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?

  1. Strategic business thinking:  Business backgrounds combined with extensive nonprofit experience
  2. Quantitative and qualitative balance
  3. Team approach:  Two senior consultants thinking about your nonprofit from different perspectives
  4. 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?