From burnout to breakthrough: Why investing in nonprofit marketing leaders is a smart move

After working his way up in the corporate marketing sector, David decided to take a leap, accepting a role heading up the marketing and communications (marcom) team at a national nonprofit. “I wanted to be part of the solution, you know?” But six months in, and the burnout is real. “I love the people, I love the mission, but the job is overwhelming.” Unfortunately, David’s story is all too common.

Recent reports from OnRamps and CEP show that burnout among nonprofit leaders—including heads of marcom—has reached a fever pitch. At a time when nonprofits need innovative leadership to accelerate their impact, grow their policy influence, raise awareness of issues, and secure broader and more diverse funding streams, strong marcom leaders are essential. Yet, salary alone won’t solve the burnout and talent retention problem—instead, we need to rethink how we invest in their success.

Enter the “been there” mentor

Leading creative teams is challenging enough; navigating a head of marcom function where resources are tight and brand infrastructure is often wanting adds even more leadership complexity, especially for a first-time team leader. Expecting a C-Suite leader without marcom expertise to successfully mentor them is like asking someone to lead an expedition without knowing the route.

Marcom leaders often feel isolated, managing small teams without supervisors who truly understand their job. Imagine if every new marcom director had a “been there” advisor and mentor—someone with substantial experience and deep familiarity of the sector who was dedicated to their success. What impact could this have on director retention, team wellbeing and performance, and the results your organization needs?

The real ROI of a “been there” advisor

1. Shorten the nonprofit learning curve

In the early months of transitioning from the corporate to nonprofit sector, the “scrappiness shock” can wear new leaders down. We’re not only asked to wear multiple hats with less operational infrastructure to support us, but to be great stewards of our limited marketing resources.

Advisement from a seasoned leader can ease this transition, helping directors shift from specialized roles (like digital marketing) to embracing a multi-channel, multi-audience strategy. Advisors can build the director’s confidence in allocating limited resources to help their team worker smarter. In fact, sometimes a mentor’s biggest “been there” value is helping leaders know what to let go of. From eliminating low-value time suck activities to helping them learn to say “no” in a manner that actually builds the trust of their colleagues.

This guidance enables new directors to adapt more quickly in those critical first months.

2. Desilo and collaborate

Collaboration across functions is key to nonprofit marcom success, especially in organizations that have a range of offerings spanning policy influence to direct service delivery, or those facing significant market shifts or external forces. Strong marcom leaders earn their reputation as trusted advisors, helping craft communication strategies to support multiple goals and reach a wide range of audiences.

Unfortunately, marcom leaders may inherit teams stuck in an “order fulfillment” mode, which traps talent in silos and limits their performance. Advisor/mentors can help leaders craft a plan to transform their team culture from order takers to cross-functional advisors. Such a shift better utilizes the team’s strengths, leads to remarkably better team performance, and grossly enhances the quality of the work experience for marcom staff.

3. Work smarter, not harder

Despite a wealth of affordable tools that can save hours in their day-to-day, many nonprofit marcom teams aren’t fully leveraging them to work smarter. And that can perpetuate the risk of burnout.

With advisor guidance, first-time directors can adopt the right tech solutions (like ChatGPT, SEMRush, etc.) to automate routine tasks, freeing up time to focus on strategic, creative work. Advisor/mentors can also recommend one-time team investments — such as a performance dashboard or website user tracking — that pay off in improved team results.

4. Optimize team performance

When knee deep in workload hell, marcom teams can abandon performance for “just getting the work done.” But nothing puts our jobs at risk more. First time marcom directors may have never led agency partners or integrated teams before—making the path to optimum team performance even fuzzier.

Getting their team roles right is a critical step in the first few months of a new director’s tenure. “Been there” advisor/mentors can help leaders land their best-fit mix of team roles, responsibilities, KPIs, and budget allocation — including both FTEs and agency or consultant partners. They can also help better align their org’s strategic goals to the marcom KPIs that matter most, and build a minimum viable performance dashboard that keeps these metrics front and center.

5. Better prioritize workload

One major pitfall for new marcom leaders is getting stuck in reactivity, with urgent tasks piling up and strategic planning left behind. Mentorship helps shift directors—and their teams—out of this reactive cycle. A seasoned mentor can guide them in prioritizing tasks, focusing on the highest-impact areas in their first months.

With structured mentorship, new leaders learn to turn long-term goals into actionable steps, balancing leadership with execution. They gain clarity on where to invest their time and energy, focusing their team on results without burnout. This proactive approach builds more effective, resilient leaders.

The ROI of mentorship for first-time marketing leaders

Advisory and mentorship programs aren’t typically budgeted in nonprofits (particular for mid-level directors), but that needs to change—a first-year investment in your marcom leader more than pays for itself in ROI for the leader, team, and organization.

Consider the math. Median salaries for marcom leaders at small-to-midsize nonprofits range from $110k-$150k, rising to $150k-$190k with recruitment and transition costs. A typical marcom budget for a $2.5M-$5M nonprofit runs $150k-$500k, with significant impact hinging on effective leadership.

A first-year advisor/mentor investment of just $15k-$20k can yield high ROI: from leader retention and optimal use of resources, to a high-performing team aligned with your goals. Moreover, for rising directors, this investment signals your commitment to their growth. This commitment could be THE difference that attracts top talent to your role, keeps them there, and strengthens your organization’s capacity for long-term, mission-aligned growth. And better supported leaders lead to better supported teams.

“I haven’t met anyone in roles like mine who isn’t working extremely hard, and who isn’t super committed to making the job work,” said David. “The question isn’t about will. It’s about having the right support from someone who really gets it.” Coaching or mentorship ensure that the strengths and vision of leaders like David can ignite, and that their entire organization—not to mention those it serves—reaps the benefit.

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Tiffany Allyson Meyer is the founder and principal of Numa Strategy Partners, which helps visionary changemakers achieve breakthrough growth via its innovative fractional CMO and marcom director mentoring programs designed exclusively for the social sector.