Helping charities access marketing funding
Marketing often sits quietly beneath the surface of charitable work. It shapes how organisations connect with their communities, supports outreach, builds trust, and helps people understand the difference a charity makes. Despite this, when teams have limited capacity, marketing activity is often pushed down the list, even though its value is widely recognised.
For many organisations, securing marketing funding can feel uncertain or out of reach. Yet many funders will consider marketing costs when they are clearly linked to a project’s outcomes. The challenge is not whether marketing is acceptable, but how it is explained. Funders want to see a clear connection between communication and impact, set out with confidence and in a way that reflects the charity’s purpose rather than its technical expertise.
For charities that want to include marketing within a funding request, clarity is usually more persuasive than complexity. Funders respond well to a straightforward explanation of who the activity is for and what will actually happen. This might involve raising awareness of a new service, improving access for particular communities, or strengthening engagement with families or volunteers. When set out clearly, these points help funders understand how communication supports the wider aims of the work and why funding for marketing is justified.
Although the reasoning may feel obvious when talked through informally, translating it into a written application can be more difficult. Smaller charities in particular are often working with limited time and shared responsibilities, which makes it harder to step back and shape a strong narrative. Identifying suitable funders who are open to charity marketing costs adds another layer of work. These pressures are familiar across the sector and reflect the reality of delivering meaningful support alongside day-to-day demands.
Support that understands charity marketing and funding
Raise to Rise is an organisation that helps small and newer charities strengthen their fundraising in ways that feel achievable and relevant. Founded in 2024, Raise to Rise was set up in response to the lack of accessible, affordable support available to smaller organisations, particularly when it comes to securing marketing funding alongside core project costs. In their first year, they worked with 34 charities across the UK and helped secure more than £226,000 in funding.
Support from Raise to Rise takes a number of forms. Some organisations choose to have draft applications reviewed, often to improve clarity or to make sure plans for marketing for charities are clearly linked to outcomes. Others use the funding search service to identify opportunities that are a good fit for their work, including funders that are open to funding for marketing activity as part of a wider project. This can save time that is often in short supply.
Strategy meetings offer space to think through plans more carefully and to explore how communication or marketing for charity work might support outcomes without becoming unmanageable. The level of support is shaped around the needs of each organisation, recognising that charity marketing is often handled alongside many other responsibilities.
Putting marketing funding into context
When a charity includes marketing within a funding application, the most effective approach is often a simple one. Funders want to understand why the activity is needed and how it will help people engage with the service or support being offered. This usually involves explaining who the intended audience is, how the charity plans to reach them, and what difference that communication will make in practice.
Marketing does not need to be presented as a separate or standalone project. In many cases, it sits naturally within community outreach, service promotion, programme delivery, or volunteer engagement. What matters most is explaining how communication strengthens the charity’s ability to reach people and deliver its aims, and why marketing funding plays a practical role in making that happen.
Charities that have worked with Raise to Rise often talk about the reassurance they gain from having time to think these ideas through. Many find it helpful to have their plans for marketing reflected back to them and shaped into a narrative that feels accurate and honest. This kind of support can be particularly valuable for smaller teams where fundraising, service delivery, and charity marketing are often handled by the same people.
Why this matters
Marketing plays a quiet but important role in how charities grow their reach and support their communities. When charities are able to secure marketing funding, they are better placed to explain what they offer and to make sure people know where to turn for help. A clear, realistic explanation of why marketing matters, and how it will be delivered, can strengthen a funding application considerably.
For charities that would benefit from additional guidance, Raise to Rise offers a thoughtful and understanding approach that reflects the day-to-day experience of smaller organisations. Their insight can help teams feel more confident when making the case for their work, for charity marketing, and for the communication activity that supports it.
