Marketing themes are a good way to shine a light on one area of impact. But do they always work in fundraising?

When you think about the golden rule of fundraising—putting the donor first—you begin to see the limitations of an organization-driven theme.

Fundraisers are in a tough spot here. Your CMO asks you to fold your shiny new theme into your fundraising appeals. But if it’s not what donors want to hear, results dip and money is wasted.

A conservationist group we work with met this challenge the right way. Every three months, the organization focuses on one piece of their work and run stories, articles and guided hikes around issues like farmland loss and stream habitats.

[perfectpullquote align=”left”]The development team goes out of their way to understand each theme. Rather than plugging its talking points directly into their fundraising copy, they figure out how to adapt each theme for their supporters.[/perfectpullquote]

A few months ago, their spring awareness campaign centered on the life-giving power of water on natural landscapes. The fundraising team focused their renewal drive on a single property where they were restoring a vast area of damaged marshland. Suddenly, the message had urgency, focus and a tangible outcome without losing sight of the larger issue of water. Everyone got what they wanted, especially their donors.

So the answer is no, marketing themes don’t always work in fundraising. But because you know your donors better than anyone else, you can always make them work.