Regardless of the size of your organisation, if you want to hit your fundraising goals, you don’t want to take the proverbial “fly by the seat of your pants” approach to your events and other campaigns. You need a detailed plan to ensure that you hit your target!

The following tips will help you get started creating a plan that will help you set realistic goals, stay focused, measure your progress and adjust so that you get the results your NFP wants and needs!

Get the Right People on Board

Before you can create a great plan, you need to gather people with the right information and expertise. Take a top-down approach to planning, and ask your director, treasurer, development and communications teams to get involved with the process.

Set Goals

Your fundraising target for the year should be both ambitious and realistic. At a minimum, your total annual goal should be enough to cover your average costs for the past 3 to 5 years, plus a percentage for growth. Many NFPs set their target at total average costs, plus 10 per cent to provide a cushion for unexpected factors that might increase their expected costs.

Align Your Goals with Your NFP Mission

Once you’ve set a fundraising goal, you need to make sure that it is in alignment with your NFP’s core purpose. Examine your costs and goals in relation to your organisational statement. You should be able to provide a compelling reason for each dollar that you will raise and spend. As part of the process, explain how these monies and expenditures will help to make a genuine change that advances your mission forward.

List Your Campaigns

Once you’ve set your goals, the next step is to decide on the number and type of events and other fundraising activities that your NFP will hold throughout the year. Once you’ve listed each of your fundraising campaigns, think about the steps that you will need to take to implement each one. List these steps in full detail to help ensure that you will have everything that you need to make each activity a success.

Define How You Will Measure Progress from the Outset

Once you have created a list of fundraising activities for the year and the steps that you will take to deploy each one, think about what additional steps you will need to take to measure the progress of each campaign. Create benchmarks for each event and set individual funding targets for each month and quarter to help your fundraising team be able to identify areas that they need to alter or change to improve their results.

Use a Calendar to Stay on Task

Keeping up with all the deadlines and details of your fundraising activities is difficult enough, but quickly becomes overwhelming when considered in the context of all of the programs, services, reporting requirements and other activities involving your NFP. Use a fundraising calendar to keep track of important dates for each of your fundraising campaigns and include key dates and times from other areas and departments in your organisation to help your entire organisation maintain its focus on your mission and goals.

Learn More about Fundraising Planning

Want to learn more about how to create a great fundraising plan that will help you set goals, stay focused and hit your mark? Check out this free to attend LIVE webinar: Introduction to Fundraising Planning, provided by Grantspace, on Thursday, 18 October 2018 from 5:00 to 6:00 AM AEDT. Topics that will be covered include how to create an action plan, diversify your fundraising base, and increase support for your NFP and its work.