Defining Your Fundraising Priorities

You need money for your nonprofit, but do you know your nonprofit fundraising priorities? Better yet, do you know how to define and communicate your fundraising priorities? All nonprofits need money, but it does not make a compelling case for giving, and it doesn’t communicate what will be different if you receive the money you need.

Here’s a real-life example. We recently worked with a nonprofit that knew they needed to raise $300,000. We asked what they would use the money for and the executive director, let’s call him Mr. Able, said he needed the money for staff. We replied with a “hmmm…..” Then we asked, “What would the staff be doing?” He shared that they would be delivering programs and services. We encouraged him to think about his priority a bit differently, suggesting, “Could it be that you actually need funding for specific programs as opposed to staff?” This is a simplistic example, but there are some key points embedded within it.

First, donors and funders want to know about your work and what you seek to accomplish. By changing the focus from needing staff to sustaining, growing, or creating programs it is easier for a donor to understand what you are seeking to accomplish and how their gifts and grants can make a difference. Ultimately you may have several fundraising priorities. Using the example of Mr. Able’s nonprofit, you could have a goal related to school-site programming and another for neighborhood programming. Because his nonprofit also needs to help students get from the neighborhood centers they operate out of, we suggested that Mr. Able add a third priority for transportation. All three priorities have staffing embedded within them, but staffing itself is not a fundraising priority that is communicated to donors. Yes, funds will pay for staffing, but you define your priorities based on your activities and anticipated impact.

Setting clear, defined fundraising priorities that are tied to your mission and vision is important for more than your donors. Setting priorities builds consensus internally – you can’t go out to the public with priorities without first securing agreement from your leadership, development/ fundraising staff, board members, and volunteers. If it takes some “discussion” to reach agreement, that is healthy. You certainly don’t want dissent in the midst of your fundraising – or when you have secured the funding you need and are about to spend the money! Setting priorities as a team also helps refine your goals and the realistic anticipated costs associated with them: you don’t want to meet your fundraising goal only to discover your goal was too low! Bring your best minds to the process from the beginning.

Having defined fundraising priorities also helps you think through who you could be partnering with in terms of joint programming or joint fundraising. Setting priorities also indicated your stability and growth: you are not engaging in “emergency fundraising” because you “need money to keep the doors open.” Our bottom line: define and communicate your fundraising priorities. You’ll build confidence in your nonprofit and its work.