Build Effective Fundraising Strategies

Fundraising Strategies

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1. Donor Motivations & Engagement:

• Passion and Trust: Most donors give to areas they are passionate about and to organizations they trust. It requires the donor to trust that the organization can fulfill its mission and provide the best return on the donor’s investment. 
• Tax Deductibility: The tax deductibility of donations can be a significant motivator for donors.
• Powerful Storytelling: Emphasize storytelling to convey impact, using statistical data to quantify the results. 
• The Art of the Ask: Fundraising is hard work, time-consuming, and takes courage. Don't shy away from making big requests. It never hurts to ask nicely and then you know if it is a yes, no, maybe, or not yet.
• Tailored Engagement: Identify how donors prefer to be engaged, whether through mailings, emails, personal visits, small gatherings, or gala events.
• Immediate Acknowledgment: Provide prompt donor acknowledgment with a thank-you note, including IRS-required language.

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2. Fundraising Sources & Strategies:

• Individual Donors: Finding, developing, and stewarding individual donor relationships is the best and most fruitful strategy for sustainable long-term fundraising. Encourage ongoing commitments. People who have passion for the work you do will often provide support when grant funders or corporations have walked away. Setting a planned giving program that asks donors to give each month or each year with an auto deduction can be your strong funding foundation. 

• Understanding Fundraising Needs: Clearly define what you're raising money for and the impact it will have. Establish realistic fundraising benchmarks that align with program needs and plan for annual fundraising rhythms for your organization.
• Three Approaches: Consider fundraising as a combination of farming (intentional relationships), fishing (hopeful connections), and factory (professional fundraising).

• Financial Investment: It takes money to raise money. If you have little knowledge in fundraising, invest in a professional to help develop the overall plan. 
• Communication: Utilize newsletters, social media, campaigns, and events for effective communication. Consider different communication options and frequency. A donor may prefer email only, mail only, or phone calls and see other methods as a waste of donor dollars. Look to leverage impact. 
• Innovative Approaches: Get creative with fundraising methods, moving beyond traditional galas to engage donors.
• Grants:  Shared by Joy Skjegstad.

• Identify if the funds will support general operations or programs. For programs, how are people transformed or the community improved because of the work? Be clear on the outcomes. Have a picture in mind of the outcome and describe what you see (who is changed, what is changed, where is this happening, why did this happen). Describe the need and the program using quantitative and qualitative information. 
• There are corporate, foundation, and government grants. Make sure their funding priority matches your mission. Do not mold your program to their funding focus. Stay true to your mission. Search online grant opportunities culling them to the top prospects. Look for a relationship with funders such as your board members’ employers or some connection. 
• Tell the truth. Do not embellish a story or select one unique occurrence. If there has been a challenge the organization overcame, describe the problem and how it has been solved.
• Continuously listen for the current and changing community needs. Make sure you are talking directly with the people who have a need. Seek to get beyond the symptoms to the actual cause of the problem. 
• Make sure to differentiate your work from that of others. How are you unique? Is it your expertise, program, context, population, etc. Be succinct in your text. Often grants have a max word limit for each section. Once you have polished your text it is easier to drop it into a grant format. 
• Consider collaborative work with other nonprofits. It will most often strengthen your work and improve your outcomes. Societal problems are complex and interrelated. 
• Funders look for collaboration and a diverse base of funders to strengthen an organization’s long-term viability. 

• Corporate Sponsors: Many corporations are looking for a way to show they care about and are contributing to the greater good of the community. Having an employee’s spouse or some strong tie to the corporation can help open doors. Find a way to make the relationship a win for you and a win for the corporation to ensure a longer affiliation. 
• Trust and Reputation: Work diligently to earn trust and establish a strong reputation for impact. Word of mouth about your nonprofit from a friend is a powerful fundraising strategy. Make sure to equip your staff, board, and donors with regular updates and ways to share about you NP’s impact. 
• Interactive Fundraising: Engage donors through interactive events, such as runs, bike rides, cookoffs, or tournaments.
• Building Partnerships: Foster a sense of partnership or championing of the cause through consistent communication.
• Diverse Approaches: Nonprofits seek funds through various means, including individual donors, private foundations, government grants, events, and membership fees.
• Grant Writing: Consider grant applications but avoid altering your mission or programs solely to align with grant requirements. Grants are not always stable, and applying for government grants may require extensive reporting. Do not build your organization solely around grants; view them as supplementary income sources. 

• Revenue Generation: Explore entrepreneurial components for sustainability. Especially consider implementing a social enterprise that complements your program work to support ongoing nonprofit work.

• In-Kind Donations: Leverage in-kind donations to supplement resources.

• Team-Based Fundraising: Organize outings where individuals invite friends to foster a sense of team and community involvement.
• Friend Raising: Focus on building relationships rather than just fundraising. 
• Donor Progression Roadmap: Develop a roadmap that guides donors from initial engagement to deeper involvement and ownership.
• Online and Mobile Giving: Explore online and mobile giving platforms with options for recurring donations.

• Fundraising as Sales: Think of fundraising as a form of sales that involves relationship activation and cause marketing.
• Avoiding Shiny Object Syndrome: Prioritize relationship-building over chasing the latest fundraising trends.

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3. Board and Leadership Involvement:

• Empowering Leaders: Equip board members and leadership with a simple message and the confidence to make invitations or asks.
• Influencer Engagement: Identify local influencers or celebrities to host events or promote your nonprofit on social media.
• Strategic Partnerships: Allocate fundraising goals among strategic partnerships, entrepreneurial efforts, and general fundraising.

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4. Professional Fundraising Roles:

• Fundraising Professionals: Differentiate between roles like gift processing, event coordination, major donor engagement, and fundraising strategy development.
• Outsourcing Strategy: Consider having the fundraising strategy developed by a professional, hire a trained experienced fundraiser, or contract with a fundraising organization.

• Revenue Models: Explore revenue models that have proven successful and adapt them to your context.
• Expense Allocation: Understand and track the percentage of funds allocated to administrative functions, programming, and fundraising.

Websites

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• The National Council of Nonprofits has articles on fundraising, laws, and ethical practices. www.councilofnonprofits.org
• There are several Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software options available which include Salesforce, ActiveCampaign, or some that are specific for fundraising include Salsa or Raiser’s Edge.
• Prosper Strategies has several articles on fundraising.
• How to build a fundraising plan.
• How to create a case for support.
• How to develop a campaign concept or “hook” for your fundraising campaign.
• How to acquire new donors online.
• How to prepare for end-of-year fundraising success. 
• How to leverage storytelling in your fundraising.
• How to align marketing and fundraising.
• The Nonprofit Association of Oregon has several helpful articles on:

1. Charitable Contributions Compliance
2. Fundraising General
3. Fundraising by Category + Giving Tuesday
4. Fundraising by the Board
5. Fundraising - Virtual Service Providers
6. Grant & Funding Resources
7. Donor-Advised Funds (DAF), Cryptocurrency
8. Donor Engagement
9. Donor Management Systems
10. Diversity, Equity & Inclusion in Philanthropy
11. Philanthropy Reports

https://nonprofitoregon.org/resource-library/

• Kauffman Foundation seeks to build inclusive prosperity through a prepared workforce and entrepreneur-focused economic development. To create equitable, comprehensive, and sustainable change, all must first listen to the communities in which we work, develop shared learning and knowledge, and bring people together. https://www.kauffman.org/grants/ 
• Minnesota Council of Nonprofits has an article on Principles for Fundraising. https://www.minnesotanonprofits.org/resources-tools/principles-practices-for-nonprofit-excellence/fundraising 
• The Mockingbird Incubator Program is designed to help emerging nonprofit founders create sustainable growth and measurable impact in their communities. They have an on-demand program in “Grants’ Anatomy” that has everything you need to know to write your first grant. https://www.mockingbirdincubator.org/nonprofit-program 
• Donor Box has an article on the top 12 online fundraising sites such as GoFundMe pages, Kickstarter campaigns, and others. https://donorbox.org/nonprofit-blog/fundraising-sites-for-nonprofits-and-individuals  
• Venture Miles’ website explains how to make fundraising a game. www.venturemiles.org
• Network for Good has webinars, free articles, etc. www.networkforgood.com
• TechSoup has articles and offers discounted software. www.techsoup.org
• Grants Candid has listings of foundations and grantors throughout the country along with tools to help you track your fundraising efforts. www.candid.org
• Chronicle of Philanthropy has a free online magazine with how-to podcasts, articles, grants, job listings, etc. www.philanthropy.com
• Association of Fundraising Professionals has extensive resources such as free blogs and articles. www.afpnet.org
• Indiana University School of Philanthropy – Lilly Family School of Philanthropy has trainings in fundraising. https://philanthropy.iupui.edu/index.html 
• Mission Increase https://missionincrease.org/
• Mission Increase has developed 4 classes for each quarter’s topic that are on a 3-year rotation (12 classes in all). The national level courses are the only online classes. All the City Directors present the same class each quarter in person. In these local sites, attendees build friendships which often develop into supportive relationships. All the classes were developed by the central organization in Portland and are not changed or customized by the City Directors. The quarterly webinars cover the following topics.
• 1st Quarter – Major donors and fundraising planning
• 2nd Quarter – Events – micro house gatherings and major banquets
• 3rd Quarter – Communication with monthly givers
• 4th Quarter – Leadership, board governance, and strategic planning
• To connect in for the webinars, an organization needs to setup an account by entering their EIN. They can include up to 5 people with their email address to attend the sessions with them. Each city director coaches the local ministries in their area. Some national coaching sessions are also held for ministries located in a city where they do not have a director.
• There are two additional courses in development – Soul Care and Intercultural Competency.
• They have two sister organizations called Mission Accelerate and Mission Multiply.
• Mission Accelerate https://accelerate.missionincrease.org/ provides low-cost coaching. 
• Mission Multiply equips nonprofits to better tell their stories, expand their reach, bring clarity to their mission, and multiply their champions… in digital spaces.” This page has some great articles and resources on it https://multiply.missionincrease.org/

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Software

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• Bloomerang equips you with the tools you need to proactively build relationships that will help your nonprofit thrive. https://bloomerang.co/ 

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Paid Consultants 

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• Let’s Build Hope is a fundraising training organization located in St. Louis, Missouri. https://www.lbh-stl.com/.  At Let’s Build Hope, they take a direct approach and employ a hands-on, embedded consulting style. Their team of consultants has worked with hundreds of clients and brings decades of frontline, nonprofit fundraising experience to each relationship. They offer training on basic fundraising, major gifts, grants, and the board’s role. 
• Joy Skjegstad is a professional grant writer. Email her at joynonprofit@gmail.com. 

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Books

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• A Spirituality of Fundraising by Henri Nouwen. 
• How To Write A Nonprofit Grant Proposal: Writing Winning Proposals To Fund Your Programs And Projects by Robin Devereaux-Nelson 
• Giving Done Right by Phil Buchanon
• Women and Philanthropy by Buffy Beaudoin-Schwartz and Martha Taylor
• Taking Philanthropy Seriously by Susan Verducci and William Damon
• Toxic Charity by Robert Lupton
• UnCharitable by Dan Pallotta
• Giving 2.0 by Laura Arrillaga-Andreessen
• Winning Grants to Strengthen Your Ministry by Joy Skjegstad.