web Design, & Advertising
- Minimum Project Size: $10,000
- Employees: 2-10
- Location: London, United Kingdom
Our Own Brand’s motto is that your success is our success!
This marketing agency is based in London and started in 2018. Since then, Our Own Brand has won multiple awards and has helped numerous big names with their marketing undertakings, placing itself among the best nonprofit marketing agencies ever!
Although they do offer a lot of services, the most popular ones are paid advertising & web design services.
OOB’s team helps companies advertise on various platforms such as Facebook & Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter. As a part of their advertising services, they also help companies with influencer marketing, which has gained traction in the last few years.
And just like most of the other marketing firms, Our Own Brand’s portfolio also consists of 10% nonprofits. So if your nonprofit needs help with advertising and social media marketing, then you can also consider this marketing firm.
Some of the prominent nonprofit organizations which are part of Our Own Brand’s portfolio include:
- Pakistan Environment Trust
- St John’s Hospice
- IAPFF
New Design Group Inc.
- Rating: 5.0/5.0 (Clutch)
- Service Focus: Branding, Pay Per Click (PPC), Web Design, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), & Social Media Marketing
- Minimum Project Size: $1000
- Employees: 2-10
- Location: Toronto, Canada
New Design Group has been around since 2002 and, through the years, has managed to earn a reputation for consistently delivering quality services. It is indeed one of the best best nonprofit marketing agencies.
The best thing about this digital marketing agency is that they offer free consultations to all clients with no obligations! If your nonprofit needs any of the services mentioned above, feel free to call them and get the ball rolling.
The minimum project size set by the New Design Group Inc. is only $1000. This is a plus point! The cost enables small to medium nonprofit organizations to avail the services of an award-winning team without committing large scales!
The branding service offered by New Design Group consists of brand strategy, corporate identity, brand messaging, product branding, and naming.
For their web design service, the agency primarily works with WordPress, but does provide services related to other CMS for some clients.
Another service offered by them is PPC, in which they help companies get traffic and engagement from Google Adwords and other social platforms.
In addition, they also offer a comprehensive SEO service that covers everything from on-site to off-site to reputation management.
According to data from Clutch, around 35% of their clients are from the nonprofit industry!It’s by far the highest percentage on our list so far!
So, for potential nonprofits looking for a suitable marketing agency, it is worth contacting NDGI, since they have sufficient experience in this specific industry.
Some of the prominent nonprofits which are availing the services of New Design Group Inc. include:
- STEM Fellowship
- Asthma Canada
- Lung Association
How much money do nonprofits spend on marketing?
According to a recent study, average nonprofit organizations spend around 4% of the raised money (donations) on digital advertising. In addition, roughly 70% of the advertising budget of a nonprofit usually goes toward new donor acquisition. This indicates that nonprofits spend a fairly reasonable amount of their budget on marketing activities.
If we look at for-profit companies, it is customary to spend as much as 20% of the gross revenue (not the ROI) on marketing activities. But a typical nonprofit can’t allocate that much for marketing as it may eventually hurt their mission and cause. That’s why it is advisable to allocate no more than 15% of the collected donations toward marketing activities, as experts recommend!
And if we look at the average marketing budget in dollars, the annual spend by a nonprofit is around $12,067. For more prominent nonprofits, the annual marketing budget can easily surpass that value, and the opposite is true for small nonprofits.
So, how much do you think you would like to sped on any of the best nonprofit marketing agencies? We recommend you stick to the average 4/5%, and focus on ads & media that produces the highest amount of exposure and returns.
Final thoughts
There’s no doubt that your nonprofit needs a dedicated marketing firm to handle digital marketing. The only question to ask is how much to spend on digital marketing and which digital marketing agency to choose!
As this can be a tedious task considering there are thousands of options, we hope that we helped you narrow down the choice range with this list of the best nonprofit marketing agencies.
The easiest way is to contact different marketing firms with a strong reputation, good reviews, & have been around for a while. When you are in contact with them, remember to ask about their relevant experience in nonprofits and what they can do to help your organization achieve its goals. This will allow you to pick the right marketing agency that understands the needs of your organization.