By Dawn Miller, CFRE, Senior Vice President
38 days…just 38 days until December 31. My dear fundraisers, deep breaths. We’re all sprinting towards the end of the calendar year and stretching for our fundraising goals. What a year it’s been for nonprofits and funders. Am I right?!
Even with a year of ups and downs, it’s still a good idea to pause and ask yourself, “Is our fundraising strategy working as hard as we are?” If you aren’t crushing your fundraising goals, it’s not too late to course correct over the next 38 days.
Do you have measurable goals? Or are you crossing your fingers and hoping money walks through the door before the end of the year? We always say, HOPE is in our name but it’s not a fundraising strategy.
A fundraising goal shouldn’t be set as, “we just need to raise more money” or “increase donor dollars by 15%.” That’s not an actionable plan – that’s fantasy. Real fundraising strategies include specific goals and tactics, like planning to raise $568,000 with 47 major gifts – and knowing the donors who will actually make the gifts you’re projecting. Or raising $25,647 with direct mail from 83 donors with an average gift of $309. Or setting the online campaign goal at $156,000, which includes $117,000 in matching gifts and another $39,000 through the day-of gifts. Or meeting with four donors each week, calling six more donors, and having coffee with two Board members. The money isn’t in the office or behind a computer screen – it’s out meeting with donors, Board members, and funders.
There shouldn’t be any mystery surrounding the fundraising dollars, donors, and which strategies will provide the biggest bang. And it’s the job of the fundraisers to actively fundraise, partnering with the CEO and Board.
Goals should also be set for donor retention and attrition, i.e., how many donors will you lose and how many will stay with your nonprofit. The national donor retention rate is 45% – not great for any business, and certainly not great for nonprofits that rely on donor generosity. Hold onto as many donors as possible. If you haven’t pulled your donor list from last year and cross checked to see who might be lapsing this calendar year, do that today and start working the list. Moving donor retention up by just 5% each year will make a huge difference with your fundraising.
Are you tracking the right metrics? If not, how do you know if you’re on track to crush your fundraising goals?
Fundraising isn’t magic pixie dust – poof, you hit your goal, now time to relax (I wish it was that easy!). Fundraising is very metrics-driven. If you’re not tracking the right numbers (or not tracking metrics at all), it’s nearly impossible to crush your fundraising goals.
Not sure which metrics to consider? At LBH, we refer to the 8 Performance Indicators of Fundraising Success: Gross Revenue, Expense, Net Revenue, CDR (under $0.30), Number of Donors/Attendees, Staff Time (estimate), Donor Retention/Attrition Rate, and Mission Fit. Use the chart below to understand how your fundraising strategies are succeeding (or may need to be re-evaluated). You’ll see pretty quickly which strategies are not working for your nonprofit and which are rock star initiatives.
Do you have a fundraising program that supports your fundraisers, or are they exhausted all the time? Fundraising is built through consistency and donor relationships – and there is no real downtime as a fundraiser. Having a strong infrastructure bolsters productivity and ensures things move seamlessly so fundraisers can spend more time with donors and in the community. Things like a well-run CRM/database, a fundraising calendar dovetailed with the organizational calendar, and clearly outlined responsibilities are just the start to a good foundation. You can’t crush your fundraising goals if burnout is happening behind the scenes. And when your nonprofit has fundraising success, celebrate it!
If your CEO, development staff, and Board can’t easily understand your fundraising goals, metrics, or strategies, and your fundraising team is worn out, then the likelihood of crushing your goals dwindles with each passing day. Start with just one small change that will create the biggest impact for your nonprofit between now and December 31. Even a small change can help crush your fundraising goals. You have 38 days, after all – go crush it!
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