In this article, Linda Lysakowski, ACFRE discusses Why You Need a Fundraising Advancement Calendar and how to start the process of creating one.
Some Fundraising Mistakes Nonprofits Seem to Make Over and Over
How many times has a well meaning board member or volunteer come to one of your board meetings and offered this sage advice— “We should do a (golf tournament, gala dinner dance, art auction, walkathon, etc, etc,) because (Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, the Hospital, etc., etc.) did one and raised $100,000?” Before the meetings ends, the whole board or committee is caught up in “event fever’ and has the invitations designed, the flowers ordered, and the T-shirt sponsors listed. And there you are, the new development officer, trying to meet grant deadlines, straighten out the donor database that is a mess, and organize the other events that your organization is currently conducting. So, what do you do when the board is bitten by the “event bug?” (Hint, it’s in the title of this article.)
Another fatal mistake that many organizations make is relying solely on a grant writer to raise all the money they need for programs and operations. Given the fact that foundation grants only account for approximately 15 percent of all philanthropic giving in the Untied States, this approach seems equally as foolhardy as depending mainly on events to raise money for the organization. While both grants and events are important parts of a well-rounded development program, they should not be the only methods of fundraising used by nonprofits. So how does one handle these board suggestions, or (in some cases) mandates? (Another hint, you’ve already seen the answer.)
How to Avoid These Mistakes
Often boards and volunteers do not realize that events and grant research can be costly, not only in terms of hard costs, but in “opportunity costs.” In other words, what activities must you give up to focus your limited time on this proposed new activity? Your first reaction to the board or development committee that suggests either of these approaches should be, “Well, let’s pull out our advancement calendar and see if this event/grant is part of our plan; if not, what other activities must we drop in order to concentrate on this event/grant?” However, many organizations do not have a plan to reference. If your organization is one of those, this is one good reason why you should have an advancement plan/calendar.
Organizations that have a plan complete with timelines, areas of responsibility and budgets will be more successful at keeping the staff, board and volunteers focused on the activities that are most cost effective and produce the best results.
What the Advancement Calendar Should Include
The advancement calendar should start with an analysis of current development activities . Some questions to ask:
- What has been the history of this activity; have results increased or decreased over the years?
- What are the costs of this event, both hard costs, staff time, and opportunity costs?
- Do we have the human resources to manage this activity?
- Do we have the technology needed to manage this activity?
- What are the subsidiary benefits of this activity, i.e., if the activity is a cultivation or awareness raising events, should we continue the activity even if it does not raise money?
- How do current trends affect this activity?
- Are there ways we can increase the effectiveness of this activity?
Once the current activities have been analyzed, a decision should be made to keep them status quo, focus more time and energy on them, or erase them from your calendar.
A solid plan lists detailed goals for each activity. Goals do not always have to be monetary ones. For example, a goal might be to raise constituent participation by 5 percent this year, increase the size of the development committee by four people, and to personally visit three major donors each month. Without specific goals, it will be impossible to measure the success of the plan next year.
An advancement plan/calendar also helps the development office justify its budget, provides measurement tools to be used in performance appraisals and provides donors with a sense of confidence in the organization. So, is there any reason your organization does not need a plan? We can’t think of any!
How to Get Started
First you need to look at your calendar and see what activities are critical for your organization. Buy three six-month calendars and put them up on the wall of your meeting room. Then write down things that are already on your calendar. Look at each thing and decide if it’s really necessary. Board meetings, staff meetings, and grant deadlines are usually immovable events.
Next look at the activities that may not be critical and evaluate them. For example, that rubber ducky race you’ve been doing for the last five years—how much money did you make on it? What were your expenses, including staff time? How many volunteers did you need to run the event? You will probably find a lot of things it does not make sense to continue once you do an honest analysis.
Then, plan your next eighteen months to focus on the things that really count—major gifts. Now add those things to your advancement calendar—researching potential major donors, finding volunteer cabinet member who will help cultivate and solicit these donors, plan an awareness event or two and put everything involved in that on your calendar—developing the invitation list, designing the invitations and mailing them, developing your case for support to share with these prospects, following up with people who attended the event, etc.
Now that you have a plan of action, stick to your deadlines and you will succeed in raising more money, more effectively and more efficiently. Isn’t that the result you really want?
Why You Need a Fundraising Advancement Calendar was first posted at National Development Institute.
For more articles like Why You Need a Fundraising Advancement Calendar VISIT HERE
