Professionalize your Fundraising Strategy
When thinking about the nonprofit world, the word fundraising likely comes to mind. As it should! Fundraising is crucial for a nonprofit to survive. Unfortunately, that is exactly what most nonprofits are currently doing — surviving.
About 94% of the nonprofit organizations in the United States operate with under $500,000 in annual revenue and have less than $500,000 in total assets. Most leaders within the nonprofit industry are full of drive and determination, and yet the majority of nonprofits are stuck in survival mode. They’ve hit a roadblock on their path to success.
So, why is it that the vast majority of nonprofits are struggling to thrive?
Likely, it’s because their leadership is focused on a simplistic form of fundraising rather than putting their time, energy, and attention into a establishing a professional development strategy. Within the large percent of nonprofits that cannot seem to raise their annual revenue or assets, 90% do not operate formalized development programs. While they probably host fundraisers of some kind or another, they do not have a development strategy in place.
You may be wondering what the difference is between fundraising and development, especially since they go together so nicely and it’s rare to hear one without the other. While they do support each other, fundraising can be considered the transactional side of development.
Development is the act of growing an organization through relationships. Development is the slow burn; the long-term process of creating genuine, powerful connections with the right people. A proper development strategy will include educating, cultivating, and stewarding prospects and donors. Rather than being boiled down to an event or a project, development is about people — relationships, connections, and networks.
WORK SMARTER, NOT HARDER
Most nonprofits have very little time to spare. And zero nonprofits have time to plan and launch fundraising projects or campaigns without the expectation of exceeding their return-on-investment.
So, why not dedicate your energy towards a strategy that is proven to be successful over time?
Development is the approach taken by the largest, most prominent 501c3s. It’s proven to work as long as the correct donor tracking tools and team have been established at your organization.
Through development and the art of building relationship with donors (and their networks), your organization will increase its likeliness of receiving major gifts, being awarded grants, connecting with corporate sponsors and receiving corporate donations, and even generating government funding opportunities.
While the results may not happen overnight, they will generate a massive return for the future of your organization.
MAKE A REAL IMPACT
Speaking of affluent people, it helps to know some! By drilling into development and building relationships organically, your nonprofit will absolutely uncover some affluent friends.
This is key. Candidly, people with money tend to know and spend time with other people with money. These connections may have an affinity for your mission and be willing to introduce your organization to their network.
Building a proper network takes time, but reaching even one or two of the right people can make an incredible impact on your organization and those you serve — which is the reason for the nonprofit in the first place, right? There are too many organizations out there overworked with too little to show for their efforts. Focusing on development will turn what seems like a pipe dream into an attainable goal.
STICK AROUND FOR THE LONG-HAUL
It is impossible to implement a development plan without thinking five, ten, even twenty years into the future of an organization. Unlike a fundraiser that can start and stop with a single project, development revolves around the donor, their lifespan, and even beyond.
The process of collecting, tracking, and stewarding donors for the long-term will have a ripple effect that will help the sustainability of a nonprofit. So, if an organization chooses to embark on the development journey and trust the process, it can be expected to not only survive for a significant time, but also continue to grow and evolve for years to come.
STOP WASTING TIME!
If you are involved with a nonprofit that you want to see thrive, creating a culture of development is something you should absolutely consider.
Is it easy work? Not necessarily.
But if you’re thinking about where you want your nonprofit to be in the next five years, and you want to think BIG, then we challenge you to learn more about development and the building blocks needed to create a solid development strategy.
Establish your own formalized development plan for FREE with our Starter Program!