“You take nothing with you that you gained—only what you gave away.” Francis of Assisi
FUNDRAISING READINESS CHECKLIST
if you’re going to receive fundraising income for your not-for-profit then you’re going to need the following:
governance
- a financing plan and budget (see right) that makes sense for your organisation
- an online platform to process donations safely and efficiently
- policies and procedures in place so everyone knows what they’re doing, and how
- compelling mission and case for support
- a fundraising licence or permit as required by your state(s)
- DGR status
- governance and oversight of fundraising, incl compliance
- gift processing policy and process
- an all-of-organisation culture that embraces fundraising
- reporting that shows what you’ve spent the money on and how it helped people
- evaluation agains the fundraising plan to inform adaptive management
systems
- a secure database that stores all the details about your donors, including names and contact details, how much they’ve given and how often, when you last contacted them and about what, and any other detail that would help you with future appeals
- multiple fundraising products and channels
- one click online donations incl. CC and direct debits etc
- an accounting system that makes sure the receipted money is recorded, reconciled, deposited, tracked, and accounted for
- a budgeting system that can tell you how much you plan to bring in through fundraising, how much you’ve actually taken in, and how much you’ve spent month by month and year by year
stewardship
- supporter survey to better engage donors and prospects
- gift receipting and thank you within a week of receipt
people
- staff and board buy-in and participation
- marketing and communications which prioritise fundraising
- an engaged board, staff and volunteers who champion fundraising
- an established audience
SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL
IMPACT
how to grow income and scale your impact
a financing plan to align and optimise all your money-raising activities
successful income growth starts with a great financing plan which connects your strategy with money! a financing plan isn’t just about fundraising, it aligns and optimises all activities that bring money in the door.
this approach ensures:
- your strategic plan has a plan for the money needed to make it happen
- fundraising works as part of a broad, integrated financing plan
- new sources of money are explored and income risk is diversified
- short and long term goals are funded, including capacity-building for planning, systems and staff needed to end the non-profit starvation cycle
better charity will typically guide you through the following steps, tailored to your needs, to ensure fundraising and financing success. the process assumes your nonprofit already has a strategy and case-for support.
stage 1: evaluate your current situation
the first step is to take a look at your current situation and money-raising performance. it helps to understand where you are on the income growth journey. it includes:
- benchmarking your financial performance
- an assessment of your organisation’s income growth performance and potential
- your fundraising readiness (people, systems, activities, channels, and methods)
- a recency, frequency and money (where appropriate) analysis of donor giving history
- a donor survey (where appropriate) to understand their motivations, preferences, behaviours, and needs.
stage 2: define your financing goals
your organisational strategy guides the financing plan. the goals establish what you want to achieve, and how to measure progress. key components include:
- fully-costing your strategy, including both program and capacity building budgets, to achieve your objectives across 3-5 years
- updating your case for support document to include both program and capacity-building funding needs
- setting goals, objectives, targets and KPIs for income growth
stage 3: develop your financing plan
the financing plan describes your money-raising, activities and timelines. it articulates how to allocate resources, budget, people and systems to achieve your funding targets, including:
- an exploration of income sources, growth potential, risks and costs
- prioritisation of funding products and channels, considering return on investment and risk
- identify the people and systems needed to raise money and maintain funder relationships
- define the activities, budgets, timelines and responsibilities, including the role of the board
- strategies for donor acquisition, retention and engagement
- marketing and communication materials
stage 4: monitor and evaluate your results and impact
your nonprofit needs to collect and analyse data from its money-raising activities. this is essential to support learning and improve the results of your next campaign.
as a boutique charity consultant, better charity can help you assess your capacity to attract more money for your mission and develop a financing roadmap for social and environmental change. order your Financing Plan or contact better charity for a free consultation and additional information.