How to Plan to Make 2012 Your Best Year Ever

This first week of January, resolve to make things different in 2012. Maybe you can’t stop everything and take hours for planning, but try to take a few minutes to read this article and apply these steps over the next few weeks.

Step 1: Identify everything you need and want to do
Although unexpected things come up (natural disasters that affect our work, challenge grants, etc.), a lot of our fundraising year can — and should — be determined in advance. Consider the cycles in your nonprofit — times when your needs expand or natural times to appeal for support (i.e., back-to-school for a nonprofit that provides tutoring) — as well as holiday times when giving tends to surge.