That is the question.
While we don’t often refer to our annual strategies for growing philanthropy as New Year’s Resolutions, in many ways they are very similar. Fundraising targets are pivotal for organizations, charities, or individuals aiming to raise funds for their causes so exploring various areas of focus is an excellent beginning of the calendar year exercise.
Set Clear Fundraising Goals: Establish specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) goals for fundraising. This often involves targeting a particular amount to raise within a set timeframe, but it also needs to include the essential relationship focused (moves) that will result in increased results.
Focus on Donor Engagement: Resolve to build stronger relationships with donors. This could mean regular face-to-face updates, personalized communication, expressing gratitude in new and creative ways, and seeking their input and advice on key issues or challenges.
Enhance Marketing and Outreach Strategies: Improve marketing efforts to reach a wider audience. Fully utilize social media, email campaigns, and storytelling techniques to convey your mission and the impact of donations. Review your case for support and ensure that staff and volunteers are consistent with their articulation of your fundraising initiatives.
Invest in Donor Retention: In addition to focusing on acquiring new donors, prioritize retaining existing ones. Create strategies to keep donors engaged, informed, and motivated to continue supporting the cause. It is much easier to keep a current donor than to engage a new one. Evaluate your recognition strategy – are you saying thank you often enough?
Leverage Matching Grants or Challenges: Seek out opportunities for matching grants or create fundraising challenges to encourage larger donations. Matching funds can significantly boost the impact of donations. Encourage those with significant giving potential to challenge others to meet their gift level.
Measure and Analyze Results: Implement systems to track fundraising efforts and analyze their effectiveness. This helps in understanding what strategies work best and where improvements are needed. This is especially relevant for any special events. Measuring ROI is essential in determining if events are the most productive use of resources.
Explore New Technologies: AI is real and, appropriately applied, can be a powerful tool for this profession. CauseVid brings your messaging to life. CharityVest and others like it are simplifying traditional donor advised funds. The reality is that charities that don’t adapt to the digital age are likely to fall behind.
Invest in Fundraising Training or Education: Allocate resources for training staff or volunteers in effective fundraising techniques. This could involve attending workshops, signing up for on-line courses, reading and discussing relevant books on philanthropy, training each other, or engaging specialized trainers. Encouraging team members to achieve and maintain CFRE status is an excellent resolution.
Diversify Fundraising Streams: Expanding fundraising efforts beyond existing methods might include exploring online crowdfunding platforms, hosting small donor events, encouraging peer-to-peer efforts, pursuing corporate sponsorships, seeking grants, or highlighting planned giving opportunities. If a capital campaign isn’t in the works, it should be. Campaigns are one of the most effective ways of engaging donors in long term commitments while stretching staff and volunteer involvement and growing the culture of philanthropy.
These “resolutions” aim to optimize production, maximize impact, and sustainably support the mission or cause being championed. Adjusting and evolving these priorities based on past experiences, current needs, and ongoing trends can help launch a more effective fundraising enterprise.
Ideally, unlike personal resolutions that are often abandoned by mid-February, at least a few of these tidbits can become part of the culture and create a solid plan for the coming year.
Alliance Philanthropy’s philosophy is to inspire staff, volunteers, and board members for all types of not-for-profit organizations to raise funds enthusiastically and passionately - at maximum levels - in support of their mission.
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