Nonprofit fundraising success relies on asking for donations, using a strategic approach, and monitoring results. A fundraising team with different specializations and well-trained volunteers can help. Understanding donors’ reasons for giving is key, and balancing government and private sector funding can insulate organizations from economic fluctuations.
Experts agree that the most important thing to know about nonprofit fundraising is that most people give money because they’re asked. There are several ways to ask and many different strategies for determining who to ask and how often a donor should be solicited. All of these play a role in successful fundraising.
Nonprofit fundraising requires many different skills, so successful nonprofits often employ a fundraising team, each with a different specialization. Depending on the target audience, fundraising goals, and resources available, a nonprofit group might want to have a grant writer, a key gifts officer, or a researcher on the team. One tip for saving money on fundraising is to hire development professionals with multiple skillsets. For example, a good nonprofit communications specialist might be able to write grant applications, appeal letters, and telephone solicitation scripts. If so, there is no need to hire a separate grant writer in addition to the communications manager.
Volunteers can complement and support the efforts of a non-profit fundraising team. There may be letters to fold and envelopes for items, contribution data to enter into a database, or phone calls to make. Well-trained volunteers can carry out this work, leaving time for development staff to apply their expertise on more complex issues. Additionally, experts have noted that personal requests from people directly involved in a non-profit organization are extremely effective. This makes volunteers some of the most successful fundraisers.
Whether a staff member or volunteer is fundraising, experts emphasize the importance of using a strategic approach. It is agreed that a non-profit fundraising strategy should include how often solicitations are made, how much money is requested each time, and how it will be solicited. It is recommended that the results of an organization’s fundraising efforts are closely monitored so that the strategy can be modified if needed in the future. You can use specialized fundraising software for this, or you can hire an outside agency to record and analyze your fundraising data.
Collecting data on fundraising efforts is one way to learn about your audience. People donate to charity for many reasons: some enjoy the feeling of doing good, while others are dedicated to a particular cause. Still others contribute to non-profit organizations for the tax break. According to experts, understanding a donor’s reason for giving can help create the most effective solicitation.
The above tips apply whether you are raising funds from the government or the private sector. Expert fundraisers suggest trying to strike a balance between the two. This helps insulate a non-profit organization from fluctuations in the economy that impact one another.
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