Having a good fundraising plan will ensure that everyone has a
job - and that their job corresponds to their abilities and
resources and that time-sensitive materials and events take
place in an orderly manner. With a developed fundraising plan
nothing is overlooked. You don't want to set up the world best
fair - only to have no one show up because advertising and
marketing were never considered. A fundraising plan does not
have to be a complicated thing , it can be a formal report that
outlines what needs to be done, by whom, and when. It can
consist of just a list or two of tasks. The important thing is
that the plan works for you. Here is a list of ten Items to help
you in developing a successful fundraising plan.
1.Information about your group, including your mission
statement, what your desired programs are, when you were
registered as a non-profit group, who belongs to your group, and
contact information for your group. This is information that
grant applications will request and donors will also want to
have this information before deciding whether to give money to
your cause.
2.Contact information for your volunteers. That way, if anything
occurs, volunteers can easily be contacted. You should also list
the titles (treasurer, marketing) of each volunteer, so that it
is clear who should be contacted about which fundraising issues.
3.Information About Donors. Any information you have - donors
who may be inclined to give for your cause, donors who have
given in the past, donors who have asked to be removed from your
list - needs to be included so that volunteers know who to
contact. Careful mention must be made of who is to contact which
donors and you need to be careful to remark which donors have
already given or have made a response to your query. This will
prevent you from annoying people with numerous requests.
4.Services you need to arrange before you start fundraising. Do
you need to arrange to take credit card donations (many donors
today find this the most convenient way to give)? You will
certainly need to arrange for some pamphlets, letters, or other
media to communicate the basic facts about your non-profit. You
will also need to formulate tax receipt slips that can be given
to donors for their gifts. In addition to this, do your
volunteers need to be trained? Do you need fundraising software
because you are expecting a large volume of donors?
5.Write down your fundraising goals and how far you still need
to go to meet them.
6.Are these questions that need to be answered before you start
fundraising? If you have any questions - about legalities,
zoning laws, marketing, recruiting, donors - list them. Beside
each question, list a few resources that could have the answer.
Then divide the list up among the group and have each person
look up the answers to their questions. This way, you will have
all the information you need before you begin.
7.Your fundraising ideas, each described in full. Arrange
fundraising plans that target grant-giving agencies, individual
and group donors, and companies. Casting your net wide ensures
that you will be able to find the money you need.
8.A time line that shows what parts of the fundraising plan will
be put into action - and when and by whom. List all the steps
that need to be taken to make the fundraising a success, put a
deadline on each item and assign it to someone. This is your
action list.
9.List any resources at all that you have that might be useful.
Have a list of who has what resources. That way, if anything is
needed, each member of your group will know who to contact.
10.Describe what the big picture is. Yes, you want to raise
money to help the environment, or to save a park, or to build an
animal shelter. However, you need to write down the best
possible scenario as well as the things you are committed to
doing. Sometimes, as it happens with fundraising, you may not be
able to raise the money for a specific purpose, but you may be
able to find a way to accomplish a goal.
With a fundraising plan, you need to work on paper, writing
ideas and action items down. The idea here is to move from
general ideas and goals to specific things and items. Try to
create action items whenever possible, and assign a person and a
deadline to each item. At the same time, though, stress the
importance of the larger goals to the team.
The idea is to get as much of the action items done as possible,
but if a team member finds a way to come closer to the larger
goal, they should pursue that avenue of action as well. Such a
plan is concrete enough to get your non-profit going, but is
flexible enough to ensure that your real goals are always what
you are moving closer to.
About the author:
Chris Edison is a successful author and regular contributor to
http://www.goodfundraisingideas.com a fundraising ideas
information site reveals good ideas to raise funds for
non-profit organization.
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