PREPARING
YOUR ORGANIZATION FOR FUND SEEKING
Ensuring
Readiness
Before seeking
funds, organizations should possesses certain capabilities. According to
Michael Seltzer (1987) an organization needs to have a strong statement
of purpose, meet the legal Internal Revenue Service (IRS) requirements
of a 501(c)3 (non-profit) organization, and develop a strong board of
directors. Having well-
defined programs, an accomplished tract record, and well-developed and
realistic budgets are also essential.
The following
checklist can be used to evaluate an organization’s readiness for
fundraising activities. Before undertaking any serious fundraising, your
organization should be able to meet these conditions:
Does your
organization:
______ Have 501(c)3
IRS (non-profit) status?
______ Have a well-defined and written mission statement?
______ Use long-range planning methods?
______ Have a
positive, visible image in the community?
______ Have organized
recordkeeping?
______ Have sound
fiscal management?
______ Have an active
board representative of the community?
______ Have a finance
committee on the board?
______ Have staff or
board members with fundraising skills?
______ Have stable
financing?
Choosing a Fund Raising Strategy
Ideally, an organization should never depend exclusively on one source
of income. A long-term
financial strategy should combine several different approaches to
raising funds. These could
include developing or increasing earned income revenues, using federal
or state assistance, establishing a planned giving campaign, and/or
effectively competing for grant monies.
Before choosing a suitable fundraising strategy, you need to
think through the following questions:
-
How
much money do you need to raise?
The answer to this question will determine the types of
approaches or the sources to pursue.
-
What are the
human resources available? The
grantseeker must know how much time the organization is willing to
spend and the talents and abilities of staff and board members.
-
Can your
organization afford to spend money to make money? Often, fundraising requirements a certain amount of “up
front” money. For
example, a direct mail campaign would entail printing and mailing
costs.
-
What,
if anything, has worked before?
If your organization has had a successful fundraising event,
consider using the same approach again.
But even with an effective approach, you need to consider
diversifying so you are not dependent on one source of income.
-
What is the
competition for money? It
is important to identify any competition, or potential competition,
for money. If another
community organization is planning a supper dance, it would be smart
not to schedule a similar event. Sometimes groups may be able to
join competitors in co-sponsoring an event or submitting a joint
proposal.
Selecting the most appropriate fundraising strategy is critical.
The single best approach to raising funds is asking the prospect
in a brief, honest, enthusiastic manner; this is discussed in greater
detail in the following pages. Other
methods of fundraising that should not be overlooked include:
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Art shows
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Auctions
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Bake sales
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Book sales
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Challenge gifts
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Concerts
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Convocations
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Dinners
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Door-to-door
solicitations
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Flea markets
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Grant
applications
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Investments
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House parties
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In-kind gifts
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Matching funds
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Newspaper
advertisements
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Open pledges
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Phone squads
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Raffles
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Sale of services
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Sports/special
events
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Telethons
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Workshops
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Wills and
bequests
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Several
publications are available to help critique the pros and cons of each of
these methods (see Recommended Reading, page 26).
Before starting, it is important to know the best way to
implement a particular strategy, the types of revenue one could expect
to generate from the activity, what costs will be incurred by the
organization, and the amount of time and work required to execute the
task.
Assuming
your organization has a clear idea about what it wants to accomplish
(see “Applying a Research Method”, page 10), and that the grant
seeking approach is the best alternative for your organization, the next
step is to begin to understand the priorities and sources of potential
support.
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