American inventor, statesman and Founding Father, Benjamin Franklin, is credited with first saying, “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail,” and the truth in this old adage applies to nearly every important goal or endeavor. In just a few weeks, the end of the year will be upon us; are you ready to ring in the New Year with your nonprofit’s fundraising plans?

Hitting your nonprofit’s fundraising targets shouldn’t come down to blind luck, and with a detailed fundraising strategy, it doesn’t have to! Follow these tips to help your nonprofit develop a comprehensive blueprint for successful fundraising in 2017!

Identify Sources of Support – Refine Target List

Diversity is the key to building a strong base of support. Don’t be satisfied with obtaining the majority of your nonprofit’s funding from just one or two key sources. While your nonprofit might be able to get by with funding from just a handful of donors for a short time, any disruption in support from a major donor could jeopardize your nonprofit’s ability to meet its goals and achieve its mission.

Many nonprofits receive support from one or more of the following sources: endowments and grants from trusts, foundations, and government entities, corporate sponsorships and third party partnerships, donations from individuals and local groups, such as schools, churches and others in your community, proceeds from rents, fees and sales, proceeds from specific public fundraising events such as galas, balls, auctions, and ceremonies. To ensure that your nonprofit has a broad base of support, target potential donors from multiple sources. Finalise your list of the individuals and organisations that you will target in each of these categories.

Various fundraising drives that are held throughout the year will require the assistance of both staff and volunteers, so it’s also a good idea to create a fundraising committee at this point to help decide which sources and specific donors to target, what types of fundraising events to hold throughout the year, as well as to provide support in organising and overseeing fundraising activities throughout the year.

Develop Presentation – Explain Why Support is Needed and the Impact of Donations

Regardless of which type of source that you seek donations, it’s important that you let potential donors know what problems or issues that your nonprofit is trying to solve. Demonstrate the impact of donations in the service community, and make it easy for donors to see how even a small increase in the level of support that they give can truly impact the outcome.

Tailor the Message to the Target

Next, be prepared to tailor your case for your nonprofit’s mission to your target donors. For example, many grant proposals will require written requests in a written format, with an explanation of just how the donation will help that organisation meet their own goals. A corporate sponsorship will likely require that the nonprofit send representatives to pitch their donation request in both writing and in person. Individual donors can be solicited through a variety of means and messages, from personal phone calls, email and direct donations on the website, to face to face contact. Always take care to ensure that your message is tailored to directly appeal to the needs of your target donors while explaining how their donation helps others.

Set Fundraising Goals and Benchmarks

Before formal fundraising takes place, it’s important to set some fundraising goals and put benchmarks in place to measure progress, as well as use metrics to measure performance and take corrective action to make changes to improve the messaging and targeting should your nonprofit find itself falling short of its fundraising goals.

Review Website, Social Media and Payment Methods Before Launch

As part of your nonprofit’s comprehensive fundraising strategy, review your nonprofit’s payment processing systems, as well as the website and outreach on social media to make certain that it is simple, fast and easy for supporters to donate to your cause.

Express Gratitude

As you launch each of your nonprofit’s fundraisers, don’t forget to promptly thank each donor for their contribution.

Follow Up and Build Lasting Bonds for the Long Term

Continue the conversation, and deepen the connection that your donors have with your nonprofit by periodically following up with them through the year with newsletters and updates that continue to express gratitude and that continue to show the impact their donation has made.

Review

During the last weeks of 2017, don’t forget to take a moment amid all of the hustle and bustle that comes with end of year events and celebrations to review your nonprofit’s fundraising activities. Think back about what strategies did and did not work for your nonprofit, and use the lessons that you’ve learned to further tailor and refine your fundraising strategy for the following year!