Nonprofit Board Members sometimes wonder aloud in Board meetings, “Why aren’t we raising money like [Fill-in-the-Blank-Organization] does? I heard their [gala/golf tournament/crowd-funding effort] just raised [$XXXXXX]!”

Let’s all take a deep breath(!), and then consider:

How DOES your Board come to understand what fundraising programs and activities are a good fit for your group?

First, let’s agree that nonprofits differ in many ways. Fill-in-the-Blank-Organization is not like your organization, and therein lies the reason you should not be raising money exactly like Fill-in-the-Blank-Organization does. Understanding the ways your group differs from other organizations can lead to what I call “Best Fit” fund raising activities and programs.

Here are some of the differences I use to discover the Best Fit fundraising strategies for my clients (in no particular order):

The size of your annual budget, and how much of it is earned income versus contributed
Your group’s financial stability, currently and over the past 5 years
Whether you have an endowment, and how large it is
Composition of your board (business/social/professional profiles)
Demographic and giving history profiles contained in your donor base
Age of your organization, and its history
Nature of your mission and work
How many people you serve and their profiles
Geographic coverage of your mission
Size of your development staff, and the functions they perform
How many volunteers you engage and what they do for you

In your organization's case, other questions may also emerge as important. And remember – as time passes and your group changes, your Best Fit fundraising programs and activities may also change. Your Board needs to stay up to date on understanding organizational changes in terms of their fundraising implications.

I conduct these analyses for organizations many times a year. Let me know if you'd like to have a conversation with me about your group.

Best regards,

Dianna