raising money<\/a><\/span>. Neither is hope. Hope is a good thing, but it only works when combined with a solid fundraising strategy based on your nonprofit\u2019s strengths, goals, and needs.<\/p>\nYou need a carefully planned fundraising strategy designed to raise the money you need now and set you up for success moving forward.<\/p>\n
Everyone I\u2019ve ever talked to about planning knows they need one. So why don\u2019t more people create and use a plan?<\/p>\n
There are several common mistakes people make in planning that hold them back and keep them from pulling their plan together, which cripples the nonprofit\u2019s ability to move forward. See if any of these describe your situation.<\/p>\n
\n- Too busy. <\/b>Some people know they need a plan but just can\u2019t seem to carve out the time to work on it. The truth is that you make time for things that are important to you.<\/b> If you say you have no time to plan, that\u2019s just an excuse covering up some other reason why you don\u2019t want to plan.<\/li>\n
- Need it to be RIGHT!<\/b> Too many people wait for the perfect time, the perfect Board, the perfect staff, the perfect template, or a perfect something else to work on their fundraising plan. But you know what? There will never be a perfect time, Board, staff, or template. So, you just have to use what you have and get your plan done. And anyway, done is better than perfect<\/b>, meaning that a plan that\u2019s 80% finished but 100% implemented will always outperform the perfect plan that\u2019s never completed.<\/li>\n
- Analysis paralysis. <\/b>Some folks delay working on their fundraising plan because they think they need a little more info. One more report will show them a magic piece of information they\u2019re missing. One more person\u2019s input will make all the difference. This is actually a procrastination technique, commonly used to avoid making a decision or committing to a course of action.<\/li>\n
- Unclear goals.<\/b> It\u2019s hard to cross the finish line when you don\u2019t know where it is. Using goals like \u201craise more money\u201d or \u201craise more than last year\u201d are too vague to be useful. You\u2019ll never know when to kick in the afterburners to reach your goal or do the Happy Dance once you\u2019ve reached it. You can\u2019t create a fundraising plan to raise the money you need if your goals aren\u2019t clear.<\/li>\n
- Wrong-size goals. <\/b>What\u2019s worse than unclear goals is wrong-size goals. Wrong-size goals are either way too big of a stretch and unrealistic or they\u2019re no stretch at all. Either way, wrong-size goals leave you with no motivation to actually work your plan.<\/li>\n
- Planning based on emotion, not data.<\/b> You\u2019re doing things because you always have, not because there\u2019s evidence to support that they should be done. You\u2019re holding that event because it\u2019s tradition but you haven\u2019t stopped to consider if you SHOULD continue it. Ask yourself if that event is bringing in enough money to justify the time, money, and energy you spend on it. Always choose fundraising strategies because they work and move you toward your funding goal, not because you like them or feel obligated to do them.<\/li>\n
- Unrealistic Board expectations. <\/b>You may be either putting too much expectation on your Board, thinking they will rise to the challenge and suddenly start fundraising, or you may be completely leaving them out. They\u2019re supposed to be your partners in fulfilling your nonprofit\u2019s mission, so find a way to include them in your fundraising plan<\/a><\/span>. That means you may need to have individual conversations with Board members to ask them where they\u2019d like to plug in to help.<\/li>\n
- Imaginary plan.<\/b> Way too many people say they have a plan, but it\u2019s not written down anywhere. Listen, if it\u2019s not in writing, it\u2019s not real. <\/b>The plan in your head can change too easily and there\u2019s no one to hold you accountable when you don\u2019t complete part of it. It\u2019s too easy for you to drop parts of your imaginary plan, shift things around, or back off your goals because you don\u2019t feel like doing certain parts. Ready to take your fundraising plan seriously? Write it down.<\/li>\n
- No resources for execution.<\/b> Be sure that whatever you put in your plan is actually doable. Make sure you have time, money, and manpower to execute the details of your plan. Otherwise, your plan will just be another document with no benefit and a waste of time to create.<\/li>\n
- No details. <\/b>Maybe you have a big-picture plan put together, but no idea how it will get done. You did the first step by deciding what fundraising activities you\u2019ll engage in this year but didn\u2019t include any action plans detailing the who, what, when, and how much. A fundraising plan without action steps is like a car with no wheels \u2013 it\u2019s not going anywhere. So, take the time to figure out the details of how your plan will get done.<\/li>\n
- Overestimating YOU.<\/b> You probably belong to the \u201cI can do it\u201d club, which means you say \u201cyes\u201d to way too many things. You overestimate how much you can get done which doesn\u2019t leave you much time to think or respond to things that pop up during the day. Stuffing your plan too full doesn\u2019t help bring in more money \u2013 it just exhausts you. So be realistic about how much time you can spend working on implementing your fundraising plan so you don\u2019t set yourself up to fail.<\/li>\n
- Too many events. <\/b>\u00a0A well-chosen, well-done fundraising event can generate revenue, awareness, and new supporters. But too many small nonprofits find themselves on the \u201cSpecial Event Hamster Wheel,\u201d holding event after event after event. Events are very labor-intensive and pound for pound are not as productive as other kinds of fundraising. So, do ONE event and make it a signature event. Put all you\u2019ve got into it and hit it out of the park. Then move on to other things. Too many small, barely worthwhile events will wear you out, wear your community out, and wear your volunteers out.
\nHere\u2019s a short video where I explain my 1-10-1000 Rule for planning the right mix of events and other strategies.<\/p>\n