fundraising strategy

The previous post covered issues around setting objectives for the fundraising strategy which need to be agreed to by the committee of management prior to finalising the actual strategy.  Now you are ready to move on to developing your actual fundraising strategy:

  • State clearly the objectives for the fundraising strategy.
  • Link each objective to the different ways to raise funds.  Depending on what the objectives are there can be more than one way to raise funds.
  • For each fundraising activity establish a plan that to achieve the required objectives.  For example, if you need to write submissions to the government, philanthropic organisations  or other organisations:
    • Be clear about what grants are available and from what organisation.
    • Grant submission can be time consuming to complete so ensure the person who will complete the submission is properly supported.
    • Make sure you meet deadlines as late funding submissions are not usually accepted.
  • Establish ways to evaluate the success of the fundraising strategy.  This can include key performance indicators (KPIs) that relate to financial targets, increase in enrolments, memberships or subscription as well as measurement against timelines.
  • Prepare a budget relating to the fundraising activity.  Especially with running a fundraising event make sure you will make a profit.  It sounds obvious but in some cases through either poor planning or poor management, the proceeds from a fundraising event do not cover the event and results in a loss.  If this occurs the negative publicity can be significant and have an adverse impact and consequences on the organisation.
  • The fundraising strategy throughout a year may have many different events and activities so avoid having too many fundraising activities close to each other as this can put a strain on the organisations resources and importantly staff and volunteers running the actual event.  In addition this can result in donor fatigue as there is the constant request for donations and participation which can be difficult to maintain.
  • For larger events make sure you establish a formal event management team to ensure it runs smoothly and that there are appropriate resources and support.  This should also cover legal and insurance issues as well.  Refer to the recent post on Event Management for more details on how to do this.
  • At the end of the fundraising activity undertake a formal review that assess how successful the fundraising activity was, whether target and KPIs were met as well as what worked well and what didn’t.

One of the most critical elements of any fundraising activity that often gets overlooked is communication to the staff, volunteers, government agencies, any other organisations and especially the general public who are often the major contributors that have led to the success of the event.

Simply providing an update on the progress or the outcome of the fundraising is vital for your organisational reputation, ongoing viability and future fundraising activities.  It is also critical for transparency as you are making your organisation accountable as well as simply showing respect to the people who have provided you with the support to ensure that your fundraising objectives have met.