A Game Plan For Nonprofit Fundraising

Fundraising is truly the lifeblood of nonprofit organizations, who are likely to receive the majority of their income from charitable donations. For as long as a nonprofit hopes to exist, fundraising must remain a perpetual priority. This can seem daunting, like a never-ending carrot hanging from a stick scenario. Yes, fundraising is a massive undertaking BUT it doesn’t have to be daunting. Like with many other things in life, having a well thought out and detailed game plan can set organizations up for lasting success.

At a loss with how to map out a fundraising plan of attack?
Let’s look at some crucial steps:

1. Register
2. Clearly Define Fundraising Goals
3. Put Together An Execution Team
4. Identify Target Donors
5. Create A Campaign Plan
6. Thank Supporters

Everything seems just a little simpler when there is a trail of breadcrumbs to follow, yeah? Okay, get out there and do it! Kidding…let’s break these steps down a little more.

Register

This step is hugely important for nonprofits who seek to raise money. Before campaigning or soliciting any donations from supporters, organizations much first register with the state government in which they’re operating. An organization must be registered in each individual state, where they plan to raise funds. Furthermore, if the organization hires an outside fundraising consultant, they too must register with the state.

Registration may be a step that doesn’t need to happen for every campaign, if the step was already completed. However, it should always be on the check list, just to ensure that nothing falls through the cracks and everything is up to code.

Clearly Define Fundraising Goals

Having an ultimate goal in mind will help to keep an execution team on track and focused on the end game. So, the first step in a well thought out game plan should be to clearly define a fundraising campaign goal (a goal number to reach). Even further, what is the organization’s overall fundraising goal for the next year? The next two years? Or even the next five years? The more information that is clearly outlined and recorded, the more numbers will be available for reference (which can be helpful in future fundraising goals – remember that each campaign may be separate, but they are all connected to the organization’s overall goals).  

A clear goal number should also be intentionally tied in with the organization’s overall mission statement. This is because a fundraising goal should not only reflect a monetary number (how much money is needed to achieve the organization’s goal fundraising number) but should also reflect the intended use of this money (how the money will contribute to the organization’s overall mission). Most donors will choose to contribute to an organization based off of their mission statement, as donors like to know that their money is going towards a mission that they believe in.

Put Together An Execution Team

All fundraising campaigns should have their own special task force. Although campaigns can often be large enough that the entire team, and additional volunteers, will be needed on fundraising event days (for example), it is still important to appoint an execution team to manage the campaign in all of the surrounding days. Campaigns involve a lot of moving parts and it is best to have a leader or a small group of leaders, to keep track of important steps in the planning process and beyond.

The execution team should be taking charge on:

• Defining the fundraising goal number + how the money will be used to support the organization’s mission statement
• Promoting the fundraiser and ensuring the goals are expressed to target donors, in a way that relates goals back to the organization’s mission statement
• Brainstorming + executing methods of promotion for the fundraising campaign
• Planning + organizing fundraising-specific events
• Assigning staff + training and assigning volunteers for fundraising specific tasks/events
• Managing the funds received + ensuring they are used to support the overall mission
• Recording successes and failures of fundraising campaigns + keeping track of numbers, in order to compare to past and future fundraising campaigns
• Using recorded data to measure the fundraiser’s performance
• Looking for ways to continuously improve the fundraising process of the organization

If there is not an individual or group of individuals skilled enough to take lead on the execution team, organizations also have the option of an outside hire. A fundraising specialist (if within the budget or if the specialist is willing to donate time) can be brought in to help achieve goals.

Identify Target Donors

In order to most efficiently promote a fundraising campaign, it is important to clearly identify a target market. Are there specific demographics, neighborhoods, communities or groups of people that will be approached for contributions? Are there companies, organizations or individuals who have been large or frequent donors in the past, who should be included on the prospect list for this current campaign? Organizations may want to use staff, board members and volunteers to compile a full list of target donors.

This completed list will guide the promotional direction of the fundraising campaign. There are many different fundraising avenues for a successful campaign – direct mail, in-kind donations, sponsorships, crowdfunding, special events…just to name a few. No matter which method(s) planned to be used for an organization’s campaign, a prospect list of donors will define exactly who to target for funds. Honing in on this list can help all of an organization’s efforts to be channeled towards a target market of the most likely donors – keeping efforts from being “wasted” on less likely donors.

Create A Campaign Plan

A campaign plan should clearly outline the selected method(s) that an organization will use to raise money. There are a wide range of tactics that may be used during a fundraising campaign. For best results, it is recommended to incorporate a variety of approaches, in order to reach a larger population. The possible methods include:

• Direct Mail – An old faithful! This tactic dates back to the pre-internet days of fundraising (obviously) but it still stands as a cost-effective, low-labor and worthy method of spreading an organization’s word. Send out letters to your prospect list but make sure to include information about how recipients can donate online (rather than returning the snail mail).
• Online – This includes donations that may be made through an organization’s website, through a crowdfunding site (ex: Go Fund Me) or through other platforms, such as social media. This method draws the most donations because it reaches the most people and provides a simple and accessible means for those people to contribute their donations. Even if they hear about the cause through word of mouth or through direct mail, they are still likely to hop onto the world wide web to make their donation. The internet also allows for monthly giving programs to be set up. Monthly giving programs raise money through recurring donations from those donors that support the cause with such great enthusiasm, that they are willing to contribute every month.
• Mobile Phones – Similar to direct mail but a little more current, organizations can send out a mass text message to their prospect list, with a link to donate. Calling possible donors to speak directly over the phone or leave a voice message about the cause is also an option, although much more time consuming. An organization may also create an app with donation collecting capabilities.
• Solicitation – Another method that has stood the test of time is an in-person approach. Solicitating to possible donors (within the target audience) is also a time-consuming option but can help to reach donors outside of the prospect list. Organizations should be strategic about location choice for this method. For example, if the organization is raising money for animal shelters (or any animal-related causes), it would be strategic to place a few volunteers outside of a pet food/supply store.
• Events – Holding fundraising events can help to boost donor giving, while also raising further awareness for an organization’s cause. Think silent auctions, marathons, charity dinners, craft shows and more. It is up to the organization to be creative with this option because there are many possible routes to take.
• Corporate Partnerships – There are many businesses who are interested in partnering with non-profits, in order to fulfil a philanthropic avenue for their company. Companies may choose to donate money, in-kind donations, encourage employees to donate time (volunteer) or they may be willing to sponsor or be otherwise involved in a fundraising event.

Once an execution team as decided on the methods that will be used for the fundraising campaign, the next step to completing the campaign plan is to decide how the campaign will be promoted. Essentially, how will word get out to the people of the prospect list and (hopefully) beyond. How will the campaign be marketed to ensure best results? Many of the same platforms used for raising the actual funds, can and should be utilized to market the campaign.

Thank Supporters

Last, but definitely not least, is to send out a huge thank you to all of the generous donors who chose to support the cause. This step is not only required by the IRS, as donors will need to receive information for their tax-deductible contribution, but it is also a wonderful way to keep in contact with supporters, further strengthening those relationships. Fostering these relationships can alleviate efforts in future fundraising campaigns and can help to secure recurring donations. Donors are the lifeblood of nonprofit organizations and should be treated as such.