06/27/2024 | News release | Distributed by Public on 06/27/2024 09:31
The best fundraising strategies are constantly changing, adapting to meet new patterns in giving preferences and engagement opportunities. As best practices shift, ensure that you're following them. A stagnant fundraising strategy can cause roadblocks, such as falling behind on fundraising goals, missing key support, and even causing donor attrition.
To keep up with innovative fundraising tactics and continue modernizing your nonprofit, start by eliminating the poor fundraising habits holding you back. This guide will cover four habits you should address to successfully adapt to changing industry trends. Let's dive in!
Poor strategic planning can lead your organization to make uninformed or vague goals that make it difficult to define success. Remedy this situation by ensuring your goals follow the SMART goal framework:
In addition to keeping this framework in mind, refer to previous campaigns you've hosted to set informed goals that make sense based on what you've achieved in the past. For example, a school that hosts fundraising events as its main source of revenue may look at donations garnered from previous events to set its next event fundraising goal.
Sustainable fundraising is the new name of the game, meaning that your nonprofit needs to determine ways to generate revenue continuously. Avoid over-relying on one fundraising channel to establish a predictable revenue pipeline and secure your organization's future.
For example, if you only host fundraising events, you're missing out on many other opportunities to increase the support you receive. And, if your nonprofit ever has an unsuccessful event or your supporters start preferring other methods of supporting charities, your organization will struggle by sticking to one fundraising channel.
To address this poor habit, start by assessing your fundraising strategies, which may include:
Consider the revenue generated by each stream, especially in terms of the amount and how often funds are received. One-time gifts may lead to large amounts of revenue at times but will probably be less consistent than recurring gifts, for example.
As you assess the generosity your nonprofit inspires, ask yourself how you can make each fundraising channel more reliable and sustainable, ensuring your nonprofit's future growth. For instance, if you're inconsistently receiving major gifts, you may need to implement a dedicated major gift solicitation program. Or maybe you need to look into when you should let go of a major gift prospect to dedicate more time to donors who are more likely to give.
Donors are the key to your fundraising success. The importance of consistent communication to inspire giving cannot be overstated-after all, keeping in touch with donors is the cornerstone of donor stewardship.
A few ways you can stay in contact with donors include:
To maximize the impact of your donor communications, segment your supporters according to key characteristics, including:
Donor segmentation, in tandem with consistent communication, will create a greater impact on your nonprofit's donor stewardship efforts, resulting in more funding for your campaigns.
It's easy to stick to fundraising trends when you know they've worked in the past. However, ignoring new trends could mean missing out on valuable additional support. While the fundraising industry is constantly changing, here are a few new trends you can follow to hone your strategy:
While trying out new fundraising strategies is daunting, staying informed about trends and having an open mind will allow you to capture more support for your nonprofit.
If you relate to these fundraising habits, take the necessary steps to adjust your nonprofit's mindset and processes. By kicking your poor habits and embracing adaptability, you'll have an easier time optimizing your nonprofit's performance and increasing your fundraising revenue.