When it comes to fundraising, successful organizations have a plan. A development plan, that is. Developing programs and projects with the sole purpose of increasing revenue streams is essential to growing your nonprofit. An effective development plan lays out all the essential components for success in raising funds. However, developing such a document may seem like a daunting task at first glance. After all, what does fundraising strategy have to do with grant applications and marketing plans? Everything! The scope of any organization’s fundraising efforts directly reflects its capacity for growth in other areas of operation as well. Creating an impactful development plan requires an organized approach and attention to detail – something you won’t learn from reading articles or blog posts about development strategies, but from understanding their application directly from the source themselves: real-world non-profit professionals who deal with such matters on a day-to-day basis.
What is a Nonprofit Development Plan?
A fundraising development plan is a strategic outline that details key strategies and activities for increasing revenue streams for your nonprofit. Development plans are usually created at the strategic planning level and outline how your organization will increase earned income, secure major gifts, secure planned giving, and increase the number of funds you receive from grants from outside sources – in other words, how you’ll fund your organization’s daily operations. Individual subsections of a development plan may include the following: – Program assessment – Conducting an assessment of your existing fundraising programs as well as a SWOT analysis of your organization’s fundraising capabilities. – Goals and objectives – An outline of annual fundraising goals and objectives, broken down by donor source. – Program initiatives – The specific fundraising programs and projects your organization intends to pursue to accomplish its goals and objectives. – Implementation plan – A timeline of strategic activities related to the development plan, with emphasis on the implementation of each fundraising program and project. – Evaluation and improvement – A section that outlines how your organization will measure the success of your fundraising programs and projects and how you’ll adapt and improve in the future as needed.
Why is a Fundraising Development Plan Important?
Fundraising is an ongoing process and an essential aspect of the nonprofit operation. You must continually be developing new ways to secure funding to sustain your organization through its ever-growing activities and objectives. Therefore, you must dedicate ample time, attention, and resources to developing successful fundraising strategies and campaigns. Developing an effective fundraising development plan allows you to strategically prioritize fundraising activities from year to year and enables you to achieve fundraising success. The elements of your development plan allow you to strategically plan for future fundraising activities and events and will allow you to effectively secure new funding as your organization grows and expands its operations. A development plan ensures that your fundraising objectives are well-defined and that your organization is not only meeting but exceeding, fundraising expectations.
How to Create a Fundraising Development Plan
Creating a fundraising development plan is not as daunting as it may seem. With a little organization and the right approach, you’ll have a fundraising plan in no time. You’ll want to begin by reviewing your strategic plan and annual goals and objectives, paying particular attention to those areas where the organization has expressed a need for additional fundraising efforts. Once you’ve identified areas of potential fundraising growth, it’s time to conduct some research. Conducting a SWOT analysis of your organization’s fundraising capabilities provides valuable insight into areas of strength and weakness in your fundraising efforts. Next, outline annual fundraising goals for each donor source. These goals should be specific and measurable and include the approximate dollar amount and number of gifts you’d like to receive in each donor category.
Implementation Plan
The implementation plan is where you’ll outline exactly how you intend to meet your fundraising goals and objectives. You’ll want to include information about the specific fundraising programs and projects your organization plans to pursue to meet these goals and objectives. You may also want to consider including information about the implementation of fundraising campaigns you may have developed in the past. This section also provides a good opportunity to outline future fundraising activities that may be related to the implementation of your organization’s strategic plan.
Evaluation and Improvement
The final component of your fundraising development plan is the evaluation and improvement section. This section provides an opportunity to reflect on the success of your fundraising efforts and develop a plan to improve as necessary. You’ll want to include information about how your organization will measure the success of your fundraising programs and projects. This could include information about how you’ll track the number of gifts received through each program and project, or how you’ll track the number of funds raised overall through these activities. You’ll also want to outline how you’ll adapt and improve fundraising efforts as needed. This could include information about how your organization will modify fundraising programs and projects in the future based on their effectiveness and success.
Tips for Creating Your Own Development Plan
As you begin developing your fundraising development plan, keep these tips in mind: – The fundraising development plan should be incorporated into the organization’s strategic plan. This ensures that fundraising efforts are aligned with overall organizational goals and objectives and are not being pursued in isolation. – Be sure to include all donor sources in your fundraising efforts. Donors come in all shapes and sizes, and no single donor source should be receiving the majority of your organization’s attention. – Be realistic in your fundraising goals. While you want to be ambitious, you don’t want to set unattainable fundraising goals. – Consult with a variety of individuals within your organization and outside of it. As you develop your fundraising development plan, it’s important to seek input from a variety of individuals within your organization and outside of it. – Develop a fundraising development plan that is consistent with your organization’s strategic plan. – Organize your fundraising development plan in a manner that makes sense to you and your team.
Bottom line
The fundraising development plan is an essential component of nonprofit operations. Organizations must have a fundraising plan that is consistent with the organization’s strategic plan and relevant to its projected future needs and activities. When developed properly, a fundraising development plan can help any organization achieve its fundraising goals.
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