Fundraising Plan: The roadmap to your “low hanging fruit”
What fundraising strategies will produce the best return on investment (ROI) the most quickly?
Starting Point:
- Current donor base
- Solicitation mix and effectiveness of appeals, grants, events, major gifts and planned giving
- Restricted vs. unrestricted giving
- People: Board, staff, donors and volunteers
- Technology infrastructure, including donor database, website and online giving experience
- Donor communications and stewardship: How well are you telling your story? What happens after a donor makes a gift?
- Donor research—if you are doing it, how are you doing it
- Campaign readiness, if applicable
Destination:
- Where are your greatest opportunities? (low hanging fruit)
- How do your current fundraising practices compare with benchmarks and best practices in the field?
- A proposed mix among: annual fund, special events, grants, major gifts and planned giving.
- How are branding, your website, marketing and PR supporting fundraising?
The Roadmap: A comprehensive Fundraising Plan with 3-year financial projections and research-based recommendations. Nothing canned here—we’ll be reviewing your numbers, your fundraising programs, and your website and marketing. Well, there is invariably a section titled, “Build your Board” that focuses on the need for board members who can make impact gifts. We find that recommendation applies to virtually every small-to-mid-sized nonprofit.
Why MajorDonors.com?
- Strategic business thinking: Business backgrounds combined with extensive nonprofit experience
- Quantitative and qualitative balance
- Team approach: Two senior consultants thinking about your nonprofit from different perspectives
- Thorough understanding of small-to-mid-sized nonprofit space—what is realistic given the resources, and what modest investments are likely to produce the biggest returns?