Sometimes I get so caught up in the details of my day to day work that I forget this question.
It is the most important question for the nonprofit leader.
And if it’s not now, it’s just a matter of time before it will be.
Because if you’re not raising money, the funds that drive your programming will eventually run out. And you’ll be forced to answer it.
So let’s get a little head start on that situation and help point you in a good direction.
I’ve pulled together a few observations here.
They’re not a secret code to success.
But they are themes I’ve seen in the nonprofits that do fundraising well – the ones that have graduated from “are we gonna make payroll next month” to “what is the next awesome thing we can do?”
If you’re an executive director and find yourself coming back to this question, please read on.
You may find a few ideas that help get you started.
1 – Nonprofits that succeed at fundraising have a reputation for being a good investment.
This doesn’t happen overnight. So if you’re just getting started on this journey of fundraising, think of this as a long-term goal. But one you should be working on every day.
If you want to have consistent success raising funds, work on building a reputable organization.
This includes things like:
– having a positive online presence
– providing positive volunteer and stakeholder experiences
– sharing quantifiable reports that show your mission in action
– cultivating a narrative that demonstrates your value
– engaging a broad constituency in your mission
– and stewarding donors well
I’ve found that once a nonprofit has established itself as a reputable organization, it’s actually kind of easy to raise money. You just have to find the right people – and present your organization in a way that demonstrates your value positively.
If and when you do that, it’s not a big step to a closed gift.
Because donors can see that their own philanthropic interests will be achieved.
2 – Nonprofits that succeed at fundraising have a leader at the helm who is ambitious enough to pursue big gifts but conscientious enough to protect the integrity of their organization.
That’s a mouthful, so let me unpack it a bit…
If you’re a nonprofit Executive Director, your number 1 job is to raise funds for your organization – to create revenue moments that drive what you do each day.
That’s not your only job. But in many ways it’s the most important.
Because if you’re not creating revenue moments, your programming won’t survive.
But if you do create revenue moments – especially if you create lots of them – the programming will follow.
I once heard a successful entrepreneur say that good marketing covers over a multitude of programmatic sins.
What he meant by that was: as long as the revenue kept coming in, things were generally okay, even if his services were not as perfect as he wanted them to be.
He never gave up trying to make his business as perfect as he could.
But priority number 1 was bringing in the money.
And that should be your priority as well.
So make sure you’re setting aside time every day to perform activities that bring in the money.
Things like
– having conversations with major donors, even if you don’t ask them for a gift
– creating positive experiences for folks who have supported you
– sending a thank you card or making a phone call
– writing an encouraging email that demonstrates how the donors gift is being used
If you discipline yourself to carry out those activities on a regular basis – and especially if you’ve worked hard at accomplishing number 1 – it should just be a matter of time before donors start investing in your organization.
3 – Nonprofits that are successful at fundraising have a solid stewardship strategy in place.
Stewardship is an important fundraising concept.
I like it because it’s also a theological term. And I used to be a theologian.
Let me tell you two ways you can be a good steward of your donors’ generosity:
First, you want your donors to know that the money they’ve invested in you was indeed a good investment.
Stewardship has to do with the awareness that the resources you’re using to advance your mission used to belong to someone else.
And the donor who gave you that money did so trusting that you would spend it in ways that advance the causes you both care about.
And that is vital for ensuring that the donors who have supported you in the past will support you again in the future.
No one wants to give to an organization that is wasting their money.
So be sure to tell your donors on a regular basis, in quantifiable ways, how you are using their money to accomplish great things:
– the number of staff who are advancing that mission each day
– the number of clients that together you serve
– the number of fliers you distributed with their resources
– the number of laws that have passed as a result of their generosity
Stuff like that.
Be a good steward.
And second – be sure to thank them.
Thank them in a timely manner. Send a quick email. Write a quick thank you note. Make a quick call. And begin with these words: “I’m just calling to say thank you.” I’ve never had a donor turn me down after opening with that.
If you can do those two things, you’ll find that your fundraising success grows incrementally. You’ll build on the foundation of previous fundraising successes while adding new donors at a realistic pace.
On the flip side, if donors don’t feel appreciated and heard – or if they feel like their money was wasted after they handed it over to you – they’ll move to the next nonprofit. Or they’ll not give at all.
And you’ll have to rebuild your foundation year over year.
And that’s a rough way to be.
4 – Nonprofits that are successful at fundraising have a solid communication strategy in place.
I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve made a solicitation for a nonprofit only to be answered with, “Well, I’m just not sure what the nonprofit does.”
That’s a great way to deflate a promising donor conversation. And honestly, it’s unethical.
People give you their money to do cool things.
Do those things.
And tell them about it.
Work hard to create a clear pipeline of regular communication to all constituents – and use that pipeline to communicate that a donation to your organization is a great investment.
– Send emails – weekly
– Post on LinkedIn – daily
– Send snail mail – quarterly
Keep a good pace of outward facing communications, and donors will see that you are doing things they believe in and want to support.
This will make fundraising 10 x’s easier.
5 – Nonprofits that are successful at fundraising have a compelling vision for the future.
This one’s a little harder to lay out in the form of instruction. Because not every executive director needs to create a new vision.
Sometimes your nonprofit already has a compelling vision. And you should lean into that.
Sometimes your nonprofit is already doing something that people love to support. And you should continue that.
Sometimes your nonprofit already has a good strategic plan. And you should keep it.
I’m not asking you to reinvent the wheel.
What I’m getting at here is the simple observation that the really, really good nonprofits (a) have their finger on the pulse of the sector they serve, (b) know what that sector needs to advance into a better future, and (c) communicate that future in an inspirational way.
When donors see that you are working hard to bring about the future they want, they will support you.
Because major gift donors want to achieve that future too.
So lean into that future. Cast that vision. Tap into your donors’ imagination.
And they will do what they can to help you achieve the future you both want.
6 – Nonprofits that are successful at fundraising know who their constituents are and they work hard to keep them engaged.
A successful organization is a growing organization.
Work hard to build shared momentum. And work hard to keep that momentum going.
– Have a volunteer appreciation day.
– Go on a bus tour.
– Hold an open house.
Engage your constituents personally in the work you are pursuing.
Keep *all* constituents engaged, and the right donors will eventually come.
And that brings me to my last thought…
7 – Nonprofits that are successful at fundraising understand that fundraising is not just about “raising funds.” It’s about creating a movement.
This one is also a little pie-in-the-sky.
But I stand by it.
Really successful nonprofits cultivate a mission identity that becomes a magnetic force.
It drives the organization forward, and it draws people in.
And they have done this long enough and consistently enough to have built a community around that mission – a community that has its arms wide open and that can sustain the ebbs and flows of program changes or leadership shifts.
This is why, in my experience, things like religious groups or universities are pretty easy to raise money for.
Because in those organizations, folks feel like they are a part of something bigger. They have experienced those communities personally – often over a long period of time.
Their identity is tied up with the organization. So when they give, they are supporting a kind of extension of themselves – something they belong to and believe in.
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There are many other factors involved in the building of a successful fundraising shop – and much of the above could be nuanced significantly
And I’d love to discuss all those things with you.
For now, I hope that something in the above resonated with you. Because I know how hard – and isolating – it can be to lead a nonprofit and drive real revenue for the mission you believe in.
If you’re having trouble, don’t give up.
Think critically through the above criteria.
Think about what changes you should make to shift the fundraising direction of your organization.
It won’t happen overnight.
None of the above is a cheat code.
And the above habits aren’t easy to build.
But they do go hand in hand with fundraising success.
And folks just like you have built organizations that achieved them.
And you know what that means?
It means that raising money is not impossible.
It means that maybe – if you can discipline yourself to focus on the right things – you can raise money too.
Photo by Rebrand Cities: https://www.pexels.com/photo/group-oo-people-having-a-meeting-1367276/
