Your solo Communications Officer is not a unicorn.
Your solo Communications Officer is not a unicorn.
They are not a miracle maker.
Yes, they’re outstanding.
Yes, a Jill-of-all-trades.
Yes, task tamers.
But no, it’s not fair to think a one-person comms team can pull off countless jobs perfectly.
(At least not without burning out.)
Even worse is the unrealistic expectations of a single Director of Fundraising and Communications — with zero staff. That’s trying to milk two different departments out of one brave soul. Like the mistake of combining Sales & Marketing in the private sector.
So nonprofit leaders, you have two options:
1. Adjust your expectations
If you can only hire a generalist Communications Manager (often just out of university!), accept that none of your comms channels will be world-class. No shame — because that’s probably all you can afford. Just stop comparing your brand to big charities with big professionals handling big professions. Your Comms Officer is doing an incredible job keeping all the balls in the air.
2. Invest in specialists
If you don’t want your brand to be second best at everything, put your money where your mouth is. Hire a copywriting expert. Hire a graphic design pro. Hire a social media wiz. And so on. Then your Comms Manager can play the orchestra conductor role, bringing all these specialists together well. Funding will follow, but you must invest in brand first.
Don’t just take my word for it. ⤵
“How big should your comms team be? That’s a very different question from how big your team probably is,” says Kivi Leroux Miller of Nonprofit Marketing Guide.
“We often see one-person communications teams in very large organizations that should frankly know better and be investing a whole lot more.”
Based on their annual Nonprofit Communications Trends Reports, research shows that comms team effectiveness increases dramatically once you hit three full-time people.
And the average comms team size by nonprofit budget?
𝗨𝗽 𝘁𝗼 $𝟱𝟬𝟬,𝟬𝟬𝟬: 1.4 full-time staff
$𝟱𝟬𝟬,𝟬𝟬𝟬 𝘁𝗼 $𝟭𝗠: 1.8 full-time staff
$𝟭𝗠 𝘁𝗼 $𝟱𝗠: 2 full-time staff
$𝟱.𝟭𝗠 𝘁𝗼 $𝟮𝟬𝗠: 2.9 full-time staff
$𝟮𝟬𝗠 𝗽𝗹𝘂𝘀: 4.2 full-time staff
So the choice is yours.
Just remember:
The overburdened Comms Officer is a systemic nonprofit issue. They’re some of the most talented and tireless — but tired — people we meet.
Expecting one person to juggle it all?
Expecting a magical brand?
Time for a reality check.
💪🏽💛
The Daily Bonus
More insightful data from the Nonprofit Communications Trends Reports. ⤵
"Most nonprofit communicators want to know just how big their communications team should be and how fast they should grow."
“Just over half (52%) of communications teams either grew in 2023 or expected to grow in 2024.”