Does your fundraising strategy consist
mainly of a vague idea to raise “more money than last year” and little else?
Without financial clarity, and a strategy to optimise your organisation’s
sources for funding, your nonprofit will find it difficult, and next to
impossible to secure the monies that it needs to operate at a sustainable level
and create actual impact for your cause.
The following strategies can help your
organisation broaden its base of financial support by increasing the number of
sources it has for funding.
Grants
Rather than relying solely on donations
from individuals, consider searching for grants that are a good fit for your
organisation. Grants can come from Federal or State governments as well as
public and private entities such as foundations and corporations.
The applications process is typically quite
lengthy, and complex, and there is usually stiff competition for these funds,
so your NFP can benefit by bringing on board an experienced grant writer to
help them with the proposal and applications process.
Sponsorships
Instead of trying to do everything on your
own, consider reaching out to third parties for help in securing funding, and
other resources, that will enable you to provide services and advance your
cause.
Sponsorships and other collaborations can
come from the commercial and government sectors, or might involving partnering
with one more parties from the not-for-profit sector that will allow each to
focus on performing the work that they do well. Groups can also cooperate and
allow each to access resources that the other has to increase the amount of
work that is performed by both groups.
Maximise
Individual Contributions
Nonprofits can increase their funding simply
by looking for opportunities to maximise the number and amount of individual
donations that they receive.
To accomplish this goal, your fundraising
approach should seek out ways to make it easy for supporters to give online,
and give by their preferred means of payment.
Focus on encouraging repeat donors by
developing a monthly giving program.
Approach board members and other key
influencers that are connected with your organisation to reach out to potential
big donors to support your NFP with a large contribution.
Crowdsourcing platforms can be a great way
to raise awareness about your cause and encourage donations when they use
storytelling to illustrate what is at stake if the issue your organisation is
trying to tackle remains unsolved. Options to customise the message and share
the campaign easily on social media will increase the number of folks that see
your plea and follow through with a contribution.
Special
Events
Standard fundraising events, such as
charity auctions, galas and balls can be a good way to raise funds for your
organisation, but only if they are cost-effective to host. If your NFP will not
make a net profit from the event that’s worth the time and effort it takes to
plan the event and hold it, you may want to limit the number and type of events
that you throw as part of your fundraising efforts.
Consider
Options that Increase Your Capacity for Self-Funding
While nonprofits are not designed to
operate at a profit, since their main function is to serve the public good,
this doesn’t mean that they should operate in an unsustainable manner. Your
nonprofit can increase the soundness of its finances to look for ways to
self-fund its growth. Does your nonprofit have assets that can be used to fund
operations?
For example, would you be able to offer
beneficiaries a higher level of service if you charged a fee for certain
services? Would rents or activity fees allow you to do more good work, without
compromising your core mission and goals? Is there a way to invest some of your
funds that will enable your organisation to generate a passive income stream
that could be used to fund operations and build capacity? Would selling some
products and services allow your organisation to raise the funds that it needs
while remaining in alignment with your organisations values?
While each NFP’s answer will be different
to questions like these, if income generating activities don’t violate your
nonprofit’s values or create another conflict, they can be a good way to raise
the growth supporting funds that your organisation needs to survive and thrive.
