ARE YOU FAILING THIS IMPORTANT FUNDRAISING RESOLUTION?

The New Year is here and THIS was the year you were not going to do fundraising the same way as always. You promised yourself that you were going to get a move on things and not wait until December to raise all your money. Yet here we are, mid-February, ready to move into March and you have not taken the steps forward.

During our last blog entry we talked about simple ways in which you can increase your donor base. https://www.midweststudiesgroup.com/post/three-simple-steps-to-grow-your-nonprofit-funding

This week, we want to focus more on the timeline of meeting with donors. Let's assume you are working on a January 1st fiscal year. If not, just adjust the months accordingly. Our goal is to stick to your resolution, and get a jump on growing your donor base.

Spring . . . get all your pre-work done. Example, get those marketing materials ready. Figure out who you are going to meet with. Talk to other staff and board members to find out who is going to meet with which potential donor. Get that game plan ready.

Summer . . . start meeting with potential donors (and even current donors). Grab coffee, invite them to your place, or meet at theirs. Whatever they want and whatever is easier for them. Make your ask. They might tell you to come back in December but at least you were able to get in front of them. *If talking to new potential donors is something that you or your board finds to be awkward and uncomfortable, might we suggest you take advantage of our annual giving and planned giving studies, which brings NEW potential donors to the table for you. It's a proven process that will grow your network. Contact us to learn more.

Fall . . . Continue meeting with donors but start getting your end of the year campaign mailings ready.

Winter . . . Finish up all of your in person visits. Do the math . . . if you wanted to meet with XX people in person, would it be wise to wait until winter to do all of those visits? Of course not, so hopefully you started in the summer. Get your mailings out right away. Two basic rules for mailings: 1) Do not wait until the end of December or else you will be too late and 2) Do not put all of your eggs in this one basket and hope your mailings are going to bring in all of your funding. It's rarely that easy.

Spread things out throughout the year and you will feel MUCH less pressure come December.

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To learn more about strategic and fundraising plans, feasibility studies, planned giving studies, need assessment studies, and capital campaigns, visit us at www.midweststudiesgroups.com.