Fundraising Basics to Jumpstarting Your Year-End Plan
It's halfway through the year, which means that year-end giving is right around the corner. Many nonprofits are gearing up for Giving Tuesday, holiday programs, and year-end activities. Before you go into full-fundraising campaign mode, make sure that you haven't forgotten the fundamentals of fundraising.
The following are fundraising basics that you should incorporate into whatever campaign that you do.
Build trust among your donors
Fundraising is the opportunity for people to support your organization and help further your programs’ impact. This is also the opportunity for you to show individuals, businesses, funders, and charities that the work that you’re doing is important.
To do this, your organization must have a system and strategy to earn their trust. Why? Because giving is an emotional process, not a logical one. Therefore, people are more likely to give to you because they are emotionally connected to you— that is, they believe and trust in you.
How do you build this trust? You can start by telling your story. Use videos, photos, and compelling words as much as you can. Try to answer these questions when telling your story:
You can also feature testimonials on your website and social media pages.?
Plan and prepare
“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” —Benjamin Franklin
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Why are planning and preparing so important in fundraising? Because without a plan, you won’t be able to do the following:
Preparing your board members for the abovementioned activities also helps them become more involved in fundraising. You probably hold meetings with them once or twice a month only. You can prepare your board with all the necessary information about your nonprofit so they can go out and easily have conversations with donors and supporters in their community.
Connect through a common interest.
Raising friends is easier than raising money. So if you want your fundraising campaign to go smoothly, nurture your friendships with individuals or companies with the same interests as you.
When we meet friends, there’s a common connection that ties you together. Maybe you like the same hobbies, or enjoy going to the same places, or you have a similar sense of humor. Fundraising is similar in a way that you can connect with potential donors through your shared interest.
Perhaps a donor is interested in providing homeless people a comfortable place to sleep in, and your organization helps the homeless find shelter. Or maybe your programs help abused children process their trauma through filmmaking, and a donor who is also a film producer happens to be looking for a charitable organization.
When you connect with donors through mutual interest, you’re likely to get ongoing monetary support from donors.
If you need help in creating a fundraising plan, you can contact me, the Nonprofit Expert and Grant Guru by booking through my calendar or visiting my website.