Fundraising can be incredibly challenging. Wouldn’t it be amazing if all you had to do was watch a short video, read an article, and you could have a great fundraising plan?

Fundraising is demanding, but it is also incredibly rewarding at the same time. For me, fundraising is stimulating a world of generosity that leads to meaningful change in people’s lives. It makes sense to raise resources to make a direct impact on people. I hope that is what you are passionate about as well.

We are going to talk about some of the amazing ways that you can think about fundraising and some core practices important for any fundraiser. Before we get into some of the specifics about how you can fundraise for your nonprofit, I want to speak to something that I think is important philosophically.

From Moves Management to Mission Engagement

There’s a term that many of us are familiar with. It is called “moves management.” And the goal is to take a donor from that entry level, “I just met you,” through a series of moves to the point where you can ask them for a financial gift.

I would rather look at it differently. I want to pivot from moves management to what I like to call “mission engagement.” Mission engagement takes a donor on a completely different journey. It is about understanding what they are passionate about and interested in. In essence, it is discovering what fans the affections of their heart and then meeting them in that spot.

Let me give you an example. I grew up in a single-parent home. My mom worked incredibly hard so that my sister and I could have some of the basic resources that we needed. And yet we were still on welfare, Section 8 housing, and the CHIP program. So, when I hear about projects specifically related to kids and young people who come from single-parent homes, that fans the affection of my generosity. I have no issue giving in that direction.

When thinking about fundraising, specifically about ways in which you can engage your nonprofit with the world of donors, don’t see donors as, “How do I get you from step A to step B to step C?” Look at it differently. Look at it as, “How can I engage the mission that we have to the heart that you have?” And when you do that, you are going to have a donor that lasts a lifetime.

5 Specific Ways to Improve Fundraising for Your Nonprofit

So, let me get into some of the specifics.

1. Fundraising continues to be a highly competitive landscape.

Goal: Look for ways to expand your giving streams.

First, it is important to know that the fundraising landscape is changing all the time. And in order for us to stay competitive and for our fundraising efforts to actually mean something, we need to look for different streams of revenue. There are a variety of ways to do that, whether it is direct mail, major gifts, grants, or foundations. It could be third-party fundraising. It could be people who are stepping into spaces to provide resources for you that you might not have, or gifts in-kind. Those are all things that help to diversify your giving portfolio.

In 2008, when we went through a crazy and difficult economic struggle, most of the nonprofits that struggled were tied to one specific funding stream: corporations. So as corporations struggled, financial giving struggled as well. Some estimate that up to a third of nonprofits ceased to exist within two years of that financial crisis.

So, as you think about different streams of income as they relate to your nonprofit, it is important to know that having a diverse portfolio protects you from some of the ups and downs that might happen in our economy.

2. We must move from transactional fundraisers to trusted advisors.

Goal: Serve your donors well and look for ways to add value to their lives.

The second point that I want to talk about is how we move from a transactional relationship with a donor to becoming a trusted advisor. It’s as if we become friends with our donors. They trust us, ask for advice, ask questions, and share ideas beyond the nonprofit we are serving. We have found that when you cultivate that idea of a trusted advisor, it lasts beyond the initial gift. People will start thinking about you in more than just the single gift that they give. They may move from a single gift to a recurring gift, from a recurring gift to a legacy gift, and then from a legacy gift to a huge impact gift. The next thing you know, you are a part of their planned giving process.

3. Fundraising must have an organizational context.

Goal: Know your nonprofit and donor-giving trends well.

The third point is to have organizational context. I could look at five nonprofits and tell you how each nonprofit is going to thrive in a different area of fundraising. One might be supported by grants and foundations. For another, it will be more direct mail, hitting people a number of times with an opportunity to give to a special project. And for others still, it might be major gifts where you look at your giving pyramid and determine how many people in that top percent you will need to achieve your goal for a hundred thousand or a million dollars.

It is important for you to know the organizational context of your nonprofit. And be careful not to see what another nonprofit is doing and just assume that you can do the exact same thing. Their culture, their impact, and the way they are doing things are significantly different. So, know your context and then be comfortable living within that.

4. Prioritize major gifts. Inviting those who love your mission most to give sacrificially and to the area they love most is a huge win.

Goal: Have a clear plan for executing a major gift plan.

Point number four is to have a clear strategy for executing a major gift plan. This demands a strategy. Major gifts come from people who have the capacity to take your mission and move it forward in a significant way. When you are talking with those types of individuals, they need to know what you are going after and how they can be part of that. In addition to understanding where you need to go, it is important to understand your donor. One suggestion is to have three lists of major donors. The A list is the people who have the greatest capacity to give, and they also have the greatest interest in your organization. The B list is major donors who have capacity, but maybe not as much context for your organization, or they love your organization, but they don’t have as much capacity as your A list. And so you want to build an A list of people, high capacity, high interest, a B list, who have people maybe being one or the other, and then the C list is people who really love what you are doing, but may not have necessarily the capacity to give a gift of significance.

I encourage you to put a strategy together around major gifts. People love to give to things that they are passionate about, they have had personal experience in, or are related to something in their life. It could be an illness or it could be a friend who has been impacted by that. Think about ways to engage people, even if they are on that C list, so that at some point they might become a major donor.

5. Move from one-time gifts to monthly gifts.

Goal: Evaluate your nonprofit and share with donors the impact of a monthly gift as it relates to organizational impact.

And the final point is to try to move people from a single gift once a year to giving monthly, or what we call in the fundraising world, a recurring gift. Research tells us that the average person donating to a nonprofit gives approximately $125 a year. But when you can move somebody from giving a single gift to a monthly gift, that number increases by two-thirds. So, $125 if it is a single gift and $375 on average per year if a person is giving monthly to your mission. Now, I will say this: if you are going to move people from a single gift to a monthly giving, they are going to need to know consistently how your organization is providing the resources and the execution of what you have promised them.

4 Ways to Add Creativity to Your Fundraising

And finally, fundraising takes a lot of creativity. Try new things and then assess, did that work? Did it not work? Be creative within your events and within your writing. Here are some suggestions for adding creativity.

1. Consider a social enterprise opportunity.

A great example of a social enterprise is Habitat for Humanity. They have something called the “ReStore” where people donate old construction equipment, tools, couches, and refrigerators. They take those items, clean them up, sell them, and then use a the profits to build homes for families who are working hard to get a home for the first time.

2. Look for passive income streams of revenue.

I know an organization that, for your nonprofit, will advertise picking up old cars. They will take care of the title, pick it up, and send you a check each month for the cars that are donated to your organization. And sometimes passive income is great because you don’t have to do anything. You don’t have to write a letter. You don’t actually have to really fundraise in order for that to churn.

3. Leverage friends of your organization who are retired.

This is one of my favorites. You probably have friends of your nonprofit who love the work you do. They are passionate about it. They’ve been a donor. Now, ask them to get involved in the fundraising, especially those who are retiring. They are looking for opportunities. They are looking for ways to give back to your organization. And we often think about that like, can you come and fold a bulletin? Can you come and help me with copies? Can you go onto the construction site? But, to engage people in fundraising is a great way to connect them to your fundraising efforts. It expands the people who are involved, and it connects them to it.

4. Ask

Here is the last one, and it is absolutely the most important. I have tried asking, and I have tried not asking. And I promise you, asking people to support your mission always works best. Don’t be afraid to ask.

Well, now that you have watched this video, you should be all set for your fundraising efforts. I’m just kidding! But if you need assistance, we at The Center Consulting Group can come alongside you and help you build a blueprint. We would be happy to help you think through the different aspects including major donors, passive income, and building a social enterprise. Contact us to learn more.

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Billy Dunn is a Senior Consultant at The Center Consulting Group and has over 20 years of church and nonprofit leadership experience. He serves as the Character Coach for the Lehigh University Men’s Basketball team and the Director of Ministry Leadership for Word FM. Billy has assisted with the launch of a number of nonprofit organizations and has worked with organizations and ministries across the world. Billy has an M.S. in Organizational Leadership and brings experience in the areas of leading change, leadership coaching, resource development, church growth planning, and strategic thinking and planning.