Practical steps for taking control of your nonprofit fundraising
I recently met the executive director of a nonprofit that has lost 20% of its funding due to a grant that was allocated but is not being delivered.
That’s bad enough, but it gets worse. This may just be the early stage of losing 75% of their related funding.
They’re worried about this, and rightly so.
I have my own worries about all sorts of things, too. But in most cases, I’m able to swing pretty quickly into doing something.
Many many years ago, I read a passage by the philosopher Epictetus that stuck with me:
“There are things which are within our power, and there are things which are beyond our power.”
It’s a simple idea, but one that’s shaped my thinking ever since — focus on what you can control and let go of what you can’t.
Right now, many people are worried about the economy, with some of them being outright scared. It’s understandable. Developments with trade treaties, tariffs, governmental changes, social upset, consumer sentiment, machine intelligence, and more are making for a very bumpy ride. (More on nonprofit strategy during uncertainty.)
And it’s okay to worry.
Worry may have a useful evolutionary function in helping to alert us to danger. But obsessing about worry isn’t helpful, and worrying without doing anything isn’t productive.
While none of us can do anything about the economy overall, almost all of us can do something about our own economy — because in many ways it’s tied to our own actions.
Once you’ve accepted that something needs to change and you look around to see what you can control, you notice that, yes, you do have command over certain levers and dials and switches.
As a nonprofit leader, what can you do?
Here are some fundraising ideas you can control:
1. Refocus your fundraising messaging
- Emphasize urgency and impact: Clearly explain why your organization’s work matters right now. And by that, I mean why it matters to your donors and core supporters. Keep the focus on them. What matters to them? What motivates them? Use real stories and data to show how the downturn affects the people and causes they care about.
- Show results: Use real numbers — statistical, numeric results, as close as you can get to what the numbers people call ROI. Donors want to know that their money makes a difference. Be transparent about how donations are used and what outcomes they achieve.
Here in Los Angeles, Weingart Center served 1,092,453 meals across their housing developments last year. That’s an astounding number. Of course, I already knew they were doing important work, but over one million meals to people who had been living on the street!? That’s an incredible result!
2. Plus-one your existing supporters
- Ask for a bit more: If they already support you, they’re primed to do more if possible. Explain why it’s necessary, then ask for more.
- Strengthen relationships: Personally reach out to loyal donors, even just to check in. Many will give again if they feel valued. To quote the classic rock band Supertramp, “There’s so much that we need to share / So send a smile and show you care.”
- Monthly giving programs: Offer low-barrier recurring donation options (e.g., $10/month). Do not underestimate the power of a $10 ask! I once raised four-figure donations from multiple people by asking for ten bucks at first.
- Donor segmentation: Tailor asks to different donor types (major givers, recurring, lapsed).
3. Diversify revenue streams
- Grants: Historically, foundation and government grants increase in tough times. Historically. Monitor new opportunities frequently, because you never know. But for Pete’s sake, don’t count on them. Don’t even count on the ones that have been awarded to you! If you’ve been awarded a grant, stay close to ensure it’s actually happening. Budgets are shifting all over the place, and most surprises will be unwelcome.
- Corporate partnerships: Some businesses may want to align with nonprofits for goodwill, or because your mission is simpatico with their own. They are also undoubtedly aware of the funding climate right now, and they may be keenly interested in your audience segment. Hint for places with spaces (like performing arts venues): Businesses like to host and hold events and meet your people. Seems like a win-win.
- Earned income: If applicable, explore services or products related to your mission. I just signed up for the Academy of American Poets’ one-hour webinar about the poetry of Rainer Maria Rilke. I’m a big fan, but I’m not clever enough to understand all of it, so I happily plunked down $30 on my credit card to gain a better understanding. I don’t believe the Academy of American Poets has ever asked me to support a program like this before, so good for them! New revenue stream? I love it. Plus, I’ll learn more about Rilke.
- Ask everyone for money. Not kidding. If what you do is important, ask everyone to support it. If you believe in it, and what you do is working, they should be glad to support it if they’re able.
4. Blend people power with inexpensive efforts
- Use email, social media, and peer-to-peer fundraising platforms. Encourage supporters to fundraise for you. When I was actively producing theatre, I’d ask the playwright and the director and the cast and the designers and the tech people and my board — heck, everyone — to be part of fundraising. It’s not for any one person to take on single-handedly. Ask your network how they can help, who they know that could help, what they can do, and when they’ll do it.
- Consider virtual events, webinars, or donor Q&As instead of costly galas. The “costly” gala might be right for you, and many of them are indeed right for their relevant organizations. But if the COVID pandemic gave us any bright spots, one of them was the “virtual gala.” I attended a couple of those and was really impressed. I also had a play produced over Zoom during the pandemic, and y’know what? I had audience members and ticket buyers all across the United States and Europe! So sometimes you find an advantage in doing something new while strictly monitoring costs.
- Matching gift campaigns: Work with a major donor or sponsor to match donations. Doesn’t have to be a huge organization. I was once a playwriting fellow in Fayetteville, Arkansas — proudly sponsored by the local brewery. They were proud, and I was too. Nice people with good beer.
5. Build trust and transparency
- Be honest about your challenges and needs, but don’t shame your audience. Guilt-tripping doesn’t motivate, it alienates. Instead, invite people in. Show them how they can be part of the solution and why their support matters. People want to help. Your job is to make them feel important and part of the solution.
- Send impact updates regularly, even if they’re small wins. Success follows success, as people grow inspired. Or, as a long-ago roommate of mine used to say, “Money goes to money.”
- Consider donor surveys to involve people and make adjustments based on feedback.
- Always be straight-up. A wise quote: “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.” Thank you, Warren Buffett.
Finally, let’s not forget:
- Board involvement: Activate your nonprofit board members to make introductions or host small gatherings. Just a friendly reminder here: This is their role. They should fulfill it. Volunteer jobs are still jobs, and this is a job they agreed to do.
If what you and your nonprofit do is important — and I’ll bet it is — then it merits support. A new plan of action, perhaps drawn from the tactics on this list above, can help you recover if your budget is in danger — and even better, can help you grow if it isn’t.
There is still a lot of money out there for the right causes with the right message and the right approach.
Go get it!
Lee Wochner
Counterintuity CEO and Creative Strategist