PADM 5700/6710: Fundraising Spring 2022 Analysis & Planning • Spend time learning what your Organization needs • Do people know about your Organization and its mission? • How much money does the Organization spend/raise? • What are the Organization’s short/long term goals? • Create a donor history database if one doesn’t exist • This might be painstaking, but it will help with organization and fundraising going forward. Start with the most recent year and work backwards. • Review the staff, volunteers, equipment, facilities, etc. • Does the Organization need more or less of anything to meet current fundraising and operational goals? Make a list! Effectiveness • Ask, “Is the time we’re spending doing ___ going to produce a high payback?” • If the answer is NO or WE DON’T KNOW, you need to re-evaluate whatever activity the Organization is doing/planning. • Consider, 1) time management; 2) results; 3) building on strengths; 4) taking responsibility and initiative; 5) goal setting; and 6) building interpersonal relationships. • Use tools • Daily short and long term goal calendars, deadlines for high priority activities, program evaluation tools Efficiency • Efficiency and effectiveness are not the same thing! • Evaluate the Organization’s workflow and how things are done in the office. An example from the book -- follow a donor’s check through the office. How many steps does this entail? • Keep policies and procedures simple, but not too simple. Think proposed changes through before you make them policy and move to implementation • DOCUMENT ALL CHANGES Budgets & Financial Resources • Fundraisers and board members must pay attention to the Organization’s overall budget health & fundraising programs. • Donors pay attention to the financial health of non-profits. • A well-managed budget provides leaders with the ability to predict or anticipate cash-flow shortages, mitigate, and save for a rainy day. • A well-managed budget also shows what activities bring in the most money and should be repeated. • A non-profit should adopt a formal budget process. There are sample budgets available if you work for an Organization that does not have a formal budget process. Fundraising Modes • Use appropriate fundraising tools for annual and capital campaigns. • Do not assume that a grant will cover all of your needs • Annual funds can cover operating costs -- the money is unrestricted • Capital/endowment campaigns are for large, specific projects like new buildings. Restricted money. • Nonprofit organizations rarely use just 1 method of fundraising. • Engage in a mix of fundraising methods to provide a variety of ways for people to be involved! Special Considerations for Large & Small Operations • Large & small nonprofit organizations may suffer from too few people; too much to do; and too little time to do everything!! • Small organizations need to focus on what absolutely needs to get done. Avoid time-wasting activities. • Large organizations have more staff and responsibilities to manage. Set clear performance expectations for each fundraising role. • In addition to clearly assigned roles, donations and donors need close monitoring. Ethics • Donors hold nonprofit organizations to a higher standard of ethics. Unethical behavior results in donors withholding their support. • Nonprofits are held to ethical standards inside and outside of the organization. • Weinstein provides a list of common ethical practices developed by nonprofit sector institutions. This Week!! • Successful group projects (in school life & work life) require excellent communication between all members! • Work with each other to find the best method to communicate for this project. You can utilize Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Google Hangouts, Skype, or regular text messaging if you do not mind sharing phone numbers.
