Here is a Fundraising Plan Checklist that you can use every time you start a new appeal, campaign, event, or grant proposal.
How much do we want to raise?
Are you going to try to raise $3,000 with your annual report? Are you going to try to raise $20,000 with an event?
What is a potential stumbling block for us to raise this?
Is it time? Money? Staffing issues? Resources? Volunteerism? Board not supporting?
Who can we look to for support to raise this?
What community partners can we partner with for this event? Can we use their mailing list? Their volunteers? What community partners can give us letters of support for our grant?
Who is doing it?
Who is responsible for each section of this project?
When will it happen?
What are our deadlines for each section of this project?
What’s the average return?
What did we get with the last event/grant/mailing?
Who’s writing the script? When?
If it’s a major donor phonecall, what script are you following? Who is going to write that?
Who’s following up? When?
If you have to leave a message, when do you follow up? If it’s an event, who is going to be in charge of the post-mortem? When will we do it?
How will we measure our results?
Will we measure clicks on our e-newsletter or e-appeal? Will we measure checks in the mail only? Will we measure our attendees at this event versus last year’s numbers?
How will we know it succeeded?
Will we know in two weeks? In two years?
What is some corrective action we can take if it looks like we’re not going to make our goal?
Can we send out an e-appeal? A text message? Can we do a smaller event next year? Can we write 4 more grants to make up for one grant that didn’t come through?
See if you can answer these questions in each development project you undertake.
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