For Nonprofit CEOs Responsible for Growth
You Don't Have To Do The Marketing.
But You're The One Who Has To Answer For It.
For many nonprofit CEOs, that's where things become unclear β especially in the moments where marketing clarity is needed most: board conversations, budget defense, team decisions, growth conversations with your leadership team.
Not because marketing isn't happening.
Because it isn't being led with a clear, consistent standard.
Results are shared, but hard to fully explain. Direction exists, but isn't clearly defined. Decisions get made, but aren't anchored to a larger strategy.
Over time, that creates pressure. Because you're responsible for growth β but don't have a clear way to lead the function that drives it. And when marketing can't be clearly explained, it becomes the easiest line item to cut.
This is where our work together begins.
The Root Cause
When marketing isn't working, it's rarely a tactics problem.
It's a leadership clarity problem.
Because marketing doesn't become effective based on what gets executed. It becomes effective based on how it's led.
If direction isn't clearly defined, if success isn't clearly established, if strategy isn't protected at the executive level β the work starts to lose direction. Even with a strong team. Even with consistent effort.
And if it's not being led clearly, it won't consistently produce the results your organization depends on β or the results you can stand behind in a board room.
What This Work Is
This is not marketing training.
You won't be asked to learn platforms, tactics, or execution.
This is 1:1 advising focused on how you lead marketing at the executive level.
Together, we work on how you:
Define what "working" actually means
for your organization β not a vague target, but a clear standard your team and your board can both understand
Set direction your team can execute against
with clarity at every level, so the work compounds instead of drifting
Evaluate results with clarity and confidence
without relying solely on interpretation from your team
Defend the marketing budget when finances tighten
because you can clearly explain what it's building β not just what it's spending
Protect strategy long enough to produce growth
steady and measurable β not reactive to every quarter
When leadership is clear, the work becomes clearer. Your team executes with more confidence.
Decisions get faster. Marketing becomes easier to explain β and easier to trust.
Who You'll Be Working With
This advising is led directly by me, Cindy May.
I've spent more than 20 years inside nonprofit organizations β and unlike most advisors, I haven't just watched this work from one seat. I've sat in nearly every seat that touches marketing in a nonprofit.
I've been the doer, building marketing from inside an organization. I've been the VP of Marketing, accountable to a CEO. I've served as Interim CEO of a nonprofit β the same seat you're sitting in right now.
I've been Board Chair, Board Member, and Marketing Committee Chair. And for more than a decade, I've led Cindy May Marketing, where my daughter Breece and our CXO April now run client execution β which means I stay close to the marketing room without being inside the day-to-day of it.
That range matters. It's why when you describe what you're navigating, I'm not interpreting it from one vantage point. I've been in that vantage point. I know what the board chair is seeing, what the CEO is carrying, and what the marketing team is trying to figure out β often all in the same conversation.
That's what shapes this advising.
How The Engagement Works
This is personalized 1:1 work, structured around what's actually happening inside your organization in real time.
It includes:
Ongoing 1:1 Advising
Regular conversations over Zoom, structured around what's actually happening in your organization right now
Direct Support Between Conversations
Accessible via email, text, and Voxer β so support doesn't stop between sessions
Leadership Moment Preparation
Board conversations, team meetings, strategic decisions β prepared for, not walked into unprepared
Guidance in Leading with Clarity
How to show up in those moments β not just what to say, but how to lead them with direction and confidence
Because this work isn't theoretical. It happens in the moments where direction is set, decisions are made, and marketing either becomes clearer β or more uncertain.
What Changes
Most CEOs come into this work with some version of this:
"We're doing a lot⦠but I'm not sure it's building toward something."
"I can't fully explain our marketing with confidence."
"I can tell when something is off β but I don't always know how to correct it."
That changes.
You begin to:
Lead marketing conversations with clarity, not caveats
Set direction without second-guessing
Evaluate results without relying solely on interpretation
Answer "what's our marketing producing?" in board rooms with confidence
Defend the budget that funds the work β because you can clearly explain what it's building
Move from reviewing marketing⦠to directing it
Marketing stops feeling uncertain. It starts functioning like a system you lead.
Who This Is For
This work is designed for nonprofit CEOs and Executive Directors who are ready to lead marketing more deliberately.
You'll recognize yourself here if:
You're responsible for growth, but don't feel fully grounded in how marketing is being led
You can sense when something is off, but don't always have a clear way to correct it
You want clarity in board conversations, not caveats
You're ready to move from reviewing marketing to directing it
Who This Is For
This work is designed for nonprofit CEOs and Executive Directors who are ready to lead marketing more deliberately.
You'll recognize yourself here if:
01
You're responsible for growth, but don't feel fully grounded in how marketing is being led
02
You can sense when something is off, but don't always have a clear way to correct it
03
You want clarity in board conversations, not caveats
04
You're ready to move from reviewing marketing to directing it
Not the right fit
When it's not the right fit
This work isn't the right fit if you're looking to stay at the level of approving what your team presents β without setting direction above it.
Take the Next Step
Start the conversation.
If you're ready to lead marketing at your organization with more clarity, intention, and confidence, the next step is a short inquiry.
You don't need everything figured out. Just a clear sense that something in your marketing needs to become more defined, more steady, or more clearly led.
This is a personalized 1:1 engagement β not a fixed program. Structure and investment are shaped around your organization and the level of support needed, and we'll discuss that together if there's a strong fit.