How do you assess your fundraising potential?

1 Step 1: Analyze your current situation

The first step is to take a close look at your current fundraising situation and performance. You need to gather and review data on your income, expenses, donors, retention, acquisition, and conversion rates, as well as your fundraising activities, channels, and methods. You can use tools such as a fundraising audit, a SWOT analysis, or a donor pyramid to help you organize and visualize your data. The goal of this step is to understand where you are now, what is working and what is not, and what are the gaps and opportunities for improvement.

2 Step 2: Define your fundraising vision and goals

The next step is to define your fundraising vision and goals for the future. You need to align your fundraising vision with your organizational mission, vision, and values, and communicate it clearly and compellingly to your stakeholders. You also need to set specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) goals for your fundraising outcomes, such as increasing your income, diversifying your sources, expanding your donor base, or enhancing your donor loyalty. The goal of this step is to establish where you want to go, what you want to achieve, and how you will measure your progress and success.

3 Step 3: Research your fundraising market and potential

The third step is to research your fundraising market and potential. You need to identify and analyze your target audiences, such as existing and potential donors, supporters, partners, and influencers, and understand their motivations, preferences, behaviors, and needs. You also need to assess the external factors that affect your fundraising environment, such as trends, opportunities, threats, competitors, and best practices. You can use tools such as a donor survey, a market analysis, or a benchmarking study to help you collect and interpret relevant information. The goal of this step is to understand who you are serving, what they value, and how you can stand out and appeal to them.

4 Step 4: Evaluate your fundraising capacity and readiness

The fourth step is to evaluate your fundraising capacity and readiness. You need to assess your internal resources, capabilities, and systems that support your fundraising efforts, such as staff, volunteers, board, technology, policies, procedures, and culture. You also need to identify and address any gaps, challenges, or risks that may hinder your fundraising performance, such as lack of skills, knowledge, tools, or support. You can use tools such as a capacity assessment, a risk analysis, or a readiness checklist to help you evaluate and improve your fundraising capacity and readiness. The goal of this step is to understand what you have, what you need, and what you can do to enhance your fundraising effectiveness and efficiency.

5 Step 5: Develop your fundraising strategy and plan

The fifth step is to develop your fundraising strategy and plan. You need to formulate and prioritize your fundraising objectives, strategies, and tactics that will help you achieve your fundraising goals and vision. You also need to allocate and optimize your resources, budget, and timeline for your fundraising activities, and assign roles and responsibilities to your fundraising team and stakeholders. You can use tools such as a logic model, a fundraising calendar, or a project management software to help you design and implement your fundraising strategy and plan. The goal of this step is to outline how you will execute your fundraising vision and goals, and what resources and actions you will need to do so.

6 Step 6: Monitor and evaluate your fundraising results and impact

The sixth and final step is to monitor and evaluate your fundraising results and impact. You need to collect and analyze data on your fundraising outputs, outcomes, and impacts, such as the number of donors, the amount of donations, the cost of fundraising, the return on investment, and the social change achieved. You also need to report and communicate your fundraising results and impact to your donors, supporters, partners, and beneficiaries, and solicit their feedback and suggestions. You can use tools such as a dashboard, a report, or a story to help you track and share your fundraising results and impact. The goal of this step is to measure and demonstrate your fundraising performance and value, and to learn and improve from your experience.