Digital marketing that helps sports nonprofits scale their impact.
Rally and Cause is the first digital marketing agency built exclusively for sports nonprofits. Sport might be your whole mission, or the reason people show up for a different one. Either way, we build around how your organization actually grows.
Announcements
By the numbers
The sector, measured. Every figure sourced.
62%
Share of nonprofits with any advertising expense. The other 38% spent nothing on ads.
Whole Whale / CauseIQ, 2024
18.0%
Donor retention rate, Q1 2026 year to date, flat versus Q1 2025
Fundraising Effectiveness Project
−0.8%
Change in total donors, Q1 2026 vs Q1 2025
Fundraising Effectiveness Project
+4.3%
Change in fundraising dollars, Q1 2026 vs Q1 2025
Fundraising Effectiveness Project
The perception gap
When people hear “sports,” they rarely picture a nonprofit.
What the word brings to mind
- Pro leagues and franchises
- Sponsor logos and broadcast deals
- Stadiums, ticket sales, TV rights
- Sport as a business
What it also means
- A youth league teaching kids the game
- An adaptive program getting someone on the field
- A community fitness nonprofit keeping people moving
- A foundation funding research through a charity ride
Those missions are real, but most people have never heard of them. The family who would have signed their kid up never found the program. That is a reach problem, and reach can be built.
The reach problem has a money problem underneath it. The funding gap between for-profit marketing and nonprofit marketing is wider than most people realize.
Marketing spend
For-profit companies
of revenue, invested in marketing
7.8–9.0%
Nonprofits that advertise
median share of expenses, on advertising
0.66%
The gap is the whole problem
Directional comparison only: the for-profit figures measure total marketing as a share of revenue; the nonprofit figure measures advertising as a share of expenses. See sources
And the pressure is compounding. As the numbers above show, more money is coming from fewer people, so growth now depends on reaching new supporters.
The result is underfunded campaigns, uneven donor pipelines, and missions that never reach their audience. That gap is why Rally & Cause exists.
Run the numbers
See what the gap looks like at your size.
Plus: up to $10,000 a month in free Google Search ads through the Google Ad Grant, for eligible nonprofits. Enter your budget to see how that compares with what you spend now.
Who we serve
Seven kinds of sports nonprofit. One specialty.
Each one raises money and recruits people on its own clock, so we build around yours.
The roster
Season rhythmSwipe
Who you need to reach
Two audiences. One system.
A sports nonprofit needs two kinds of people: the ones it exists to serve and the ones who keep it running. Most marketing only chases the second. We build for both, because growth in the people you serve also strengthens every case you make to a funder.
The people you serve
Participants, families, volunteers, and coaches
Help the people who would benefit find your programs, sign up, and come back next season.
- Program pages people can find in search and AI answers
- Registration and re-enrollment campaigns
- Volunteer and coach recruitment
The people who support you
Donors, sponsors, and grantmakers
Keep supporters engaged between asks and make it easy to give again.
- Donor follow-up and retention
- Sponsorship offers built on your real reach
- Campaigns timed to your season
Fill the empty seats
Your team stays. We fill the marketing seats it's missing.
Most sports nonprofits already have their leaders, coaches, and fundraisers in place. The specialist marketing roles are usually the empty ones. Tap each seat your organization has filled today.
0 of 6 filled
Your bench
All 6 specialist seats are empty.
That is common for a sports nonprofit. Rally and Cause fills every one, so your outreach is covered and your team can stay focused on the mission.
How we work
Engagements start with a conversation.
We do one thing, for one space, and we do it all the way.
We don't take on work we haven't earned. Here's how it starts.
Diagnostic call
Thirty minutes on your organization, your calendar, and where you stand. No pitch deck.
No commitment
We get to work
The first month is research: your calendar, your audience, what has already been tried.
Month-to-month or annual
If it's not the right fit after the diagnostic call, we'll tell you.
Field notes
Notes on sport-powered growth. One email a month. No fluff.
Let's talk about your cause.
Not sure if you qualify for the Google Ad Grant? Check free