From Fragmented Comms to Transformational Growth
The Social Impact Growth Model
The Social Impact Growth Model gives you a dedicated team of experts to build an integrated communications engine that drives consistent support and unlocks fundraising.
Your team has the heart. They just don’t have the system.
Disconnected Efforts Lead to a Fragmented Story
When brand, digital, and content are treated as separate projects, the result is "checkbox marketing"—not the strategic communication needed to build trust and credibility. It leaves you with a generic message, a static website, and a story that fails to unlock support.
Your Internal Team Isn't Set Up to Win
Your team is passionate, but they're overextended. The reality is, most organizations aren't able or willing to invest in building a true in-house agency like brands such as charity: water have. Without that deep bench of strategic and creative talent, your communications efforts inevitably become a side project — not the core tool you need to move the mission forward.
Short-Term Efforts Don't Create Long-Term Momentum
A one-time rebrand or website overhaul or end of year campaign can’t fix a systemic issue. Building a strong brand and communications program is an evolving, living discipline. Without consistent support and iteration, even great missions fail to thrive.
What you need: A System for Sustainable Growth
The Social Impact Growth Model provides the system your team has been missing. You get a monthly partnership that aligns your brand, digital, and activation into a cohesive strategy that builds momentum and compounds its value over time.
Unforgettable Brand
Define and express a unique brand identity and impact narrative that resonates with your audience and builds lasting trust.
Integrated Digital Engine
Transform your fragmented online presence from a static brochure into a true home base for your mission — an engine that powers your communications, builds credibility, and accelerates your fundraising efforts.
Magnetic Activation
Develop content, campaigns, and activation strategies that earn attention, build trust, and turn passive supporters into active donors, volunteers, and advocates.
Elkhorn Slough Foundation just completed its first-ever capital campaign, Elkhorn Forever, raising more than $13 million to conserve land and restore wildlife habitats in the heart of Monterey Bay. Cosmic was instrumental in this success. By refining and elevating our digital presence, you helped us galvanize the enthusiasm and generosity of our community for a healthier, more sustainable Elkhorn Slough.
How it works
Every successful partnership is built on a foundation of shared clarity. Our mandatory first step for every engagement is our Audit & Growth Roadmap. Once we have this plan established, we will work with you to determine which tier of ongoing partnership is the right fit for your organization's ambitions and goals.
Audit & Growth Roadmap
$10k (One-time)
In a focused, 4-week sprint, we immerse ourselves in your work, bringing a fresh, expert perspective to your mission. We'll facilitate workshops, interview stakeholders, and audit your entire brand, communications, and fundraising ecosystem to build a comprehensive, 12-month growth plan. You'll walk away with a crystal-clear, actionable roadmap for the future.
Who it's for:
Ambitious social impact organizations ready to move beyond reactive projects and build a proactive, sustainable growth engine.
After this project, you can hire us to help execute against all strategic recommendations, or your team can implement them on your own.
Includes:
- Stakeholder workshops
- Internal interviews
- Brand & messaging analysis
- Ensure all your communication efforts are aligned with your mission and goals.
- Digital ecosystem audit
- Final 12-Month Growth Roadmap deliverable
Growth Partnership
Starting at $15k/mo
This partnership is for ambitious organizations ready to build a sustainable growth engine from the ground up. It provides the dedicated strategic partner and expert creative team you need to own and execute your communications strategy with excellence. This partnership is typically the right fit for organizations with an annual operating budget of $2M - $7M.
You Work With:
A dedicated Project Manager, a Senior Designer, a Developer, and a Content Strategist, with strategic leadership from our Creative Director.
Includes:
- Quarterly Strategic Roadmap Planning & Management
- Dedicated Creative & Technical Team
- Execution of Core Campaigns & Initiatives
- Ongoing Channel Management (Website, Email, Social)
- Monthly Performance Reporting & Insights
- Focus on Program-Level Execution & Delivery
Scale Partnership
Starting at $30k/mo
This partnership is for established organizations looking to elevate their communications to a world-class level. We act as a powerful extension of your existing leadership, providing the deep strategic insights and elite creative execution needed to accelerate your impact. This partnership is typically the right fit for organizations with an in-house team and an annual operating budget of $7M+.
You work with:
Your core execution team, plus dedicated executive partnership from our Founder & Creative Director, Eric Ressler.
Includes:
- Everything in the Growth Partnership, PLUS:
- Dedicated Executive Partnership from Founder, Eric Ressler
- Participation in Leadership & Board Meetings
- Annual & Quarterly Communications Budget Management
- Proactive Growth Strategy & New Opportunity Analysis
Partnership vs. Payroll: The Smart Investment
For organizations considering building a team, hiring a full-time senior Comms Director can cost over $150,000 a year in salary alone, before benefits, overhead, and the 3-6 month search to find the right person. Even then, you have one person's perspective, and they will still need a budget for designers, developers, and copywriters to execute their strategy. For a comparable investment to one senior hire, our Growth Partnership gives you a fully-formed, multi-disciplinary team of senior-level experts from day one, providing both the strategy and the execution with none of the overhead of hiring.
For organizations with an established team, the challenge isn't capacity; it's perspective. Your team is excellent at managing the day-to-day, but they're too close to the work to see the bigger picture. To reach the next level, you need a trusted, external partner who can see around corners, challenge your assumptions, and bring world-class creative thinking to your most important initiatives. Hiring specialized, one-off contractors for this work leads to a fragmented strategy and inconsistent quality. Our Scale Partnership provides a single, integrated solution: a dedicated, senior-level peer for your leadership and an elite creative team to execute your most ambitious projects with excellence.
Real Outcomes for Your Mission
By partnering on the Social Impact Growth Model, you can expect to:
- Align your team and board around a clear, unified message
- Build deeper trust with your supporters
- Unlock consistent fundraising and diversified revenue
- Free up your team to focus on their highest-impact work
- Make measurable progress toward your mission
What if we already have a person or a small team in-house?
This is a perfect scenario. Our goal is to make your existing team more powerful, not to replace them. We act as the senior strategic and creative layer, providing the high-level guidance, creative firepower, and clear roadmap that allows your in-house team to focus on their highest-impact work. We don't just add capacity; we multiply it.
What is the typical length of an engagement?
All of our partnerships begin with a 3-month foundational quarter to ensure we can deliver a meaningful win. After that, our agreement converts to a month-to-month partnership. We believe in earning our place on your team, every single month.
How is the scope of work managed each month?
Our work is guided by the Growth Roadmap we build together. This keeps the focus on your primary goals, as monthly priorities and capacity are based on that plan. If new priorities arise, they are addressed in the quarterly planning sessions to adjust the roadmap. You can expect full transparency about how changes might affect timelines or deliverables.
Can I scale my engagement up or down, or pause the retainer?
Yes, the partnership is designed to be flexible — within reason. The scope of your engagement can be adjusted up or down to meet your evolving needs, or to take on special projects outside the retainer. These changes are typically discussed during quarterly planning sessions to ensure a smooth transition.
However, to maintain momentum and results, the option to pause the retainer is not available (though you can cancel at any time with one month's notice, which will serve as your final month of engagement).
What kind of results can I expect?
While every organization is unique, our client partners typically see significant growth in both internal clarity and external engagement. You can expect qualitative wins like stronger team alignment and confidence in your messaging, alongside quantitative results like increased website engagement, audience growth, and a more consistent pipeline of donor interest and support.
What if we're not happy with the results?
We view this partnership as a shared experiment, approached with curiosity and empathy. If we're not hitting our targets, our first step is to work together as true partners to find a solution.
If we find we can't work through it, it usually points to a deeper misalignment. Our mission is to make a tangible impact, so we're committed to partnering only where we can truly move the needle. You can, of course, cancel your engagement at any time with one month's notice after the initial 3-month period.
Let's Get Started
If you're ready for a true strategic partnership, the first step is a brief, introductory call to ensure our model is the right solution for your goals.