Ah, it’s spring … the time of new growth!
I know it feels early to think about next year’s fundraising goals and targets, especially when you’ve got another couple months before this fiscal year ends (and many more dollars to raise before you sleep…).
You might be thinking: Who has time to step back and plan for next year?!? I’ll take care of the Dev Plan in June when I have time to breathe.
I remember this feeling all too well.
And I also remember that my best fundraising years were the ones where I kicked off the fiscal year with a really strong Plan.
These kinds of Plans take T-I-M-E to create. Piece by piece.
You need time to:
- Assess what worked + what didn’t from years previous;
- Gather input from your staff + board;
- Foot your fundraising targets with next year’s budget;
- Align your fundraising targets with actual strategies;
- Identify tactics that can be executed upon, and measured for impact;
- Sprinkle your special sauce + magical ideas so that you will successfully hit your goals!
You need time to:
- Assess what worked + what didn’t from years previous;
- Gather input from your staff + board;
- Foot your fundraising targets with next year’s budget;
- Align your fundraising targets with actual strategies;
- Identify tactics that can be executed upon, and measured for impact;
- Sprinkle your special sauce + magical ideas so that you will successfully hit your goals!
If you use your time right in building the Plan — strategy by strategy– it will becomes one that guides, and even inspires, you + your team. Your senior leadership. And your Board.
Sure, you could go into the next fiscal year without a plan. Or scrape together a plan that only includes target fundraising goals and a few ideas for how you hope to hit those targets. But that’s not a plan.
Weak plans are worse than no plan at all. They often articulate the monetary goals (i.e. we will raise $350,000), but fail to identify actionable steps towards achieving those goals. Worse, weak annual plans are created in a vacuum without the input and buy-in of key stakeholders. Sound familiar?
Good Fundraising Plans are never perfect documents. They often shift and evolve throughout the year. But they do nail the strategies.
Taking the time to really hone your key strategies:
- Gives you and your team clarity;
- Anchors your fundraising tactics so that they align with your strategies;
- Provides a backstop to measure your ROI throughout your year;
- Drives your activity so that you raise dollars and hit goals!
To help YOU build a Strong Plan — step by step — I’m offering a special Build Your BEST EVER Fundraising Plan class and would love to have you join it. The class will include four – 90 minute modules, some homework in between, and an hour of coaching 1:1 with me.
- Webinar dates: May 4, May 11, May 18, June 1
- Class time: 10:00-11:30 a.m. PST
- Price: $555 (per organization)
- Hour of coaching can take place at any point during the class + up to one month after
Together we will walk through the elements of creating a Strong Fundraising Plan and tease out the critical inputs you need to get from others between sessions. By our last class, you will have a thoughtful, strategic fundraising roadmap that will guide you throughout your year — one you will be able to share with your Board and senior leadership. More details here.
Space is very limited, so please sign up now if you are interested. More than one person within the same organization can sign up together (no more than 3 people per organization, please).
Wishing you an abundant spring season.