How do I make my fundraising strategy more sustainable? As a nonprofit professional, you’ve probably thought about this question often. While there’s no one-size-fits-all answer, we’ve put together this guide to walk you through the most important steps. Let’s dive in and develop a fundraising strategy that ensures your organization is resilient and successful for years to come!
Rest assured, securing sustainable fundraising income is one of the biggest challenges for nonprofits everywhere, not just yours.
Did you know that 45% of nonprofit organizations in the United States operate with less than a single month’s cash reserves? Let that sink in… We know it’s scary to think about but that statistic simply underscores what you already know — sustainable fundraising is more important than ever.
We’re so glad you asked! We’re here to help you create a foundation for long-term stability and growth.
While it might sound daunting, don’t let the scope of the work involved intimidate you. Think of it this way, you need to balance your short-term goals with your long-term vision. When you do this, your organization will begin to build a path toward a secure a reliable source of income. The best part about this strategic planning and the work you put in to create an incredible sustainable fundraising strategy is the positive impact it will have on your donor relationships.
Because your organization needs a solid plan to create long-term financial stability, and a sustainable fundraising strategy is how you’ll achieve that. Easier said than done, we know. The first step is to take some time to consider your nonprofit’s organizational needs and your long-term goals. This will help you visualize the big picture and the initiatives, appeals, and campaigns that can help you get there.
As you dive further into creating your strategy, please remember to stay agile. Things change and that’s totally normal. Taking a flexible approach means your strategy is adaptable. Hone in on your donors — build strong relationships with them, and use data-led insights to inform your plans. Paired with innovative fundraising tools, these insights can make a huge difference to your nonprofit’s bottom line.
We can’t stress this enough: you must understand your donors! If you plan to develop unique communication plans and find ways exciting to activate them for your cause, you first need to know who they are.
Roll up your sleeves, because this is going to take a comprehensive approach. Let’s look at six key questions you should ask as you develop your sustainable fundraising strategy.
Examining where you are right now in terms of your fundraising strategy and goals is the first step to developing a sustainable fundraising strategy. Look at the performance of your recent campaigns, analyze historical data, and consider how current and past campaigns have performed. What does this tell you about your campaigns, appeals, or messaging? Are there any glaring issues or areas of improvement? Make a note of anything that stands out.
Now that you have a strong understanding of your current fundraising situation, it’s time to set some goals! Your mission should always be the foundation of your goals, and whatever you decide on must address more than just fundraising. Consider your beneficiaries, your programs, your donors, your communication — how will these gals answer the call of your cause? How will they inspire donors to give more? We know that meaningful donor relationships are a serious driver of success when it comes to campaigns. This is why your goals should take donor acquisition and retention into account as well.
While your donors have a collective interest in supporting your cause, they each arrive at your door with a unique profile. Their financial ability, interests, and communication preferences, will differ greatly. It’s so important to gather as much data as you can about their giving history, how they’ve communicated with you in the past, and even their event attendance. Once you have this in hand, you can easily segment your donor base and begin developing hyper-personalized communication that reaches them when and how they want to be reached. This plays a huge role in increasing donor participation and can one-time donors into champions for your cause.
Create Donor Personas: We love donor personas! They’re a great, detailed way to represent your organization’s ideal supporter. A valuable donor persona takes everything into account — from demographics to your donors’ motivations, preferences, and behaviors. These personas are fictional characters that embody the traits of your typical donor. Read more here.
Look, we won’t sugarcoat it, there are so many tools you could invest in, but when it comes to ensuring your fundraising strategy remains sustainable, an impactful nonprofit CRM is the most important one. We’ve chatted a lot about fundraising CRMs on our blog, covering topics like cloud-based or traditional nonprofit CRMs, the best CRMs for small nonprofits, and even wrapped our top choices for nonprofit CRMs for 2024. Once you’re done with this article, you should circle back and read more. For now, the most important piece of advice we can offer is to choose wisely! A nonprofit CRM will make managing donor relationships, gathering important data, generating impact reports, and streamlining your team’s workflow so much easier.
They can be an investment, but the right fundraising CRM ends up paying for itself many times over. Naturally, we recommend Donorbox CRM because it’s robust, powerful, and designed with your nonprofit’s unique needs in mind. Take a look:
This is a big one. Donors love to hear how their donations are impacting your cause and the lives of your beneficiaries. Communication is so important and can go a long way to ensuring you maintain high donor retention rates. But your supporters aren’t the only ones you should be thinking of. Maintaining open lines of communication with your staff and board is also vital. Think about your post-campaign or appeal process, for example. How do you thank donors who’ve supported you? Have you created impact reports that can be shared internally and with donors? Go the extra mile here, it will pay off! Use storytelling to highlight your success, the lives you’ve changed, and the work these donations will enable in the future.
Monitoring and evaluation — or as you might know it, M&E — is absolutely vital. While it’s a term commonly associated with programmatic work, it applies to your campaigns and fundraising appeals too. Keep a keen eye on details like donation amounts and donor rates. Chat with your staff, volunteers, and donors to gather first-person reports on how campaigns are performing and being received. We mentioned it earlier in this post, but here it is again: remember to take an agile approach. The insights you gather are only valuable if you leverage them to create better campaigns, stronger appeals, and more engaging communications. Tweak and adjust your strategy based on the feedback you receive.
We have nine awesome ideas to include in your sustainable fundraising strategy, ready to go? These fundraising ideas include tips and activities to help you build a solid financial base and engage with your community, and supporters.
Membership options with perks like exclusive content, events, or donor recognition can engage your donors and encourage long-term commitment. Monthly giving programs are an awesome way to generate a reliable income stream. Plus, they help with long-term income planning. With online donation tools, like Donorbox Memberships, you can create user-friendly donation pages that offer various giving levels and regularly update donors on the impact of their gifts.
Corporate partnerships should feature heavily in your sustainable fundraising strategy. By building these important connections with businesses, your nonprofit can increase sponsorships, matching gift opportunities, and cause-related marketing. Remember to do your research and identify companies aligned with your mission, propose mutually beneficial partnership opportunities, and recognize their support publicly.
Peer-to-peer fundraising is an incredible way to empower your donors to advocate and support your causes without having to donate large amounts themselves. Donorbox makes it easy for you to create and share peer-to-peer opportunities with your supporters.
Foundation grants are an excellent way to increase your organization’s income. Look at them as part of your overarching fundraising strategy and not as once-off income opportunities, though. Your sustainable fundraising strategy will rely on a variety of diverse revenue streams. Including grants in your plan will require a bit of research, the capacity to develop strong proposals that highlight your mission, and the time to build relationships with the foundations you plan to reach out to.
While the benefits of investing in a legacy-giving program are not as instant as an appeal or event, they can provide life-changing income for your nonprofit. Spend some time developing a strong legacy-giving program, and encourage your supporters to include your nonprofit in their estate plans.
Bonus Resource: Watch this insightful webinar on succeeding in Planned Giving:
Subscribe to our YouTube Channel to get trending fundraising strategies every week!
We’re preaching to the choir here because you already know how important your volunteers are. Their support saves you money, and time and furthers your mission. Beyond helping out at events or during peak times, consider the unique skills your volunteers bring to the table. Many likely have expertise that could really benefit your organization. Consider reaching out to them to discuss pro bono services, advice, and how their skills could benefit your cause and help you achieve your sustainable fundraising plans.
You’ve likely had many meetings to discuss, brainstorm, and strategize the best way to increase your recurring donations. These repeat donations are absolutely vital when it comes to sustainable fundraising income. While your nonprofit might rely on one-time gifts, it’s the regular donations that shift the needle, and allow for programs to be funded and your mission to be realized. Include recurring donations in your strategic planning.
Fundraising Upsell Pro Tip: Donorbox makes it takes the guesswork out of inspiring repeat donations with our incredible Recurring Upsell feature. With just a few steps you can turn your donation form into a high-converting, sustainable fundraising machine. Read more here.
Virtual challenges like The Ice Bucket Challenge help you reach a global audience without spending much money. A little creativity goes a long way with these challenges and with some planning and a great idea, your nonprofit can develop a potentially viral online challenge.
You’ve probably heard of donor-advised funds. They’re having a major moment in the spotlight when it comes to sustainable fundraising. Your organization can partner with donor-advised funds, allowing your supporters to contribute to your organization and support your mission via their DAF accounts. It’s a great step in your fundraising strategy and can lead to larger, more strategic donations flowing in.
Listen to our Podcast on YouTube: Unlock Fundraising Success with Giving USA’s Top 3 Insights
You’ve made it to the end and now the real work begins! Developing your sustainable fundraising strategy is crucial for your organization. Spend some time examining your data and focus on growing diverse revenue streams.
Remember your donors and the vital role they play. You have to work on cultivating deep and meaningful relationships with your supporters in order to grow your organization.
Invest in the right tools — especially your nonprofit CRM. It will help you save time, and draw valuable data-led insights that enable more meaningful communication, stronger appeals, and better donor relationships.
Ready to take the next step? Donorbox is here to support you with robust features that simplify donor management, events, and more!
Kristine Ensor is a freelance writer with over a decade of experience working with local and international nonprofits. As a nonprofit professional she has specialized in fundraising, marketing, event planning, volunteer management, and board development.
Subscribe to our e-newsletter to receive the latest blogs, news, and more in your inbox.
Kristine Ensor