fund raising basics

8/3/2019 Fund Raising Basics

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1@#%$> Fundraising| An Initial Lecture


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1.Introduction


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Fundraising is one of the most

important activities youorganization will undertake.

Proper fundraising means the differencebetween a viable organization, able to carryon its education and advocacy efforts, and


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one that is not. Proper process includes thefollowing:

Development of a fundraising plan by setting organizationalgoals, evaluating current fundraising programs, setting newfundraising goals, setting a financial development budget,setting an action plan, and, finally, evaluating your efforts.

2.The growingcompetition fordonor$


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In 1987, there were 422,103 non-profit organization in theUnited States registered with the IRS. By 1997, the number had

increased to 692,524, and by 2004, there were over 1,400.000.The astounding increase illustrates the growing competition fordonor dollar. The internet has created additional competitionWith information about non-profits more available, donors areable to choose more carefully whom they fund. Also, increased

media attention on the use of funds by charitable organizationshas encouraged more people to seek out this type of information.


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3.

What are yourorganizationsgoals?

Without setting organization goals and without outlining

strategies to meet these goals, the everyday task of fundraisingwill have no direction. Indeed, organizational goals andfundraising goals must be set at the same time; each affects theother. In other words, your fundraising strategy is dependent onwhat you organization plans to do.


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Your organization shouldcarefully answer to

questions below:

1) What programs and services do you currently provide?

2) What programs and services will you provide in the future?

Both internal and external considerations will further determinewhat programs and services your organization is reasonably

equipped to provide:


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Internal Considerations

Organizations mission

Available financial resources

Available staff time

Staff expertise

External Considerations

Current and potential future economy

Programs and services provided by similar organizations


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Government regulations

4. Setting realisticfundraising goalsAgain, fundraising goals and organizational goals must

be set at the same time: each impacts the other. Toooften, an organization sets program goals that requirefunds far too great for the organization to generate.


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When setting fundraising goals, many questionsneed to be answered, including:

How much money is needed to fund specific programs andservices, as well as pay for day-to-day operations of theorganization?

Which current income source generates the largest share ofincome? Is that source expected to shrink? To grow? To remain thesame?

Which income sources are the most reliable? What can you really

count on?

Which income sources are the least reliable? What might be heretoday, gone tomorrow?

Which income sources, regardless of size, have the most growthpotential for your organization?


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5.

Howeffective is yourcurrent fundraisingprogram?

Evaluating the strengths and weakness of your current fundraising plan will point youin the right direction for making any necessary changes. To evaluate the effectivenessof your current fundraising plan, you must identify strengths, weaknesses andopportunities in various areas:

Planning

Board of Directors

Volunteers

Development Staff

Financial Resources

Donor Research

Fundraising Support Systems

Fundraising techniques

Public Relations


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6.

Setting thefundraising budgetIt is often said, It costs money to raise money. At the same time, thegeneral public expects non-profit organizations to raise funds in themost cost-effective way possible. Your organization must set a realisticbudget for both the income generated from fundraising and theexpenses entailed in fundraising.


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> Incomecan come from thefollowing:

1) Earned Income2) The Annual Fund

Gifts Solicited by Mail Gifts Solicited byTelephone

Major Gifts Board of Directors GiftsUnsolicited Gifts Memorial GiftsCommemorative Gifts

3) Corporate Gifts (Restricted or Unrestricted)4) Foundation Grants5) Government Grants


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6) Special Events7) In-Kind Gifts

Expenses should include:

1) Personnel (including benefits and training)2) Supplies3) Printing (including design)4) Postage and shipping5) Telephone, fax and internet6) Photocopying7) Travel8) Food/Entertainment9) Professional services/consultants10) Professional organization dues

(e.g. National Society of Fundraising Executives)11) Equipment (computers, fax machines, printers, copiers)12)Subscriptions (e.g. Chronicle of Philanthropy, Non-Profit

Times)


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13) Charities Registration Fees*

7. Setting anaction plan

As you set your goals and budget, and take into

account the different fundraising methods availableto you, a formal plan of action will begin to develop.

When setting the action plan, be sure to make yourgoals realistic. For example, planning to solicit

10,000 people through a telephone campaign is


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unrealistic if there are not enough staff andvolunteers to make the calls.


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8. Evaluatingyour successes andachievements

The most obvious measure of your fundraisingsuccess is the bottom line. Did you reach thefundraising dollars goals you set?

It is important to remember, however, that there ismore to evaluate than just the amount of dollarsraised. Many issues that either contributed ordetracted from the process of meeting the financialgoal need to be evaluated as well.


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For example:

How did staff, board and volunteers perform?

Was new leadership discovered?

Was the budget realistic?

How diversified is the funding? Are funds being raised from

many different sources or just a few? Are there one or twosources that account for the majority of funds raised?

Are front-end systems (prospect identification, research,solicitation materials production) running properly?

Are back-end systems (gift processing, donoracknowledgment, donor information tracking) running

properly?


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It is also important to

look at achievementsthat might not beconsidered successes.

Consider this example:

If a goal was to raise $100,000 and only $80,000 is raised, it is not considereda success. However, if only $64,000 was raised during the previous year, theachievement

is 25% increase in funds raised over the previous year.


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Once you have evaluated your program, use the results to improve youfundraising planning in the future: Based on the results, how will the next setof goals be different? What budget items need to be changed? What could be

done more effectively in the action plan?

9.ConclusionFundraising is an ongoing activity for a non-profitorganization. Each fiscal year, a fundraising budgetshould be drawn up and a fundraising calendarshould be planned.


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And for your organization to be successful in itsfundraising efforts, you must constantly coordinatefundraising plans with program plans: the

fundraising committee must know organizationalgoals in order to set funding goals, while the boardof directors must be aware of fundraisingconstraints in order to set organizational goals.


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The National Consumer Supporter Technical Assistance Center of the National Mental Health connected with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health ServicesAdministrations Center for Mental Health Services. In addition, the NCSTAC Advisory Council helped to provide some of the research here.

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