Is It Time to Grow?

At some point, smaller organizations have to decide whether to stay small or grow. In order to grow, there usually needs to be an increased investment in development.

But how can you tell if that time is now? Here’s a checklist to help you determine if your organization is ready to ramp up its fundraising efforts — either to expand its services or simply to bring in more funding to support existing programs — and what to do if it is.

ARE YOU READY?
Leadership. The same fundamental factors of every nonprofit contribute to its fundraising success — or lack thereof. The most critical of these is leadership from both the executive director and the board. From these governing bodies comes clear, focused direction with goals that inspire and motivate staff, volunteers, alumni and donors. Unclear direction and a board in conflict with its executive director will hinder fundraising. Enough cannot be said about the importance of leadership. If it’s right and strong, the possibilities are astounding. In fact, magic can happen.

Accountability. Are the dollars coming in accurately and consistently accounted? Is this clearly communicated to all constituents? Occasionally I’ve walked into situations where the nonprofit didn’t know if there was enough to pay the bills, and once I was present when a board reprimanded an executive director for running personal bills through the organization. We are in an era where donors are demanding accountability. The more we can account for dollars spent, the more successful our fundraising efforts will be. When donors see their money being spent well and goals being achieved as a result, they want to give more.

Competition. Small- to medium-size organiztions are particularly challenged in their fundraising efforts by competition and budgets that barely allow for the provision of services to clients, let alone dollars for a fundraising effort that might or might not pay off. Large, successful nonprofits continue to grow while small to medium ones struggle in their shadow. This is because success begets success.

Take, for example, the University of Washington’s move to compete on a national level, and its recent increase of a campaign goal from $2 billion to $2.5 billion. Where does that leave the other schools in Washington? Surprisingly heartened, actually. Because in the nonprofit arena, a rising tide really does float all boats. So take heart, you are not falling behind; you’re just riding a bigger wave.

GET SET
Thinking big. “KeyBank is in the midst of an ambitious, multi-million dollar campaign to boost deposits in Washington by a whopping 25 percent.”
— (Puget Sound Business Journal, Vol. 27 No. 45, seattle.bizjournals.com).

KeyBank has set a goal that makes me want to run out and deposit my money with it. Far more so than would the news that KeyBank has been losing market share for the past five years and needs to increase customer deposits. I like KeyBank’s goal for its clarity, simplicity and focus, and because it is so stunningly big, it inspires.

Goal-setting. It’s hard to think big when survival is the order of the day. But think big we must. Small, lackluster, survival-mode goals do not inspire people to give. Big, life-changing goals do. Ask “What does it look like five years from now? Ten? How about when all is said and done?” This is the visioning done at the beginning. Then estimate what the vision will cost to achieve. Factor in operating costs during a pledge payment period. Will your end result increase the bottom line? If so, you need to factor in this increase and possibly an endowment to permanently achieve it. The numbers and the need are adding up.

Achievability. We must be successful if we are to beget future success. But the big goals often aren’t achievable. The nonprofit where I began my career had a higher-than-achievable $6 million campaign goal to fix leaky buildings (uninspiring). We did not have the donor base or the community visibility to reach that goal, let alone our ultimate vision that came later. What we did have: passion and commitment; and we were clearly focused on the goal. We also had one critical volunteer who simply would not give up. We persevered, exceeded the goal and our next goal — the vision — was 10 times higher for new, bigger, better buildings (inspiring).

Phasing. Somewhere between a perfect world where we can fund our entire vision and the real world where we must meet the operating budget, lies a point we can focus on, communicate and achieve. This is Phase One, and it is used to increase the number of people giving and to increase the size of their gifts. It also is used as a marketing tool so Phase Two will be viewed by a much larger audience and fund our dreams.

Consistency. Turnover is bad. Efforts that start and stop are bad. Once your organization decides to hire a development officer, be prepared to commit to the position for the long run. Turnover and sporadic elimination/rehire of the position is a waste of resources and can send a message of instability to donors, doing more damage than if the effort had never begun.

GROW!
Allocating resources. The Web has created cost-effective tools for fundraising. For example: CatGen provides and supports online stores to nonprofits for $100 a year. Evite keeps track of who is attending which event, meeting or large gathering of any kind for free. The attendance list is viewable by all. Constant Contact is a great substitute for the more costly mail for your constituents who use e-mail. Donation Director is an excellent low-cost database. Invest in the up front expense of fast, powerful computers, and you will be rewarded with both increased productivity from your staff and low-cost contact with your donors and volunteers.

Whatever fundraising activities and tools you decide to implement, allocate the budget dollars for them and deliver them consistently year after year. Not all of them will be home runs. Fundraising is called both an art and a science, and part of that is developing a feel for what works and what does not.

Hire right. Employees are your biggest expense and also require the most time and attention. One of the big decisions to be made is whether to hire an experienced professional or someone inexperienced who you can afford. Expertise can be bought; passion and commitment cannot. Because an organization’s greatest asset is the undeveloped potential of its own people, your best bet for the right employee might be someone who already works for you.

Look for someone bright, capable, creative, enthusiastic and eager to learn. Someone who is personable can tell your organizations’ story, and could blossom if given two things: hope and opportunity. A few things make this path viable: first, a strong leader who can guide, direct and mentor the development officer; second, giving the person a fancy, door-opening title; and third, board members who open doors for the development officer and executive director.

Professionals. Perhaps you need an experienced fundraiser to take you to the next level but you can’t afford one. Money for professionals might be better spent using them to train and develop loyal, committed staff. The employees will stay not just because they believe in the mission but because they feel the organization is investing in them, too.

Finally, professionals often can be brought on your board, including a seasoned fundraiser who works for another organization and also cares about yours. This person is ideal to chair your fundraising committee.

ARE YOU WINNING?
Evaluation. There are many things a development officer can do to raise money; the most important of these is to hold face-to-face meetings with volunteers and donors. Is your development officer holding meetings or getting sidetracked by one of the many other activities to be done? When I become overwhelmed with all I have to do, a wise friend of mine likes to tell me, “There is time for everything.” I have found this to be true: If we focus on the big things, the little things do get done. So if your development officer is focused on meeting with donors, the mail will get mailed, the events will come off and the reports will get written.

Gina Crocetti Benesh, author of “Culture Shock! United Arab Emirates” (Graphic Arts Center Publishing Co., 2002) serves on the boards of Schillios Development Foundation, Fabric of Life and City Club of Tacoma. She can be reached at ginabenesh@msn.com.