By Mike Bacon, CFRE
A good plan is like a road map: it shows the final destination and usually the best way to get there. – H. Stanley Judd
What is your plan for fundraising this year? Is it “Let’s do what we did last year and hope we do better?” If that’s the case, you may see some incremental improvements in your fundraising. But if you want to achieve dramatic improvements in your efforts, you should consider a strategic development plan.
Step 1: Analyze your past three years of giving. How many of your donors have given each year? How many were one-time gifts in that time period? Do you know why? What is your overall donor retention rate?
Step 2: After looking at how well you retain donors who have been supporting you, come up with specific plans aimed at each revenue stream. You will have a different plan for individuals, corporations and foundations. You will involve different volunteers in each plan and likely, the timing of that work will be different. Then, create a master calendar of your entire fundraising year and capture it on one page. Don’t forget to add the critical work you do in advance of solicitation mailings, newsletters, and special events.
Step 3: Create three-year projections for each of your donated revenue streams. Based on the past growth in your giving from individuals, foundations and corporations, what are reasonable goals? In most cases, a 10% increase will be attainable. In others, a single large gift or grant could result in a sizeable percentage increase.
Step 4: Now that you know your donors’ giving patterns, you have a plan for connecting with each constituent group, you have a calendar for when your activity will occur and you have set realistic goals for the growth you are aiming to achieve. You are ready! Your last step will be to create a monthly plan (quarterly works, too) that outlines what your department will do to reach the goals. Take the annual goals and divide them into monthly targets. For example, to visit your portfolio of 40 donors and prospects three times a year, that means you need to average 10 visits per month. Work backwards and create a monthly plan that you can manage.
As you can see, good planning takes time. Isn’t it time you invested in your fundraising efforts?