Staying Focused in … Oh Look, a Unicorn!
What’s the solution? Your best bet for implementing a balanced fundraising approach is to begin with a detailed fundraising plan and calendar.
- How much do you anticipate raising via grants? How many new foundations will you approach?
- How can you grow your individual giving? By mailing more frequently? Implementing an additional online campaign?
- How are you stewarding the donors that you have? Do you have a plan in place for letting your donors know how much you appreciate their support?
- How much time does foundation prospect research take you? Write it down! (Hint: When you’re prospecting on a regular basis, rather than once or twice a year, you’ll find that the time it takes to locate new sources of foundation funding will dramatically decrease.)
Instead of allowing your board to lead you into the morass of “busy” tasks, put the board to work — writing thank-you letters, making thank-you calls and, yes, asking.
Pamela Grow is the publisher of The Grow Report, the author of Simple Development Systems and the founder of Simple Development Systems: The Membership Program and Basics & More fundraising fundamentals e-courses. She has been helping small nonprofits raise dramatically more money for over 15 years, and was named one of the 50 Most Influential Fundraisers by Civil Society magazine, and one of the 40 Most Effective Fundraising Consultants by The Michael Chatman Giving Show.
