Fractional marketing for charities
A fractional marketing lead gives your charity the strategic leadership of a marketing director for a fixed number of days each month. You get the plan, the board reporting and the delivery support, without the cost, recruitment time or commitment of a full-time salary.
What fractional means
Fractional means senior capability retained, not employed. A marketing lead who has done the job before gives your charity a set number of days each month. They think about your charity for those days and are accountable for the results.
It is not a freelancer taking on tasks, and it is not an agency account manager passing messages along. It is the role a marketing director would play, in a form a charity can afford and a board can understand.
Three situations it solves
- There is no marketing leadership. Marketing happens, but nobody owns it. Priorities shift with whoever shouts loudest, and the board cannot tell what the effort achieves.
- A leader needs marketing expertise beside them. The chief executive is strong on the cause and the funders but is making marketing decisions without the experience to judge them.
- A capable team needs senior direction. One or two people are doing good work with no one above them who understands the discipline. They need a plan, a sounding board and someone to speak for marketing at board level.
A charity can be in more than one of these at once. The first conversation is about which one is the most pressing.
What the lead takes off your plate
- Planning. A clear plan for the year, built from your strategic plan, with priorities in order and a sensible calendar.
- Board reporting. A short, regular report in plain language that shows what was done, what it achieved and what is next.
- Supplier choices. Briefing, choosing and managing designers, printers, web developers and agencies, so you stop paying for what you do not need.
- Measurement. A small set of measures that mean something to trustees and funders, in place of a page of activity counts.
- Team direction. Priorities, feedback and support for the people who do the work, with mentoring where it helps.
- Decisions. A senior voice in the room when a campaign, a rebrand or a partnership is on the table.
What stays with you
The cause stays with you, along with the relationships, the voice and the final decisions. A fractional lead advises, plans and leads. Your charity remains the author of its own story.
Where it helps, the lead also does work with your team or for them. How much sits with us is your choice, and it moves as your charity grows.
The first 90 days
Every engagement is different. A typical start looks like this, and the detail is agreed with you on the discovery call.
| Period | What happens | What you have at the end |
|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1 to 2 | Meet the team and trustees. Review the strategic plan, current channels and available data. Agree what success means. | A shared view of where marketing stands and what matters most. |
| Weeks 3 to 4 | Set priorities. Decide what to start, stop and continue. Draft the plan for the next twelve months. | A short plan with priorities in order and clear owners. |
| Weeks 5 to 8 | Take the plan to the chief executive and board. Brief suppliers. Begin the first pieces of delivery. | An approved plan and the first work under way. |
| Weeks 9 to 13 | Deliver, measure and report. Mentor the team. Adjust the plan from what the first results show. | A first board report and a rhythm for the months ahead. |
This is a worked sequence, not a promise of results. Fundraising and awareness depend on many things outside any marketer’s control, and anyone who guarantees income is guessing.
Find out whether this fits your charity
A free 30-minute discovery call with one of the two founders. Tell us where marketing stands and we will say what we would do first.
Book a free 30-minute discovery call
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How much we do
There are three ways to work, and a charity can move between them.
| Level | What it looks like | Who it suits |
|---|---|---|
| Advice only | The lead sets the plan, reviews the work and reports to the board. Your team does the delivery. | Charities with capable people and no senior direction. |
| Working beside your team | The lead and your team share the delivery. We take on specific pieces and coach the rest. | Charities with some capacity and a clear plan. |
| Running it for you | We deliver most of the work, to the plan, and report back. | Charities with no marketing capacity at all. |
Working with trustees
A fractional lead is useful to a board because they translate. They turn what the team does into what trustees need to know, and turn what trustees ask into work the team can do.
Reporting is agreed up front. That usually means a short written report on a regular rhythm, a named trustee as a point of contact, and attendance at board meetings when it helps. The report covers progress against the plan, what the measures show, risks and decisions needed.
Trustees remain responsible for how the charity raises funds and presents itself, even when work is delegated. Our trustee guide sets out what to ask.
Fractional, interim or agency
An interim marketer fills a vacancy for a fixed period. An agency delivers defined work. A fractional lead provides ongoing senior direction for part of the week or month, and can sit above an agency or a junior hire.
The right choice depends on the charity. In-house, agency or fractional compares the options fairly, including when another route is better than ours.
How fees work
Fees are not published. The right level of support depends on the size of the charity, the days required and how much delivery sits with us, so a number quoted before we understand your position helps nobody.
We agree the fee on the discovery call or shortly after it, in writing, before any work begins. You will know what you are paying and what you are getting.
Compliance and care
Fundraising communications in the UK sit under the Code of Fundraising Practice, which the Fundraising Regulator publishes. We work within it and write copy that is fair, clear and sensitive to the people your charity serves.
We do not promise income, and we do not use pressure or fear to raise money. Our plans protect the trust supporters place in your charity.
The experience behind it
Adam Graver brings years in the third sector before marketing, including social return on investment projects across the People’s Postcode Lottery charities and the Lord’s Taverners, research for CLORE Social Leadership and The Woodsmith Foundation, and his first roles in County Sports Partnerships. He has been Marketing Lead for Transforming Autism and is a trustee of the Nikki Waterhouse Trust.
Lucy Collinge adds six years of estate agency sales, senior marketing roles and running an in-house marketing agency. Together they bring a commercial discipline to the charity sector. Meet the founders.
Other ways to start
A fractional lead is not always the first step. If you want to see where you stand, start with the marketing health check. If your strategic plan is new, strategy alignment connects it to your marketing. If you have a team that needs growing, see training and mentoring.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between fractional and interim marketing?
An interim marketer fills a vacancy for a fixed period, usually full time. A fractional lead provides ongoing senior marketing leadership for a set number of days each month and is not tied to a vacancy. Fractional suits charities that need leadership but not a full-time post.
How many days a month does a charity need?
It depends on the size of the charity, the plan and how much delivery sits with us. A small charity needing direction and board reporting needs fewer days than one that wants us to run campaigns. We agree the days on the discovery call.
Can a fractional lead report to the board?
Yes, and good ones do. Reporting is agreed up front: usually a short written report on a regular rhythm, a named trustee as a contact, and attendance at board meetings when it helps. It gives trustees clarity about what marketing is doing.
Does this work for charities that already have a communications team?
Yes. The lead supplies what a team often lacks: a senior marketing voice, a plan to deliver and someone to challenge and support decisions. The team keeps doing the work, with clearer priorities and more recognition at board level.
What happens at the end of the engagement?
You keep the plan, the reports and the supplier relationships we have set up. We can hand over to your team, step down to advice only, or finish. Nothing is locked in, and you are never left without the documents.
How do we know it is working?
Through measures agreed at the start and reported to the board. These are a small set that match your goals, such as supporter numbers, enquiries or income from the activity we run. We do not rely on activity counts.
Do you promise to raise income?
No. Nobody can guarantee income, because it depends on many factors outside any marketer’s control. We promise a clear plan, careful delivery and honest reporting of what the results show, good or bad.
Can we try it for a short period first?
Many charities start with a marketing health check, which gives a clear picture and three priorities without a long commitment. Terms for an ongoing engagement are agreed in writing before work begins, and we explain them on the discovery call.
Do you work with charities of every size?
We work with UK charities where senior marketing leadership would make a difference and a full-time hire is out of reach, or where a leader needs expertise beside them. If we are not the right fit, we say so on the first call.
Who will I be working with?
One of the two founders, Adam Graver or Lucy Collinge. There is no account management layer. When you call, one of us answers, and the person who made the plan is the person who explains it to your board.
Sources
- Trustees, Fundraising Regulator. Read 5 October 2026. www.fundraisingregulator.org.uk/about-fundraising/topics/trustees
- Communications and advertising, Fundraising Regulator. Read 5 October 2026. www.fundraisingregulator.org.uk/about-fundraising/topics/communications-and-advertising
Talk to a founder
Thirty minutes with one of the two founders. We listen, say what we would do first, and tell you plainly if we are not the right fit.
Book a free 30-minute discovery call
No spam. No automated phone system. Just us.