Looking for the perfect fundraising plan template? We’ve got you covered. Outlining 5 key aspects of a sound fundraising plan, we’ve designed this template to guide you from the very beginning – with a helpful example to demonstrate exactly what to do.
Detailed strategies for grant writing, donor engagement, and community events – the perfect fundraising plan not only streamlines efforts but also ensures that every dollar raised is used efficiently to provide essential programs and resources. Your team could experience a renewed sense of purpose and confidence, knowing that their organised approach will make a tangible impact on the lives of those they serve.
Now think about your organisation. Is your fundraising plan clear and ready to action? Do you have a set of goals and metrics in place?
Aspect 1: Establish the Need for a Fundraising Plan
Focused fundraising efforts not only increase the likelihood that a nonprofit will successfully serve its mission; they also give board members and staff peace of mind that they are doing the right work at the right time to support their community and make a meaningful difference.
As Jeff Brooks, a fundraising professional, points out, “The future of fundraising is not about social media, online video or SEM. It’s not about any technology, medium, or technique. It’s about donors. If you need to raise funds from donors, you need to study them, respect them and build everything you do around them.”
Is your organisation following a clear fundraising plan? Let’s take a look at what goes into a fundraising plan and how a nonprofit fundraising plan template can supply answers up front and simplify this important work.
“If you need to raise funds from donors, you need to study them, respect them and build everything you do around them.”
Jeff Brooks
Aspect 2: Set Your Nonprofit Fundraising Plan
Your board probably has a long wishlist for your organisation, so it’s time to take the next step. A nonprofit fundraising plan begins with setting goals for your fundraising campaigns. To turn your wishes into goals, you need to make the decisions necessary to achieve them.
A nonprofit fundraising plan is a written document that outlines your nonprofit’s fundraising goals and a step-by-step plan for achieving them. In your plan, it is important to define the scope – what a fundraising plan would mean for your organisation.
At the end of the year, it’s very rewarding to see how your donations have grown and how the funds can help your nonprofit expand its programs and services.
Aspect 3: Begin Writing a Plan for Fundraising Goals
If you have a year of fundraising activities under your belt, the first step is to put a review of the previous year’s fundraising results on the agenda at your next board meeting. With BoardEffect, you can schedule this discussion at the same time every year, simply by adding the item to your shared board calendar.
During your discussion, draw insights from past results by evaluating your finances, activities, and outcomes. Break down the data by assessing the total profit from each fundraising campaign as well as the combined total from all fundraising activities.
Here is a shortlist of funding sources to review:
- Government and private foundation grants
- Private donations
- Membership fees
- Ticket sales
- Product sales
- Corporate matches and sponsorships
Your board members are likely to have questions and comments about your results. It should become obvious which campaigns were the most successful. Be sure to assess whether the fundraising expenses outweigh the benefits.
Your board discussion should include a comparison of how your fundraising efforts correlate to your budget allocation for each activity. Also, take note of whether there was a carryover of expenses or revenue, which will help you determine which activities were productive and impactful versus those that weren’t.
Use the data from past fundraising campaigns to create a new data-driven fundraising plan. A CRM or fundraising software program will yield a wealth of metrics that help plan and evaluate the success of your fundraising programs and events.
For example, the following metrics can prove invaluable:
- Number of new donors per campaign
- Average gift per donor
- Increases in gifts per donor
- Cost per dollar raised
- Pledge fulfilment percentage
- Fundraising return on investment
- Conversion rate
- Board member participation rate
This type of data will enable your board to make better decisions about which fundraising activities to continue, modify, or eliminate.
Many nonprofits find it helpful to establish one major impact goal. This would be a larger goal that stems from all the smaller fundraising goals. Every small fundraising activity should move the needle of the major impact goal.
Once the goals have been established, your board or fundraising committee will need to develop clearly defined, actionable steps to achieve each goal.
Creating a plan from scratch every time is inefficient for busy boards, however, and that’s where the template comes in.
Aspect 4: Outline Your Fundraising Plan Template
A fundraising plan template is your guide for raising the funds your nonprofit needs or desires to do its work.
This single document, completed annually as part of the yearly plan, will help your board prioritise tasks and delegate duties. It is also an effective tool for unifying your teams by ensuring everyone is on the same page, with a shared understanding of where your organisation has been and where it’s going.
Once filled out for the year, a clear fundraising plan template produces a straightforward document that looks at where your organisation has been and identifies what is needed to achieve near-term goals. This is a .
When you structure your fundraising plan template, you will want to include these categories of components:
- Background. Mission, vision and strategic plan information can be used to inspire brainstorming. Some elements, like the mission, may remain the same, but they also include an opportunity to change priorities or other strategic elements. Additionally, including information on the previous year’s results can inform future years’ work.
- Specific goals. SMART goals (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-based) provide board members and staff with enough information to move forward.
- Activities and calendar. Your list of activities should include clear staff responsibility and top-level information about the nature of each event and its goals. Creating a clear calendar template will go a long way toward heading off conflicts and other issues with overtaxed staff and other resources.
- Budget. Having a clear idea of what to expect from each effort and its underlying cost will help every board and staff member know where to put their efforts.
Your template can be created and stored in your board management software for easy edits and future use. Your fundraising plan template should be a living document that you can modify when things aren’t working.
Aspect 5: Almost There!
Board management software is one of the most valuable tools you have for utilising data and streamlining your fundraising efforts. BoardEffect supports nonprofit fundraising with key features, including:
- A searchable resource library that allows easy linking to supporting documents, archival information and other data boards needed for decision-making
- Secure, collaborative workrooms for the planning committee to meet from different locations and on different devices
- A surveying and polling tool to ideate and gather information relevant to the organisation’s fundraising
Fundraising planning is critical for a nonprofit to succeed, so finding ways to make this work more efficient and productive benefits every organisation — and its board. BoardEffect is here to help. Schedule a demo today.
FAQs
What is the purpose of a nonprofit fundraising plan template?
A fundraising plan template guides you from the very beginning by outlining 5 key aspects of a sound plan, including detailed strategies for grant writing, donor engagement, and community events, and serves as a living document to streamline efforts and ensure that every dollar raised is used efficiently to provide essential programs and resources.
How should a nonprofit set its fundraising plan?
A nonprofit fundraising plan begins with setting goals for fundraising campaigns and defining the scope of what the plan means for the organisation, followed by a written document that outlines fundraising goals and a step-by-step plan for achieving them.
What should be included when writing goals for a fundraising plan?
When writing goals, review the previous year’s results, evaluate finances, activities and outcomes, review funding sources such as government and private grants, private donations, membership fees, ticket sales, product sales, and sponsorships, and assess whether fundraising expenses outweigh benefits and how activities align with the budget.
What is a fundraising plan template and why use it?
A fundraising plan template is a single document completed annually that helps the board prioritise tasks, delegates duties, unites teams with a shared understanding of past performance and future direction, and should include Background, Specific goals, Activities and calendar, and Budget.
What tools aid fundraising planning and data-driven decisions?
Board management software, such as BoardEffect, supports fundraising planning with features like a searchable resource library, secure collaborative workrooms, and a surveying and polling tool, enabling a data-driven approach to plan and evaluate fundraising programs and events.
