What is the link between marketing and income generation?

Many years ago, I asked a hospice lottery manager where their greatest competition came from. His answer was ‘The fundraising department.’ 

At that time, it was common to have three separate leads; one for fundraising, one for retail and one for lotteries. That helps explains, if not excuse, the response.

Today, most hospices have a Director of Income Generation whose ensures such income streams are mutually supportive, not operationally isolated. And certainly not in open competition!  

A more common issue now is the place and purpose of marketing. Should this be a distinct directorate in its own right? Or is it a part of the IG function, with the view that its’ primary purpose is to serve those who bring in the money?

Chat GPT tells me that in relation to charities, marketing’s purpose is to ‘build a positive image of the organisation, engage with supporters, and increase the public’s understanding of its impact.’ 

Some might describe this as building the brand.

By contrast, it says ‘income generation is the process of soliciting financial support. Its main objective is to generate revenue to support the charity’s mission and activities.’  

Many fundraising experts, such as Kevin Brown, argue that you need to do the former before you can do the latter. See The first step in fundraising is not fundraising. (He has lots of other great articles and resources).

So, rather than marketing being a servant or component of IG, it’s actually a pre-requisite. Marketing builds the brand, engages supporters, and encourages trust. Fundraising converts that engagement into financial support.

Or to put it another way, follow the ABC. Awareness and Brand come before Cash. 

Yet often marketing sits within IG and is seen as ‘that-thing-you-do-once-you-have-decided-how-to-raise-money.’ 

Such an approach also doesn’t recognise the importance a  strong marketing function has in building reputation with other key stakeholders, as well as funders.

Not every hospice can afford both a Director of Marketing and a Director of Income Generation; one of the reasons the two are often combined. But every hospice does need to understand that they are not the same.

The best results come when the two work in a synergetic manner, so that great IG feeds off great marketing – and vica versa – creating a spiral of success. 

For a great example, watch the video of the integrated campaign run by Prospect Hospice on the Hospice UK Income Generation Leads Teams channel. 

And follow the principle that A+B= C.