Another budget season is upon us and although this is the time of year where many in non-profit leadership go crazy, I must admit that I am a budget geek. I love creating budgets. After inheriting a couple of budgets that seemed unrealistic at best and after several years of experience in creating budgets that support programs without putting board members in a position of saying "where in the heck is that money going to come from", I'd like share a few thoughts that might make your budget process a little more fun, or at the least help create a process that doesn't leave you dreading the next one.
These might be oversimplified for some, but even then they might be a good reminder.
For me, budgeting is an ongoing process. Every team member in development has a budget sheet that they add to throughout the year. Whether it's a training they might want to attend next year, new staff, a new fundraising event or a new fundraising campaign, everyone keeps a list and we go over the lists throughout the year. We also make notes about whether the current budget we are working in made sense.
An easy way to start the budget process is to simply ask program folks how much money they need to do the mission and development folks how much money they think they can raise. If those numbers match (ha!) then you are good to go. My experience is that there will be a good amount of money in between the two. But at least you have a start.
In the non-profit world we do not create target budgets. We do not set a goal for fundraising and hope we get there. This is one of the key difference between us and the for-profit world. This means no pie-in-the-sky revenue budget. If a non-profit isn't making budget, cuts have to made. You never want to be in this position.
Have a plan for any increase in revenue. I have seen budgets where individual giving increased 200% with no plan in place as to how that was going to happen. It sure is easy to just add revenue here and there, but someone is going to have to raise that money, and if they don't then we're in a situation like I mentioned in the prior paragraph. There are many times when it's easier in the moment to just add revenue here and there to make up the difference between revenue and expense. Don't do it unless there is a clear, realistic action plan to raise that revenue.
Have a finance committee go over your budget. This typically happens as part of the budget process. I want finance committee members to particularly pay attention to increases in revenue based on forecasted revenue for the year, not budgeted. This is very important because if you have a budget line that is below in revenue yet create a line item for next year based on what was budgeted, you are comparing apples to oranges. This can easily happen with events and individual giving, and create tough times for you next year.
Here's an example: You have $500,000 budgeted for individual giving and are forecasting ending the year with $350,000 in individual giving revenue. When working on next year's budget you increase your line item to $600,000 which means next year you need to raise $250,000 more than the year prior! Don't do it!
Finally, someone needs to support decisions made by the development team in regards to revenue. If something really doesn't feel good in reference to revenue and your ability as a team to raise, don't budget it. That's not always easy, yet in the end you, your team, your staff and those you serve will be so much better off.
Thanks for reading!
Homeless youth
People we don't see.
Showing posts with label non-profit boards. Show all posts
Showing posts with label non-profit boards. Show all posts
Monday, May 23, 2016
Friday, January 23, 2015
January fundraising
Yes, I am aware that January is almost over! My has it flown by. I still think it's relative for fundraisers to talk about making January an awesome month.
As a fundraiser, January has always been an interesting month. In most of my positions I have breathed a sigh of relief in early January or been devastated by a failed end of year effort. In some cases I have been able to create a quite strong fundraising month in January based on rigorous efforts and relationship-building in December.
At my current agency we run a fiscal year that goes from October to September. No craziness in December as far as making budget but we still rock it due to it being an important month of giving for our donors.
So what do we do in January? Regardless of whether this is the start of your fiscal year or in the middle, all of these suggestions could help:
Make sure every donor from December has been thanked.
Make sure all of your recurring monthly donors have a received a letter telling them the total amount of their giving for the past year.
Personally call all of your major donors and thank them for donating last year.
(At this point you might be seeing a pattern. Basically, are you in relationship with your donors, do they know that, and are you in a position to continue that relationship this year.)
Send a year-end review to your Board of Directors. Let them know five or six highlights of the past year and a couple of things that surprised you.
If this is something that you can do, send the same type of email to the entire staff.
Meet individually with your team members and talk about how you want to rock it with them in the next couple of months. Be prepared.
Learning. Yes, most of us have a lot to learn. Hold a training for your team.Go to a training. Create a "101" for folks you lead.
Finally, it's important to not give up on lapsed donors from last year. You've run the numbers and you see that your donor retention rate was not that good. Just because you are in a new year doesn't mean you need (or should) give up. Create a plan to engage with those donors.
Let's make January an incredible month!
Thanks for reading!
As a fundraiser, January has always been an interesting month. In most of my positions I have breathed a sigh of relief in early January or been devastated by a failed end of year effort. In some cases I have been able to create a quite strong fundraising month in January based on rigorous efforts and relationship-building in December.
At my current agency we run a fiscal year that goes from October to September. No craziness in December as far as making budget but we still rock it due to it being an important month of giving for our donors.
So what do we do in January? Regardless of whether this is the start of your fiscal year or in the middle, all of these suggestions could help:
Make sure every donor from December has been thanked.
Make sure all of your recurring monthly donors have a received a letter telling them the total amount of their giving for the past year.
Personally call all of your major donors and thank them for donating last year.
(At this point you might be seeing a pattern. Basically, are you in relationship with your donors, do they know that, and are you in a position to continue that relationship this year.)
Send a year-end review to your Board of Directors. Let them know five or six highlights of the past year and a couple of things that surprised you.
If this is something that you can do, send the same type of email to the entire staff.
Meet individually with your team members and talk about how you want to rock it with them in the next couple of months. Be prepared.
Learning. Yes, most of us have a lot to learn. Hold a training for your team.Go to a training. Create a "101" for folks you lead.
Finally, it's important to not give up on lapsed donors from last year. You've run the numbers and you see that your donor retention rate was not that good. Just because you are in a new year doesn't mean you need (or should) give up. Create a plan to engage with those donors.
Let's make January an incredible month!
Thanks for reading!
Saturday, January 3, 2015
An awesome fundraising team
I think about this often.
As a fundraising professional.
As a leader of a team of fundraising professionals.
As a person who is responsible for raising funds so program people can do their jobs.
As a human being who is completely passionate about making positive change in the world and intensely passionate for the mission of the agency I fundraise for.
What makes an awesome fundraising team?
Several things:
People who give a shit about the mission.
People who have some sense of a work ethic.
People who aren't afraid to talk about the mission.
People who aren't afraid to build relationships.
People who aren't afraid to make a financial ask.
People who realize there is no box.
People who care about more than just themselves.
People who are creative.
People who can listen.
People who have the ability to set their own personal ego aside.
People who can lead if their in a leading position and who can mange if they are in a managing position.
This is a start.
We as fundraisers are changing the world. Our success makes a difference in whether or not the program folks can do their job, which in our case is saving and changing lives.
An awesome development/fundraising team is vital.
Thanks for reading.
As a fundraising professional.
As a leader of a team of fundraising professionals.
As a person who is responsible for raising funds so program people can do their jobs.
As a human being who is completely passionate about making positive change in the world and intensely passionate for the mission of the agency I fundraise for.
What makes an awesome fundraising team?
Several things:
People who give a shit about the mission.
People who have some sense of a work ethic.
People who aren't afraid to talk about the mission.
People who aren't afraid to build relationships.
People who aren't afraid to make a financial ask.
People who realize there is no box.
People who care about more than just themselves.
People who are creative.
People who can listen.
People who have the ability to set their own personal ego aside.
People who can lead if their in a leading position and who can mange if they are in a managing position.
This is a start.
We as fundraisers are changing the world. Our success makes a difference in whether or not the program folks can do their job, which in our case is saving and changing lives.
An awesome development/fundraising team is vital.
Thanks for reading.
Thursday, February 20, 2014
Where is non-profit leadership?
As someone who has been in the non-profit world for some time, and who loves it, there is something that is clearly missing from our community.
Leadership.
Not management. Or micro management.
Just good, inspiring leadership.
And before someone in a leadership role gets a little angry with me, I am writing about all levels of leadership, including my area, fundraising.
I am writing as a fundraiser and as a donor.
Recently one of our donors was sharing with me their experience with another non-profits Executive Director as well as their Vice President of Development. The words she used to describe them were arrogant, not mission embracing and not interested in their donors.
Whew.
I'm not surprised. I have been asked several times by peers a question that makes me ponder: How do you have time to call your donors? They had not called a donor in months. The number one reason why? Time. As a donor, I don't like hearing that. As a fundraiser, my time is best spent building relationships with donors, including calls.
What I love seeing in ED's, non-profit CEO's and Development executives is what I love seeing in anyone who cares about the mission of a non-profit: Prefers to spend more time leading than managing; understands how vital it is for them to fundraise and build the brand; allows their staff to rock it with what they were hired to do; and is a huge, vocal supporter of staff. They do not fear a staff that is incredible at their jobs, they embrace them.
They spend their time meeting with leaders in the community, heads of local business, potential funders as well as other leaders in the non-profit world. They encourage and engage their staff, and most importantly, they trust their staff. They do not get bogged down in managing the non-profit or their executive leaders nor do they allow those same folks (or themselves) to get bogged down in the ever ending amount of meetings that tend to engulf some non-profit teams. They support the relationship-building that is crucial to any non-profit and they are good listeners.
A lot of this can be addressed when board members are interviewing candidates. Regardless of how much time someone has already been a CEO or ED, how comfortable are they sitting down with a funder and making an ask? What does leadership look like to them? Board members can be inspiring to non-profit leaders. Their direction, love of the mission, and knowledge of the non-profit can be a huge benefit. On the other hand, there are board members who sit on half a dozen boards. How much time and energy is your non-profit actually getting?
This type of Executive Director is out there, believe me. The reason I am writing this post is because I don't think there are enough of them out there.
Our amazing missions and those we serve depend on incredible leadership.
Thank you for reading!
Leadership.
Not management. Or micro management.
Just good, inspiring leadership.
And before someone in a leadership role gets a little angry with me, I am writing about all levels of leadership, including my area, fundraising.
I am writing as a fundraiser and as a donor.
Recently one of our donors was sharing with me their experience with another non-profits Executive Director as well as their Vice President of Development. The words she used to describe them were arrogant, not mission embracing and not interested in their donors.
Whew.
I'm not surprised. I have been asked several times by peers a question that makes me ponder: How do you have time to call your donors? They had not called a donor in months. The number one reason why? Time. As a donor, I don't like hearing that. As a fundraiser, my time is best spent building relationships with donors, including calls.
What I love seeing in ED's, non-profit CEO's and Development executives is what I love seeing in anyone who cares about the mission of a non-profit: Prefers to spend more time leading than managing; understands how vital it is for them to fundraise and build the brand; allows their staff to rock it with what they were hired to do; and is a huge, vocal supporter of staff. They do not fear a staff that is incredible at their jobs, they embrace them.
They spend their time meeting with leaders in the community, heads of local business, potential funders as well as other leaders in the non-profit world. They encourage and engage their staff, and most importantly, they trust their staff. They do not get bogged down in managing the non-profit or their executive leaders nor do they allow those same folks (or themselves) to get bogged down in the ever ending amount of meetings that tend to engulf some non-profit teams. They support the relationship-building that is crucial to any non-profit and they are good listeners.
A lot of this can be addressed when board members are interviewing candidates. Regardless of how much time someone has already been a CEO or ED, how comfortable are they sitting down with a funder and making an ask? What does leadership look like to them? Board members can be inspiring to non-profit leaders. Their direction, love of the mission, and knowledge of the non-profit can be a huge benefit. On the other hand, there are board members who sit on half a dozen boards. How much time and energy is your non-profit actually getting?
This type of Executive Director is out there, believe me. The reason I am writing this post is because I don't think there are enough of them out there.
Our amazing missions and those we serve depend on incredible leadership.
Thank you for reading!
Friday, January 10, 2014
The Special Event is not dead
To be clear, I mean the big Gala or dinner. I mean the event where your guests get all gussied up to spend an evening supporting your organization.
I have heard everything there has been said as to why to not have an event like this:
Too much time.
Too many staff.
Not really worth it.
Time, energy and money can be better spent elsewhere.
Exhausts volunteers.
All of these can be true. But I believe that they don't have to be true. I believe that the Gala or dinner is not dead. I believe that you can plan a hugely successful event and wake up the next morning feeling really good about it.
Here are some things we do to create an event that rocks it without destroying us, our volunteers or our budget!
Create an event that is as far away from your typical fundraising dinner as possible. Make it fun. Honor someone. Invite someone special to speak.
Get board buy-in. Get them excited about supporting and selling the event. Their support is crucial.
Invite staff to not only be there, but to help with the event. Donors LOVE to engage with staff who are doing the work of the non-profit. Hanging out with staff makes a big difference for donors. Our staff wants to help, and their help doesn't just mean more engaged dnonrs but it also can mean that you spend less money on services that staff can help with.
There are dozens of wonderful companies in your community that want your business. They want to run your auctions, run your check-in, charge your credit cards and decorate your room. This year we are trying something different and inviting staff to run our check-in and check-out as well as being there to support our auctioneer during the paddle raise. I have seen it done successfully before and I really want to try it.
Table sales/sponsorships will make or break the event. If you rock it in sales you have a really good chance of having a successful event. This is an all-hands effort: board, staff, donors, local community supporters, past board members, etc. As someone who very much values relationship, be sure to bring value to sponsorships, real value. Being acknowledged in the program is not really value. Get creative.
Take care of yourself! Self-care is uber important when planning an event.
Location. Location. Location. Plan your event at a hotel or conference space that honors your business and the fact that you are a non-profit. I like choosing a place with a catering sales person who I like to work with and who gets what we want to do.
Continue honoring your donors and supporters. This is big for me all year and I make sure we keep our eyes on this prize when planning our annual dinner. Quick thank yous, immediate invoices when asked for and ensuring all benefits have been taken care of.
A special event such as an annual Gala or dinner can be quite the benefit for your non-profit and your mission and it doesn't have to be a nightmare!
Thanks for reading!
I have heard everything there has been said as to why to not have an event like this:
Too much time.
Too many staff.
Not really worth it.
Time, energy and money can be better spent elsewhere.
Exhausts volunteers.
All of these can be true. But I believe that they don't have to be true. I believe that the Gala or dinner is not dead. I believe that you can plan a hugely successful event and wake up the next morning feeling really good about it.
Here are some things we do to create an event that rocks it without destroying us, our volunteers or our budget!
Create an event that is as far away from your typical fundraising dinner as possible. Make it fun. Honor someone. Invite someone special to speak.
Get board buy-in. Get them excited about supporting and selling the event. Their support is crucial.
Invite staff to not only be there, but to help with the event. Donors LOVE to engage with staff who are doing the work of the non-profit. Hanging out with staff makes a big difference for donors. Our staff wants to help, and their help doesn't just mean more engaged dnonrs but it also can mean that you spend less money on services that staff can help with.
There are dozens of wonderful companies in your community that want your business. They want to run your auctions, run your check-in, charge your credit cards and decorate your room. This year we are trying something different and inviting staff to run our check-in and check-out as well as being there to support our auctioneer during the paddle raise. I have seen it done successfully before and I really want to try it.
Table sales/sponsorships will make or break the event. If you rock it in sales you have a really good chance of having a successful event. This is an all-hands effort: board, staff, donors, local community supporters, past board members, etc. As someone who very much values relationship, be sure to bring value to sponsorships, real value. Being acknowledged in the program is not really value. Get creative.
Take care of yourself! Self-care is uber important when planning an event.
Location. Location. Location. Plan your event at a hotel or conference space that honors your business and the fact that you are a non-profit. I like choosing a place with a catering sales person who I like to work with and who gets what we want to do.
Continue honoring your donors and supporters. This is big for me all year and I make sure we keep our eyes on this prize when planning our annual dinner. Quick thank yous, immediate invoices when asked for and ensuring all benefits have been taken care of.
A special event such as an annual Gala or dinner can be quite the benefit for your non-profit and your mission and it doesn't have to be a nightmare!
Thanks for reading!
Thursday, May 9, 2013
I don't beg
I have been fundraising for several years. When I tell people I am meeting for the first time what I do for a living, they usually say something about fundraising.
"I would hate to have to beg for money all of the time" is a common response.
There are some people who actually believe that. When I respond with something like "well, I don't beg" then the immediate response is usually "oh, I know" and then they try to explain their original response.
I don't take it as an insult, I simply want to correct them.
You see, as a fundraiser I am in the relationship business. I don't need to beg or keep my fingers crossed for a check or think about how much someone is going to give me when I am meeting them. I am always focused on building a lifelong relationship with someone, a group of people, a foundation or a business.
All I think about is their vision and our vision and how those two visions meet to potentially create an amazing relationship that benefits them and us.
It's that simple.
Many times I say that I am keeping my eye on the prize. The prize is the relationship. And I always remember that an amazing relationship between me and our donors and supporters can only make our agency stronger and only be better for our mission.
Thanks for reading!
"I would hate to have to beg for money all of the time" is a common response.
There are some people who actually believe that. When I respond with something like "well, I don't beg" then the immediate response is usually "oh, I know" and then they try to explain their original response.
I don't take it as an insult, I simply want to correct them.
You see, as a fundraiser I am in the relationship business. I don't need to beg or keep my fingers crossed for a check or think about how much someone is going to give me when I am meeting them. I am always focused on building a lifelong relationship with someone, a group of people, a foundation or a business.
All I think about is their vision and our vision and how those two visions meet to potentially create an amazing relationship that benefits them and us.
It's that simple.
Many times I say that I am keeping my eye on the prize. The prize is the relationship. And I always remember that an amazing relationship between me and our donors and supporters can only make our agency stronger and only be better for our mission.
Thanks for reading!
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
Staying focused and positive
Keep your eyes on the prize.
I say this often to myself and to my team.
I love being a fundraiser. I love everything about it. I love building lifelong relationships that enhance some one's life while supporting our mission.
It's not always easy.
A donor is angry. A co-worker, peer or boss has had a bad day and acts in an unfortunate way. A long-term corporate relationship ends. A grant is declined. Your recent appeal goes south.
I run into these things all of the time. I'm fortunate to work with a solid team of professionals, people focused on our mission and being successful in it as well as in fundraising goals. That helps. Yet there are still times when I just want to shut my door, crank up my music and take a break from it all.
That's the moment when I decide to rock-n-roll.
I always have a list of recent donors and that's where I turn first. I get on the phone. I speak with people who are in relationship with us or who have just started a relationship with us. I thank them. I engage with them. Any negative thoughts or feelings of being overwhelmed seem to vanish after engagement with donors. I also might go for a walk, go grab a coffee or call a board member I trust.
Sometimes this feeling comes about because I have not put the time into a project that I need to work on. It's funny how putting a little focus on that project takes any negative feelings away.
Focused. Positive. Keep your eyes on the prize. Our mission is way too important to get bogged down in negativity, for whatever reason. There is always a way out of that and it usually includes looking in the mirror and deciding to go out there and rock it.
Honor where you're at. Take care of yourself. Then go out there and rock. For all of you out there who constantly remind me of this, thank you!
And thanks for reading.
I say this often to myself and to my team.
I love being a fundraiser. I love everything about it. I love building lifelong relationships that enhance some one's life while supporting our mission.
It's not always easy.
A donor is angry. A co-worker, peer or boss has had a bad day and acts in an unfortunate way. A long-term corporate relationship ends. A grant is declined. Your recent appeal goes south.
I run into these things all of the time. I'm fortunate to work with a solid team of professionals, people focused on our mission and being successful in it as well as in fundraising goals. That helps. Yet there are still times when I just want to shut my door, crank up my music and take a break from it all.
That's the moment when I decide to rock-n-roll.
I always have a list of recent donors and that's where I turn first. I get on the phone. I speak with people who are in relationship with us or who have just started a relationship with us. I thank them. I engage with them. Any negative thoughts or feelings of being overwhelmed seem to vanish after engagement with donors. I also might go for a walk, go grab a coffee or call a board member I trust.
Sometimes this feeling comes about because I have not put the time into a project that I need to work on. It's funny how putting a little focus on that project takes any negative feelings away.
Focused. Positive. Keep your eyes on the prize. Our mission is way too important to get bogged down in negativity, for whatever reason. There is always a way out of that and it usually includes looking in the mirror and deciding to go out there and rock it.
Honor where you're at. Take care of yourself. Then go out there and rock. For all of you out there who constantly remind me of this, thank you!
And thanks for reading.
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Have you seen a development plan lately?
Every job posting titled Director of Development I looked at while on my job search included one item that puzzled me: Must be able to create a development plan for the agency. As I read this my mind would wander off with questions like:
What happened to your development plan?
Why do you need another development plan?
Why do you want a new development plan?
And finally, and most importantly...
Why do you want the newest person on you non-profit team to write the development plan?
Of course there are answers for all of these questions and I'm sure that in many of the postings the agency was just making sure that when the time came, their new fundraising professional could blow their minds with a development plan.
I am currently working on a new development plan at work. First and foremost, I am not working on it alone. I am working on it with the co-chairs of our board development committee, with my ED (our agency's CEO as well as some of my staff. It's going to be a development plan that rocks and the title of it is "We will rock you!".
NOTE: Development plans do not need a name or title, it's just my personal preference.
Our development plan is going to focus on this fiscal year and the next fiscal year. Being that our fiscal year begins October 1st, this plan will have goals and ideas to support development through September 30th of 2014.
First and foremost, our plan is about building lifelong relationships, not about fundraising.
"We want to be in a lifelong relationship with you" as opposed to "We want you to give us money".
Our development plan includes challenges/opportunities to reaching our goals for the budget as well as specific goals around areas like lapsed giving. One can use a development plan as a support piece while working on the next budget and can also plug in numbers from a current budget as overall goals.
Our development plan also includes major events, corporate partnerships, foundation giving and examples of how simple ideas support some of the goals listed. I always love including a page of what increased giving looks like on certain levels and how the overall reach of that adds so much to the giving totals. An example of this is if 50 donors who currently give $100 increase their gift this year to $200 then that is a $5,000 increase towards individual giving. And that is just one example at one giving level.
Do you have a current development plan? What is your favorite thing about it?
Thanks for reading!
What happened to your development plan?
Why do you need another development plan?
Why do you want a new development plan?
And finally, and most importantly...
Why do you want the newest person on you non-profit team to write the development plan?
Of course there are answers for all of these questions and I'm sure that in many of the postings the agency was just making sure that when the time came, their new fundraising professional could blow their minds with a development plan.
I am currently working on a new development plan at work. First and foremost, I am not working on it alone. I am working on it with the co-chairs of our board development committee, with my ED (our agency's CEO as well as some of my staff. It's going to be a development plan that rocks and the title of it is "We will rock you!".
NOTE: Development plans do not need a name or title, it's just my personal preference.
Our development plan is going to focus on this fiscal year and the next fiscal year. Being that our fiscal year begins October 1st, this plan will have goals and ideas to support development through September 30th of 2014.
First and foremost, our plan is about building lifelong relationships, not about fundraising.
"We want to be in a lifelong relationship with you" as opposed to "We want you to give us money".
Our development plan includes challenges/opportunities to reaching our goals for the budget as well as specific goals around areas like lapsed giving. One can use a development plan as a support piece while working on the next budget and can also plug in numbers from a current budget as overall goals.
Our development plan also includes major events, corporate partnerships, foundation giving and examples of how simple ideas support some of the goals listed. I always love including a page of what increased giving looks like on certain levels and how the overall reach of that adds so much to the giving totals. An example of this is if 50 donors who currently give $100 increase their gift this year to $200 then that is a $5,000 increase towards individual giving. And that is just one example at one giving level.
Do you have a current development plan? What is your favorite thing about it?
Thanks for reading!
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