The Role of Strategic Fundraising in Marketing Plan of Non-profit Companies: The Case of Susan G. Komen Italy

The case is mainly focused on the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic on Susan G. Komen Italia, on all the initiatives put through by the association and on the role of Strategic Fundraising in NPOs’ marketing plans. The Italian charity sector is populated by small and medium entities competing to “win” donors supporting their cause, and in turn organisations of smaller scale have to confront with larger NPOs, both cancer and non-cancer focused, well-known throughout the National territory , which are favoured by their brand equity and their past reputation, leading to an intense competition in terms of potential “donors wallet”. This framework has undergone several challenges related to the worldwide spread of Covid-19: the pandemic caused dramatic changes in terms of events and initiatives to be rescheduled or rearranged, favouring the shift to online instruments. The “next normality” driven by the lockdown has become a trigger for the creativity of marketers in several different fields, including NPOs’ sector. With this in mind, this paper highlights Komen’s effort in Italy to rethink its marketing and fundraising approach reorganizing activities along the Donor Decision Journey. The case focuses on analysing strategic fundraising as the key element of NPOs’ marketing plans.