Here's how you can efficiently handle multiple fundraising projects while managing your time.

In my experience, fundraisers, especially on small teams, tend to get assigned too many projects at once with simultaneous deadlines. Sometimes its best to flag to your manager when you need additional support from another team member or someone outside of your team, like a Board Member or volunteer.

I have found that when everything is a priority, nothing is a priority. —> when you start to feel this way, it’s time to lay it all out there. —> write it all down, line by line. —> then bring it to your leader to help align each item to the strategic initiative or advocate for additional temporary or full-time resources. It’s okay to ask for help. If you don’t ask for it, you are guaranteed to never get it.

Managing multiple fundraising projects are not an easy tasks, however, it is not impossible either. You must plan in advance for major milestones, monitor progress, and be flexible with unforeseen or unplanned activities. get some of the work outsourced

If you have metrics, it’s important to be focused on ensuring that those are squared away first before you take on any additional projects. Be sure to note that no one is going to remind you of things that may bite you down the road, you need to remind yourself and ensure that you prioritize those things first. Don’t be blind to the constant looking at the shiny object. That said, a great opportunity to talk about promotable contributions is keeping all of your constants in order as a fundraiser, but then adding additional projects on top of it. This shows capacity, effective delegation and decision-making and prioritization.

On my experience, To organize tasks effectively: 1) Master Time Management: The key to thriving in such a demanding environment lies in meticulous time management and organizational prowess. 2) Organize Priorities: As a fundraiser, evaluate each project’s significance, obligations, schedule deadlines to construct a hierarchy that guides daily activities. 3) Break a project into smaller, manageable tasks with milestones and checkpoints, to assess progress and recalibrate strategies. 4) Tools: Specialized softwares aid fundraisers in tracking deadlines and visualizes the workload. 5) Goal Setting and Monitoring: By establishing specific targets and monitoring framework, you can adapt the approach in response to evolving campaign dynamics.

One thing I’ve found helpful is organizing your week and daily schedule around the types of tasks and goals you want to achieve that week. For example, I would make weekly donors calls and schedule time blocks on Wednesdays and Friday. I felt more creative and energetic on those days and more people answered phones in those days. Organizing my schedule in this way then helped me determine which tasks to prioritize. In order to make calls, I needed data and reports which I would schedule for Mondays. Of course, sometimes our schedules need to be flexible and there may be cycles during the year where this approach doesn’t work. But I would encourage fundraisers to see what consistency they can create in their schedule during the week.

Organization is absolutely essential when managing 20+ projects and “other duties as assigned”. I had a huge whiteboard in my office where I laid out a quarter’s worth of projects and tasks. This not only helped me stay on top of everything but gave transparency to staff who came in my office. I like Michael Hyatt’s concepts of ideal weeks and planning from the top down- year, quarter, month, week, day. Specific checklists for events, appeals, etc and task managers are also my friend.

Managing multiple projects is challenging, especially where these each have many stages. To keep this under control digital tools based on Kanban boards such as Trello can be extremely useful for listing and updating information on your projects. They are even more useful if you can set boards so projects can be moved between these as they progress through key stages. These tools often offer great collaboration opportunities so both you and your colleagues (internal and external to your org) can access the board and make updates.

This is a fantastic opportunity to use ChatGPT or some form of generative AI to help you prioritize a project. I would recommend getting used to putting prompts in about projects that allow you to explore what others may have done or what generative AI may suggest you add to your project in order to add more effective ideation. Additionally, technology can be extremely helpful, there are many hand, driven tools, such as protemoi lists, the portfolio of initiatives exercise by McKinsey and Company, FRM designs, etc. These are all readily accessible online

Make sure you understand each individual’s strength and comfort level. Some individuals may feel comfortable telling the story but not making the ask. Pair them accordingly or use them effectively throughout the fundraising continuum.

Hopefully this goes without saying, but don’t just delegate to stakeholders to lighten your (or your team’s) load. Recognize that stakeholders may be BY FAR the best candidates to handle certain tasks, either because of specialized skill sets, connections to the community the fundraiser serves or lived experience. However, delegating outside the team to people who may not be as experienced in fundraising or event planning requires that communications be ultra clear (and often redundant) and planned out WELL in advance to ensure your surrogates are properly educated, empowered and supported.

Focus on high-priority projects and adjust plans as needed, like shifting from a failed event to a successful social media campaign. Stay Organized: Use tools like calendars and to-do lists to manage multiple projects simultaneously, ensuring nothing falls through the cracks. Communicate Effectively: Clearly communicate with stakeholders and team members about project updates and changes, like a sudden change in a project timeline. Be Proactive: Anticipate potential issues and develop contingency plans, such as having a backup plan for a fundraising event. Analyze and learn from setbacks, using them as opportunities to improve and adapt for future projects, like adjusting a fundraising strategy after a failed campaign.

This is a great opportunity to utilize the Portfolio of Opportunities exercise by McKinsie and Co., the global consulting firm. If you can prioritize your opportunities by evaluating their propensity for success, and their impact on the team, as well as riskiness, you can find yourself in a much better position as you deploy opportunities in an order that is both promotable, looks good, is effective, and will get you high praise by those around youjuggling multiple projects

One thing I find helpful in being a successful fundraiser, is to maintain a self care balance. Fundraisers are often over load with high priority tasks which can be taxes on the mind and body. Be sure to really take the time to get in-tune with what you need, where that be physical, emotional, spiritual etc. Your team and you will be glad you did!