When the funder pays, not the participant

Your program is free or nearly free to the people in it. That does not make it easy to fill. It makes it harder, because free reads as low value, and because you are marketing to two audiences at once: participants who need to show up, and funders who need to see that they did.

These guides cover recruiting for funded programs, writing an outreach plan a funder will actually approve, and the rules about what grant money can and cannot pay for.

Numbers 5 min

What Should a School Actually Spend on Marketing?

Benchmarks, formulas and ranges for school and program marketing budgets — sized for a 60-student school, not a university.

Numbers 4 min

Cost Per Enrolled Student: The Only Marketing Number That Matters

How to calculate what it costs your school to enroll one child, what a good number looks like, and how to use it to end budget arguments.

Mechanics 4 min

The Only Enrollment Funnel a Small School Needs

Inquiry, tour, application, enrollment — the four numbers to track, realistic conversion rates for each, and where small schools lose families.

Money 5 min

$10,000 a Month in Free Google Ads, and Almost No School Is Using It

If your school is a 501(c)(3), Google gives you $10,000 a month of free search ads. How to qualify, set it up, and avoid suspension.

Mechanics 3 min

The Five Emails Every School Should Be Sending

A simple email system for schools: what to send after an inquiry, after a tour, to families who went quiet, and to the parents you already have.

Mechanics 4 min

Word of Mouth Isn't a Strategy. It Can Be a System.

Most alternative schools fill by word of mouth and have no idea how it works. Here's how to make it deliberate without turning parents into salespeople.

Money 4 min

Can Grants Pay for Marketing? Sometimes — If You Ask for the Right Thing

Funders rarely fund "marketing." They regularly fund outreach, access, and capacity building. Here's how to write the ask so it gets through.

Permission 5 min

How to Sell Without Selling Your Soul

Selling isn't convincing anyone. It's removing the obstacles between someone who already wants it and the decision. A better enrollment conversation.

Money 5 min

Marketing a Program the Participants Don't Pay For

Free programs are harder to fill than paid ones, not easier. Here's how recruitment works when the funder pays, and how to keep the funder happy while you do it.

Money 4 min

$10,000 a Month in Free Google Ads for Nonprofits

Any registered 501(c)(3) can get $10,000 a month of free Google search advertising. Most don't use it, and most who do get suspended. Here's the whole thing.

Money 4 min

What Funders Want to See in Your Outreach Plan

"Strategic marketing plan" appears in more grant conditions every year. Here's what a reviewer is actually looking for, and the one-page version that satisfies them.

Mechanics 3 min

When Your Nonprofit and Your Program Compete With Each Other

A parent organization and a program with separate websites, separate names and one small audience. It's the most common self-inflicted marketing problem in this field.

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