What If Your Best Donors Aren’t Ready Yet?

The Tension We’re All Feeling

We’re all chasing growth. More donors. More engagement. More revenue to fund our missions.

And one of the most common tools we turn to is performance marketing. It’s the kind of marketing built to drive immediate action, like email campaigns, paid ads, or donation pages that ask for a gift right now. It’s measurable. It’s fast. And it works.

But here’s the tension: you can’t keep growing if you only talk to people who are already ready.

Sooner or later, the list runs out. The performance curve flattens. And unless you’re planting seeds with people who aren’t ready yet, there’s no one waiting when the next campaign comes around.

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The Future Demand Problem

That’s the core of what James Hurman calls the “future demand challenge.”

Marketing has two jobs:

1. Convert existing demand: people ready to act right now
2. Create future demand: people who will be ready down the road

Most nonprofits (understandably) invest nearly everything into the first job. It’s clear, measurable, and easier to attribute. But the data indicates that this approach, while effective in the short term, can limit long-term growth.

WARC’s Multiplier Effect study shows that organizations that move from performance-only strategies to a brand As someone leading digital growth strategy within a nonprofit, I live in a state of tension every day. performance mix see a 90% median ROI increase. And those that do the opposite (cutting brand to focus on short-term conversions) lose traction fast, with a 40% drop in median ROI.

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The Brand Blind Spot

Still, we’re all likely familiar with the fact that when fundraising season hits or budgets tighten, brand is often the first thing to go.

I get it. I’ve felt the pressure too. Brand feels like a luxury when the board wants answers and revenue needs to show up next quarter.

But here’s what I’m learning: building trust before the ask is what sets your next campaign up for success. People give to ministries they already trust. And trust is built through consistency, familiarity, and storytelling, not just through urgency and offers.

Performance marketing captures interest. Brand marketing creates it.

If you’re not building that brand presence now, you’ll feel it in six months. Or sooner.

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Three Steps You Can Take Now

Don’t be discouraged! Here are three things I’d recommend to any nonprofit leader who wants to start building for the long term, without throwing out what’s working now.

1. Audit your marketing calendar.
   Look at the last 90 days. Were all your campaigns built for immediate response? Or are there intentional moments to build trust, tell stories, and connect without an ask?
2. Add one brand-first initiative.
   It could be a short email series, a podcast episode, a free resource, or a story-driven campaign. Start somewhere. Not to convert but to connect.
3. Expand your timeline.
   Ask your team, “What are we doing to show up for the people who aren’t ready to give today but might be in six months?” If the answer is nothing, that’s your next project.

I know this can feel like a lot. Especially when there’s pressure to deliver results now. But you’re not behind. You’re building something real. And the work you do to create trust, familiarity, and connection matters.

It might not always show up in this week’s metrics. But it’s planting seeds that your next campaign will be grateful for.