ARTICLE
The Power of Planning: The Fundraising Plan That Can Drive Your Nonprofit Forward
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Updated - 10/25/2023
It’s important to ensure that your nonprofit has a strategic fundraising plan in place. In a recent survey, we asked 1,071 nonprofit professionals about their plans for 2023 and discovered that only 43% had a written plan. In this post, we’ll explain why it’s essential to create a plan and provide some tips on how to get started.
What Is A Fundraising Plan?
Simply put, a fundraising plan is a way to document your goals into actionable steps that you and your team can take. Putting your plan on paper empowers both you and your stakeholders to understand the goals and the ‘why’ behind them.
Why Should My Nonprofit Have A Fundraising Plan?
There are several reasons why your nonprofit should have a strategic plan.
- Provides a roadmap for fundraising efforts: Creates a clear plan of action of how you will raise funds for the year to keep everyone focused.
- Helps to set realistic fundraising goals: This ensures efforts are realistic and aligned with what your resources are capable of achieving.
- Provides a framework for budgeting: Helps justify how your spending will impact and ensures you have the finances you need to meet your fundraising goals.
Considerations For Your Fundraising Plan
1. Your Fundraising Goals
At the beginning of the year, you likely set fundraising goals for your organization. Now is a great time to check in on your fundraising goals and determine the resources and budget you’ll need to reach them. Identify areas for improvement and outline the steps you need to take to get where you need to be. This step isn’t always easy, which is why many nonprofits work with an experienced coach to help guide them.
2. Your Donor Engagement Strategy
Donor engagement is a critical component of sustainable fundraising. Identifying your target donors is essential for developing a successful fundraising plan. You need to understand who your donors are, what motivates them to give, and what methods they prefer for donating. This information will help you develop effective donor engagement strategies.
- Do you have the right technologies in place to identify donors with the highest giving potential?
- Are you communicating the right message to the right constituents?
- Are you personalizing messages so they resonate?
Take a moment to consider your answer to these questions and adjust your strategy accordingly. This doesn’t have to be dramatic — it could be as simple as a commitment to trying a new communication approach – like personalization – and documenting the results.
3. Fundraising Methods
There are many options for effective ways to engage donors and raise funds for your organization. Take a close look at your fundraising methods and evaluate their effectiveness.
- Are they raising the amount of money you hoped for?
- Are they effectively engaging donors?
- Are they worth the investment of both time and resources?
Based on your assessment, adjust your event strategy. It’s easy to keep the status quo mindset, but that can kill creativity and lead to wasted time and energy for your nonprofit.
4. Technology and Professional Development
Fundraising and technology go hand in hand, and it’s essential that your team is equipped to use the tools and resources to ensure you’re getting the most out of your technology.
- Do you and your team have the right technology in place to meet your fundraising goals?
- Would your team benefit from having best practices on fundraising practices?
- Are you getting the most out of your fundraising software/tools?
If you’re looking to empower your nonprofit organization and meet your fundraising goals — there are many options that can help you get there.
While creating a professional development plan is a great start, working with a coach is a cost-efficient way to get a personalized and tailored approach to meet your organization’s unique needs. The right coach can help you assess your team’s strengths and areas for growth, providing expert coaching to help your team reach its full potential. Coaching services equip your organization with a path to success and set them up to achieve greater success in fulfilling its mission.
5. Your Budget
Lastly, take a close look at your budget and assess its effectiveness.
- Are you investing in areas that are going to get you closer to your goals?
- Are there resources or tools that you need to add or remove?
If not, consider adjusting your budget to ensure that you have the resources you need to succeed.
Summary
A well-designed fundraising plan is essential for your nonprofits growth.
By providing your team with the necessary resources to implement your plan, you can achieve your fundraising goals.
Bloomerang’s team of seasoned coaching professionals have helped hundreds of organizations just like yours reach their fundraising goals. With the right coaching services, your nonprofit can exceed its fundraising goals and make a bigger impact in the community.
Learn more about how coaching services can help your organization thrive
How to Write a Fundraising Plan in 2 Steps!
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