Choosing a HubSpot Marketing Agency for Your Nonprofit: 5 Factors to Consider

Choosing a new marketing agency for your nonprofit is a high-stakes decision. The right partner can transform your donor relationships, streamline your operations, and amplify your impact. The wrong one? Wasted budget, lost time, and missed opportunities to advance your mission.

If you’re considering HubSpot, you’re already on the right track. It’s a powerful platform that offers an all-in-one CRM, robust marketing automation, and a generous 40% discount for nonprofits, making enterprise-level tools accessible. But software alone isn’t a strategy.

This guide breaks down the five crucial factors that separate exceptional HubSpot partners from the rest. We’ll help you make a confident, informed decision that serves your mission and empowers your team for long-term growth.

Why HubSpot? The Platform Built for Nonprofit Growth

Almost half of all nonprofits report their biggest challenge is simply having enough people to do the work. Sound familiar? This is where an all-in-one system like the HubSpot platform becomes a game-changer.

The Power of an All-in-One Ecosystem

HubSpot consolidates donor management, email marketing, website design, and analytics into a single, connected ecosystem. This eliminates the data silos and clunky workarounds that come from juggling multiple subscriptions. For your team, this means:

• Streamlined Workflows: Automate repetitive tasks, from sending donation receipts to nurturing new subscribers, freeing up your team for more strategic work.
• Personalized Donor Communications: With all your customer data in one place, you can segment audiences and tailor your messaging based on their donation history, engagement level, or interests.
• Real-Time Insights: Ditch the spreadsheets. HubSpot’s inbound dashboards give you a clear, immediate view of your marketing campaigns, helping you make smarter fundraising decisions.

It’s no wonder over 4,000 nonprofits—including the World Wildlife Fund and The Nature Conservancy—use HubSpot to manage everything from volunteer coordination to major gift cultivation.

HubSpot’s Nonprofit Advantage

Beyond its core functionality, HubSpot offers specific perks for nonprofits. The 40% discount for eligible 501(c)(3) organizations on Professional and Enterprise tiers is just the start. The HubSpot platform also boasts a massive App Marketplace with robust integrations for the tools you already use, including:

• Fundraising Platforms: Classy (now GoFundMe Pro), Givebutter, Donately, FundraiseUp
• Event Tools: Eventbrite
• Accounting Software: QuickBooks, Xero
• Other CRMs: Salesforce NPSP

With upcoming enhancements promising more AI-powered content creation, advanced behavioral triggers, and improved volunteer management tools, the platform is only getting better.

But software is only as powerful as the strategy behind it. Proper setup, strategic configuration, and ongoing optimization are essential. This is where a specialized HubSpot partner agency comes in—turning features into a customized system that reflects your nonprofit’s unique donor journey and goals.

The 5 Factors That Define the Right HubSpot Agency

How do you find a partner that truly gets it? Focus on these five areas.

1. Deep Nonprofit Expertise + HubSpot Mastery

Generic marketing strategies don’t work for nonprofit fundraising. You need a partner who understands donor psychology, grant reporting cycles, and volunteer lifecycle management. They need to speak your language.

What to look for:

• Proven Nonprofit Experience: Look for case studies and testimonials from organizations like yours.
• HubSpot Certifications: Check their HubSpot partner tier status (e.g., Solutions Partner, Gold Partner). This signals technical proficiency.
• Familiarity with Nonprofit Tools: Do they know their way around GoFundMe Pro, Salesforce NPSP, or other key integrations?

A red flag is any agency that treats nonprofits like B2B SaaS companies or e-commerce businesses, or seems unfamiliar with core fundraising metrics.

As a Platinum HubSpot Partner with over 21 years serving nonprofits, museums, and higher ed institutions, Big Sea brings both the technical HubSpot services expertise and deep mission-driven marketing knowledge needed to succeed.

 

2. Proven Results You Can Measure

Your board wants to see data. Your funders demand accountability. You need a marketing agency that doesn’t just promise results. Your agency partner must deliver them and have processes in place to show you the numbers.

What to look for:

• Specific Metrics: Look for measurable outcomes, like improved donor retention rates, volunteer recruitment numbers, or fundraising campaign ROI.
• Transparent Reporting: They should be able to build custom dashboards that track the metrics that matter most to you.
• Relevant Experience: Ask for examples of how they’ve solved challenges similar to yours. For example, we helped a housing nonprofit save hours each month by integrating FundraiseUp with HubSpot. We also assisted a healthcare nonprofit in streamlining patient intake through an Acuity Scheduling HubSpot integration.

Key metrics to ask about include donor lifetime value, lapsed donor recovery rates, and website conversion rates for donations and sign-ups.

3. Comprehensive Services That Scale With You

Your nonprofit’s needs will evolve. The agency you choose should offer a full spectrum of marketing services that can support you at every stage of your growth.

What to look for:

• HubSpot Implementation & Onboarding: Can they handle data migration, CRM implementation, and team training?
• Marketing Automation: Do they specialize in building email nurture sequences and mapping donor journeys?
• Web Design & CMS: Can they build high-converting donation forms and landing pages on the HubSpot CMS? Check to see if they have a strong web development team.
• Demand Generation & Inbound Marketing: Do they have a strong content marketing strategy, search engine optimization (SEO) focus, and lead generation process?
• Analytics & Optimization: Will they provide custom reporting, A/B testing, and ongoing performance tracking?

Whether you’re a small team just getting started or a national nonprofit with complex workflows, your agency should be able to meet your business needs with the HubSpot CRM. From HubSpot onboarding to full-service digital marketing, Big Sea offers end-to-end support tailored to your goals.

4. Transparent Communication & True Partnership

You’re not just hiring a vendor. You’re choosing a strategic partner who will collaborate with your team, understand your mission, and adapt as your goals evolve. This requires trust and clear communication.

What to look for:

• A Collaborative Approach: They should value your institutional knowledge and see your team as true partners.
• Defined Processes: Ask about their project management style, feedback loops, and check-in cadence.
• A Focus on Empowerment: A great partner will train your staff on how to use the HubSpot marketing hub and empower your in-house team, not create dependency.

Questions to ask include: “How do you handle revisions?” and “What does ongoing support look like?” If an agency in the partner program seems resistant to feedback or disappears after the initial HubSpot implementation, they aren’t the right fit.

5. Value That Fits Your Budget

Nonprofit budgets are tight. You need an agency that delivers high-quality results without draining resources meant for your programs.

What to look for:

• Transparent Pricing: Do they offer clear retainer models, project-based fees, or tiered packages?
• Clear ROI Expectations: How will they measure success and demonstrate the value of their work?
• Flexibility: Are they willing to work within your budget constraints and understand nonprofit funding cycles?

The cheapest option isn’t always the smartest. Focus on the long-term value an agency provides—reduced staff time, increased donor retention, and better fundraising outcomes. At Big Sea, we create customized HubSpot solutions that align with your budget and maximize your investment, ensuring every dollar drives measurable impact.

Your Decision-Making Checklist

Before you commit to a HubSpot partner agency, ask these questions:

• Do they have documented nonprofit experience with measurable results?
• Are they certified HubSpot partners with a strong track record?
• Can they provide references from organizations similar to yours?
• Do their services cover your immediate needs and future growth?
• Does their pricing structure align with your budget and funding cycles?
• Will they train your team and build internal capacity?
• Can they integrate the HubSpot sales hub with your existing fundraising and event tools?
• Do they offer ongoing support and optimization, not just setup?

Ready to Make the Right Choice?

Choosing a HubSpot agency is about finding a partner who is as invested in your mission as you are. By focusing on these five factors—nonprofit expertise, proven results, comprehensive services, transparent partnership, and budget-conscious value—you can find a team that will amplify your mission and free your team to focus on what matters most.

Big Sea has been helping nonprofits, museums, and educational institutions unlock HubSpot’s full potential since 2005. Whether you’re just getting started or ready to take your existing system to the next level, let’s talk about how we can support your goals.