I’ve worked with several nonprofit organizations over the past few years and with each organization I always find the same problem. Every time I am called to help an organization, the expression “banging your head against a wall and never getting anywhere” rings true. The organizations always think have the greatest mission and that everyone will donate to them purely on the basis of their mission, however, by the time I’ve gotten involved in an organization they are so desperate for funds that they are unable pay for the services of a fundraiser.

It is imperative that an organization creates a well developed fund development plan before the organizations even opens its doors. I view all organizations, whether they are for profit or nonprofit, as a businesses and capable of making a profit. You cannot get what you want if you do not have money. In the case of nonprofits, it is perfectly alright to make money! I will repeat that again. It is alright, and in fact desirable, to make money, as long as you put the excess back into the organization to run the programs. The more money you have in bank, the better you can run your programs. Don’t settle for the bare minimum and just get by. Need an example? The American Cancer Society or the Girl Scouts of America each bring in millions every year.

My mom always told me, “Do it right the first time and you won’t get in so much trouble and will save yourself the pain of getting grounded and doing it over again.” Grounding aside, the principal still holds true. If you take the time to create it right the first time you won’t have to go back and do it again.

Most nonprofit organizations don’t have the funds to hire on a full-time staffer to perform and implement the necessities of a well created fund development program, like the above mentioned organizations, but what they can do is get it right before they get started. If an organization that is just starting out spends the time to answer a few questions in the beginning they will save money, time and their sanity, in the long run.

Here is the basic set of questions that need to be answered in order to begin the creation process. Keep in mind that there are many more questions you need to answer that are more in depth, but for this article I will keep it to a short list. If you want more information on how to create fund development program or have NuVisions write one for you, just contact me and I will sit down with your organization free of charge. Ok I’m done with my plug…hey; you can’t blame a girl for trying, right?

1. You need to understand the needs of your organization. You need to know what amount of funds need to come from fundraising in order to continue running the organization and what amount will come in from contracts, sales and the like.

2. Assess the resources you have available for fundraising. Yes, you have to spend money in order to make money. Funny I know, but true.

3. This next critical part of the development process is deciding on what types of sources to get your funds from. There are several and most are given to certain types of organizations so it is important to do your research and find the sources you can go to when you need to. This will save you time and money in the long run.

4. This is the area of the program where you will make the decision to hire a person to run the program. You will want someone who has a proven history of getting funds. They will carry the title of Director of Fund Development or Fund Development Manager depending on what you decide but their job duties will be the same. They will be the one who will make contact with major donors but they will also oversee the grant writing, fundraising, and special events staff. Each department will have a very important role in making sure that the organization can fulfill the mission of the organization by getting the funds needed to keep it going. Make sure that you get the right management, administrative systems (fundraising software) and staff in place. This will be the last step in the process before you open your doors to the public.

 

Now that you have a brief example of what needs to be done, take a stab at it. Your assignment this week is to reevaluate your organizations fund development plan. If your organization does not have a plan in place and would like NuVisions to help out please contact me at erin@nuvisionscg.com and I will be more than happy to point you in the right direction.

 

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