Spend Time Actually PLANNING to Raise More Money for Your Cause

In many development offices, staff are on a never-ending hamster wheel — running from grant deadline to grant deadline, from one event to the next, and juggling direct mail deadlines, too. It’s a hectic and harried environment.

Between deadlines, you’re expected to raise major gifts, put out fires, send thank you letters, and so much more.

Not to mention, as soon as the summer ends, the frenetic race to year-end gifts begins!

The pace is unsustainable… unless, you take “time out” to plan.

Taking Time to PLAN and PRIORITIZE

One of my new coaching clients, Michael, is working in an environment much like the one I described above. I asked him to write down everything he does to raise money throughout the course of the year. This is the beginning of the planning process.

Knowing what you do throughout the year will help you get back on track and prioritize.

One of the activities Michael had on his list netted $29. That’s right — $29. And it was on his “keep” list.

I told him (nicely, I hope) that he could have raised more money in the time it took us to cross that off the list! It may seem like an extreme example, but I see things like that all the time.

Ask yourself:

• Do you have an event that raises little enough that it’s not worth your time?
• What about a small grant with burdensome reporting requirements?

Why not cut these activities from your to do list?

4 Steps to Better Planning for Your Nonprofit

Summer is a perfect time to take a day or even two, to plan out your year and make it your best year yet! And these four steps will help you do just that.

1. Take a step back.

Ask yourself, what can I do differently this year? What am I doing simply because it’s always been done this way?

2. Nix the low-yield activities.

Cut the labor intensive, low-return activities. List your grants in dollar order. Keep the ones at the top. Nix the ones at the bottom. Same with your special events.

3. Always remember the 80/20 Rule.

The 80/20 Rule tells us that 20% of your effort is likely yielding 80% of your results. How can you focus more on the high yield activities?

4. Prioritize your key goals.

Make a list of your goals — your biggest goals. Then break them down into manageable tasks.

As Applied to Raising Major Gifts

For example, if your goal is to raise major gifts (and that should be one of your key goals), then you must plan to ask for at least 10 major gifts (at whatever level a major gift is at your organization).

As stated in number four above, break it up into manageable tasks:

1. Identify 10+ prospective donors
2. Call them to schedule a meeting
3. Meet with them and get to know them
4. Invite them to events and to volunteer
5. Schedule a time to ask for a gift
6. Ask them for a gift
7. Thank them

In order to achieve your goal of raising major gifts, you’ll need to fit these activities into your already busy schedule. You must make them a priority.

Luckily, you already have a blueprint — the Major Gifts Challenge will walk you through spending just a few hours each to focus your time on these 7 activities.

Think Different, PLAN Different

I assume you know the definition of insanity? Doing the same things over and over, and expecting a different result. If you don’t plan to do anything differently this year, it’s unlikely you’ll raise any more money. PLAN to raise more money, and you will!

If you’re feeling stressed out at work and even the mere thought of planning feels daunting, then you absolutely must get my free guide: 31 Rules for Better Fundraising and a Better You. Don’t wait — get it now!

In the comments, let me know how you intend to change your approach to planning to raise more money this year.