As the new year begins, it's essential to create a fundraising plan outlining how you’ll continue to raise funds to support your nonprofit’s mission-driven work all year long.
A fundraising plan is a living document that outlines the specific strategies and tasks you’ll use to bring in revenue, the timeline for accomplishing each task, and the person responsible for each step. A concrete plan is essential to building up your nonprofit’s annual fund to keep your nonprofit operating smoothly throughout the year.
With that in mind, let’s walk through how to develop an effective fundraising plan.
1. Identify your assets.
Your assets are the resources and strategies that your nonprofit uses to expand its fundraising capabilities. As you build your fundraising plan, relying on your strengths will help you get your plans in motion much faster and develop a strategy that works best for your nonprofit’s unique needs.
First, ask yourself: What does our organization do well? For example, perhaps you:
Have a particularly compelling mission
Receive support from a broad segment of your community
Continually benefit from low staff turnover and high employee engagement
See high traffic to your nonprofit’s website
Generate high direct mail response rates through creative strategies, like membership cards
Then, use a complete SWOT analysis to understand your nonprofit’s fundraising situation. Identify your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Threats and opportunities are external factors that impact your nonprofit’s fundraising efforts, which you’ll need to respond to in your fundraising plan.
Working through these considerations gives you a greater understanding of your nonprofit's current state and the various strengths you can leverage to drive your fundraising efforts to success.
2. Develop a case for support.
You need to give your audience members a compelling reason to give to your nonprofit. That’s why developing a solid case for support or case statement is essential to building your fundraising plan.
A case for support is a written document that identifies why your nonprofit is worthy of support. Your statement should include the following elements:
Your mission statement and values. For example, an environmental nonprofit could have the following mission statement: “Our mission is to clear our community’s local waterways of trash and other pollutants to build a healthier environment.” Their values might include compassion, equity, and environmental stewardship.
Information about the programs and services you offer. To achieve your mission, you might offer a volunteer clean-up program and composting services to local community members. Make this section of your case statement more engaging by explaining your programs and services through the eyes of a volunteer or a community member who has received support from your organization. Include direct quotes and photos to make your case for support more compelling.
Recent accomplishments and strides you’ve made toward your mission. For instance, you could highlight recent industry awards your nonprofit has won. You can also share research that shows the extent of your environmental clean-ups and the reduction of local pollution since your organization has been in operation.
Plans for future growth. Discuss your plans to expand your nonprofit’s mission, such as developing more educational programs and resources on reducing pollution and promoting environmental welfare.
Funding needs. Finally, explain why your organization needs funding to achieve its goals and what your specific fundraising needs are. For example, you may need to raise $10,000 to launch your educational afterschool program for local students. Be specific about your needs in your case for support so donors can determine how much to give to help you reach your goal.
BWF’s donor engagement guide also recommends incorporating various credibility markers in your case for support to prove your nonprofit’s trustworthiness. This includes any third-party recognition your organization has received from accrediting organizations like Charity Navigator or GuideStar. In addition, provide financial ratios showing how much of your funding goes directly to your programs.
Once you’ve drawn up the main points of your case for support, you can use them in grant applications, fundraising appeals, direct mail campaigns, and other outreach initiatives. Be sure to adjust your case statement based on the communication platform you’re using.
For example, you might develop guidelines for personalizing direct mail outreach based on the recipient’s specific interests. In addition, you can provide team members with talking points when describing your case for support in an in-person meeting. Customizing your case for support to each platform makes your message feel more natural and engaging.
3. Set realistic goals.
Setting achievable, quantifiable goals will make it easier to track your progress and determine whether your fundraising plan is effective or if you need to make adjustments. Align these goals with insights gathered from the SWOT analysis and asset roundup you conducted at the beginning of the planning process.
Answer the following questions to identify your fundraising goals:
How much money will you need to support your mission-driven operations and programs? Ensure this number aligns with the funding needs outlined in your case for support so supporters are clear on your goals.
What type of funding will you seek? Consider major sources like individual donations, corporate funding, government grants, and foundation grants.
What can you add to your fundraising pipeline that you don’t already have? Double the Donation’s guide to multi-channel fundraising recommends pursuing multiple revenue streams to reach a broader audience, offer more engagement opportunities, and diversify your revenue streams. For example, maybe you want to expand your fundraising activities to include memberships, events, or in-kind donations.
Will the fundraising mix you want to pursue be feasible? Determine whether your fundraising team can support multiple revenue streams. If not, decide if you need to bring on new team members, partner with consultants, or invest in new software to support your fundraising activities.
Which sources provide the most stable long-term funding stream? Identify your most reliable funding sources, whether those are individual donations, corporate giving, grants, etc. Direct more of your resources and attention toward building up these sources to drive a high return on your investment.
Who are your current major funders? Identify the major donors, corporate partners, grant funders, and foundations that drive the bulk of your funding. Building stronger relationships with these critical supporters will be vital for successful fundraising.
Who is your target demographic for prospective donors? Determine the traits and qualities of prospective donors to identify potential new supporters to engage using outreach efforts. Use prospect research to identify donors with a high capacity to give and a history of donating to similar organizations.
How long will it take to secure additional funding partners and major donors? You may need to acquire new funding sources throughout the year to reach your fundraising goal. Estimate how long this process will take and the deadline for securing this funding.
Then, identify key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure your impact. For example, you might measure your:
Donor retention rate
Average donation amount
Direct mail response rate
Total funds raised over a specific period
Donor lifetime value
Grant success rate
Total donation amount from corporate partners
Total funds provided by foundations
Review your metrics regularly and set a clear deadline for your goals to give your team a target to work toward. For example, set a deadline of the end of your fiscal year to fill your annual fund.
4. Create an action plan.
An action plan clearly outlines the campaigns you’ll plan to help reach your fundraising goals, along with a timeline for completing them and roles and responsibilities for your fundraising team members.
Outline the details of how you’ll make your goals a reality by taking these steps:
Choose specific strategies to achieve your goals. For instance, you could plan initiatives like:
A direct mail membership and personalized outreach campaign
Online fundraising campaigns, such as social media campaigns or an email series
Events, including auctions, galas, 5Ks, and other fundraising opportunities
Fundraising appeals, such as direct mail messages or phone calls
Corporate sponsorships, with related initiatives such as sponsored events or matching gift drives
Set a specific fundraising goal for each strategy or initiative. For example, you might aim to raise $10,000 through an online GivingTuesday campaign, $20,000 at your annual silent auction, $15,000 through corporate partnerships, and $15,000 from direct mail appeals for individual donations.
Develop a chart or timeline that lists each initiative. Include the expected completion date and the specific team member in charge of executing each strategy. For instance, assign your marketing manager the responsibility of an email outreach campaign that begins on March 4 and ends on March 22.
An action plan promotes accountability across your organization and ensures you’re taking the necessary steps to make your ideas a reality.
5. Implement and evaluate.
Work with your fundraising team members to put your plan into action. Plan a few benchmarks to check your progress and review your KPIs. For instance, you might plan to review your online fundraising progress every six weeks as a full fundraising team to ensure you’re on track to meet your annual goal.
Treat your fundraising plan as a living document and make adjustments as needed. Review these questions with your team as your fundraising year draws to a close:
What’s working? What campaigns, events, and initiatives were most successful?
What needs improvement? What campaigns, events, and initiatives weren’t worth the time and effort?
Summarize your results and compare your performance to previous years. Remember the insights you gained as you iterate your plan and build on prior successes.
Effective fundraising plans start with a clear assessment of your organization's current situation. From there, you can set realistic goals, develop fundraising streams, and adjust your plan to respond to changing external or internal factors.