Successful Fundraising Strategies

Successful Fundraising Strategies

Dec 20, 2023 | Fundraising

Successful fundraising at the organizational level rests on constructing solicitation strategies and techniques that reflect the capabilities and wants of current and prospective donor groups.

These strategies and techniques hinge on the development of an understanding of current and prospective donors, including individuals, businesses, corporations, foundations, and government agencies.

To develop such an understanding, collecting and analyzing data is necessary to determine the best fit for particular projects and fundraising campaigns. Some attributes of potential donors into which research should be conducted include demographics, past giving behaviors, existent relationships, and philanthropic interests.

Based on this research, which includes a variety of methods, project and campaign prospects can (and should) be ranked according to linkage to the organization, financial means (if known), and philanthropic interests (if known). These rankings can be codified into a list that serves as the basis for an action plan that lays out the activities that will make up the fundraising and development component of the project and/or campaign.

Activities could include events, one-to-one interactions, grant writing, corporate solicitation, digital (e-blasts and social media), and traditional PR. The proposed mix of fundraising and development activities will rest to a large degree on assumptions made from the research and the nature of the project or campaign for which funds must be raised.

Fundraising Ethics

Fundraising Ethics

Nov 29, 2023 | Fundraising

Effective fundraising and development must include careful consideration of the laws and regulations that govern such activities, which include interactions with donors, staff, and volunteers. However, these interactions do not cease when a gift is secured and acknowledged, as ethical practice and transparency also include reporting back to various stakeholders regarding the ‘return on investment’.

If a gift was given for a particular program, for example, were the funds used for that purpose? What successes were achieved? What if there were unanticipated challenges?

The very nature of a gift can also bring about ethical considerations. A business might, for instance, want to donate their services ‘in-kind’. What services can be accepted in this manner? Should in-kind services be recognized and acknowledged similarly to cash gifts? What about gifts of stock?

The nature of a gift may necessitate different ways to acknowledge it. For instance, some donors might want ‘top billing’, whereas others may wish to remain anonymous.

Aside from the nature of a gift and its acknowledgment, ethical practice and transparency relate to the actual handling of the money and all aspects related to it, including donor record maintenance, gift accounting, financial management, and audit trails. In other words, the accounting side of receiving a gift must align with what is promised by the fundraiser/development professional to donors/philanthropists.

Development In Nonprofits

Development In Nonprofits

Oct 24, 2023 | Fundraising

Effective development requires a substantial amount of input from different kinds of ‘players’ throughout an organization. For example, a fundraising/development professional needs an accurate understanding of the accounting picture to communicate fiscal realities to donors/philanthropists.

Development should entail ‘’buy-in’ from the organization’s leadership, whose vision helps to paint the proverbial picture the fundraising/development professional is ‘selling’ to donors/philanthropists.

Effective development also entails that the fundraising/development professional solicit internal support from program managers, for instance, who can provide insights into ways in which financial support can ‘transform’ some aspect of what they do or the lives served by their program. Development may also entail reaching out to individuals served by the organization through the staff who have directly worked with them.

At its core, effective development relies on internal relationships throughout the organization that result in actionable information that enhances every aspect of the fundraising and donor stewardship process.

Fundraising And Development

Fundraising And Development

Sep 19, 2023 | Fundraising

Fundraising is generally viewed as ‘asking for money’. This is essentially true. Whether you have been asked to support the local Little League baseball team or received a printed mailer that asked for your support to build a homeless shelter, you have likely been the recipient of a fundraising activity.

Fundraising can take place in many forms, some of which include face-to-face interactions, e-blasts, advertising campaigns (print and digital), stories in the media, social media campaigns, and formal written requests (grants) for support. The particular method of an ask is also dependent on the nature of the campaign — capital, program, or short versus long-term need(s).

‘Asking for the money’, however, is just one step within an intentional process at the organizational level. Whereas many community fundraising initiatives begin and end with an ask, organizations view fundraising differently. For organizations that have identified fundraising as a means to address community needs and/or support aspects of their services for which there are inadequate finances, fundraising is (or should be) followed by what is known as development.

Broadly defined, development is the careful nurturing and building of relationships over time between organizations and donors/philanthropists. In a sense, development could be seen as separate from fundraising. Effective development results in meaningful relationships that could be characterized as friendships.

Such relationships/friendships are based on trust, understanding, and shared values that enhance the experience of giving from the perspective of the donor/philanthropist. Development is thus an activity that takes place both before, during and after ‘the ask’ and continues at some level regardless of whether any money has actually been raised.

Effective development, then, helps to create, promote, and maintain a culture of philanthropy that becomes embedded within organizations and is not entirely dependent on individual fundraisers, but codified activities and processes.

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