Marketing training and mentoring for charity teams
We train and mentor the people who already do marketing in your charity. Training is built around your own supporters, message and plan. Mentoring is regular one-to-one time with a senior marketer who has done the job, so your team grows into the leadership you need.
Why train the people you have
Most charity marketing is done by people with other jobs. A fundraiser writes the newsletter. A project lead looks after the social accounts. A chief executive approves the leaflet at the end of a long day.
Those people are often good at what they do and short of time, confidence or support. A senior marketer working alongside them for a few hours a month can change what they achieve and how they feel about the work.
The Charity Digital Skills Report 2026 found that 78% of small charities are at an early stage with digital, up from 68% the year before. Over half (51%) cited lack of headspace and capacity as a barrier. Training that fits into a busy week and applies to your own charity is worth more than a day away from the desk.
Training
Our workshops are built from your charity’s own material, not generic examples. We start with your supporters, your message and your plan, so people leave with something they can use the next morning.
| Topic | What the team leaves with |
|---|---|
| Planning | A way to build a simple, realistic plan for a quarter or a year, and the confidence to say no to what does not fit. |
| Messaging | A clear way to describe the charity and its work to different audiences, in words that sound like you. |
| Knowing your supporters | A practical view of who supports the charity, why, and what each group needs to hear. |
| Measurement | A short list of measures worth tracking, and a simple way to report them to the board. |
| Working with suppliers | How to brief, choose and manage designers, printers, developers and agencies without overpaying. |
| Writing for supporters | Clear, warm, accurate copy that respects the people reading it and the rules charities must follow. |
We can include volunteers and trustees where it helps. A trustee who understands how marketing works asks better questions and makes better decisions.
Mentoring and development
Mentoring is regular one-to-one time with a senior marketer who has held the job. It suits the person who owns marketing in your charity, whether that is a communications officer, a fundraiser or the chief executive.
- A sounding board. Talk through a campaign, a supplier choice or a difficult stakeholder before you act.
- A second opinion. Check a plan or a piece of copy with someone who has seen many.
- Growth. A deliberate path from doing the tasks to leading the discipline.
- A voice at the board. Support in presenting marketing to trustees in a way that earns attention.
Mentoring is not a substitute for a manager. It sits alongside the person’s line management and gives them somewhere safe to think out loud.
A development plan for the team
Where several people share the work, we can build a simple development plan. It shows where each person is now, where they need to be and how we get them there.
- Where each person stands. Skills, confidence and time available, assessed together, not imposed.
- Where the charity needs them to be. Drawn from your strategic plan and the marketing plan.
- The route between. Training, mentoring, practice on live work and reading, in a realistic order.
- Review. A check at the end of each quarter, adjusted for what has changed.
Talk about training for your team
A free 30-minute discovery call with a founder. Tell us who does the work and where they need support.
Book a free 30-minute discovery call
No spam. No automated phone system. Just us.
Formats
| Format | What it looks like | Who it suits |
|---|---|---|
| A single half-day | One workshop on one topic, built around your material. | Charities with a specific gap to close. |
| A short series | Several workshops across a few weeks, each building on the last. | Teams building a plan or a skill from scratch. |
| Ongoing mentoring | Regular one-to-one sessions across months, with work on live issues between them. | The person who owns marketing and wants to grow into the role. |
| A combination | A series for the team and mentoring for the lead. | Charities that want to build capability that lasts. |
Free courses and where tailored support fits
Free training is available and often good. Media Trust, for example, runs free online workshops on marketing essentials and digital marketing for charities. They are a sensible place to start, and we recommend them where they fit.
They teach the general case. Tailored training applies the general case to your charity: your supporters, your message, your plan and your team. If your team has done a course and the learning has not stuck, that gap is usually the reason.
The aim: a team that needs us less
Success here looks like a team that is more confident each quarter and calls us less often. We measure our work by what you can do without us.
When mentoring or training has done its job, we step back. Some charities then bring us in for strategy alignment or a fractional lead. Others carry on alone, and that is a good outcome.
The experience behind it
Adam Graver was Marketing Lead for Transforming Autism and has spent many years in the third sector. His record includes social return on investment projects across the People’s Postcode Lottery charities and the Lord’s Taverners, and research for CLORE Social Leadership and The Woodsmith Foundation. He has trained and spoken at industry events about visibility and the direction of marketing. More about the founders.
How fees work
Fees are not published. They depend on the format, the number of people and the length of the programme, and we agree them in writing before any work begins.
Frequently asked questions
How is this different from the free marketing courses?
Free courses teach the general case to anyone. Our training is built around your charity: your supporters, your message and your plan. People leave with something they can apply the next morning, and mentoring keeps the learning going.
How many people can attend a workshop?
Small groups work best, usually up to a dozen, so that everyone can bring real examples. For larger groups we can run the workshop more than once, or run a smaller session for the people who own the work.
Can mentoring be done remotely?
Yes. Most mentoring happens by video call at times that suit you. We can meet in person when it helps, such as a first session or a team day, and we agree the format on the discovery call.
Can a trustee or chief executive be mentored?
Yes. A chief executive who owns marketing, or a trustee who leads on communications, often benefits more than anyone. Mentoring gives them a safe place to ask questions and test decisions before they take them.
How do we know the training has worked?
We agree what success looks like at the start: a plan produced, a process changed or a measure reported to the board. We check against it at the end of each stage and tell you plainly when something has not stuck.
Do you provide materials we can keep?
Yes. Each workshop leaves your team with a short written summary and any templates we have built together. These are yours to keep and adapt, and we do not charge for them separately.
Can you train volunteers?
Yes. Many charities depend on volunteers to run social accounts, events and newsletters. A short session on message, tone and the rules charities follow protects the charity and gives volunteers confidence.
What if our team is only one person?
Then mentoring is probably the better fit. One person with a clear plan and a sounding board can achieve a great deal. We keep the commitment small and the support practical.
Do you offer training on specific channels?
We start with the foundations, because tools change and the basics do not. Where a team needs help with a particular channel, we cover it as part of the plan, and we say so if another specialist would be a better choice.
Can this be paid for from a training budget?
Many charities treat it as staff development. We can describe the programme in terms a funder or a finance lead will recognise, and we put the agreed scope and fee in writing so your finance team has what it needs.
Sources
- Charity Digital Skills Report 2026, Charity Digital Skills Report. Published July 2026. Survey 5 March to 20 April 2026, 807 responses. Read 5 October 2026. charitydigitalskills.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Charity-Digital-Skills-Report-2026.pdf
- Marketing for Charities: Free training, Media Trust. Read 5 October 2026. mediatrust.org/communications-support/training-courses/marketing-for-charities-training/
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.