Maximize the Power of One

It would be a mistake to discount the importance of people power when it comes to fundraising. For many nonprofits, the bulk of their funding comes from foundation grants, but individual donors do contribute a percentage of the total. Cultivating and building relationships with individual donors provides organizations with a group of people who are invested in their work and can provide support in terms of time, connections, and energy - as well as much-needed general-support funds. In 2006, individuals donated $223 billion to charitable organizations, six times more money than foundations and 17 times more than corporations.

Fall is a great time of year to approach your individual donors. Many people are thinking about their charitable giving and planning to make larger gifts before the end of the year for tax purposes. And they haven't yet hit the chaotic part of the holiday season, when demands on their time increase.

In October, before the busy period between Thanksgiving and Christmas, REACH Community Development in Portland, Ore., holds its annual donor luncheon. Sponsors cover the cost, and donors and attendees are asked to give financial support at the event rather than to buy tickets. In early November, all donors receive REACH's annual report as an update on the organization's work. Then, before Thanksgiving, past donors who have not recently given receive a mail appeal for donations. To maximize the response, board members come early to a board meeting and write personal notes on the letters.

These are examples of activities used to both cement relationships and raise funds. Here are some other suggestions to get you started.

Send a mail appeal with follow-up phone calls. Many groups send a donation-solicitation letter in the fall. If you haven't already asked your donors to give larger gifts this year, you can easily use this letter to do just that. You'll get a better response if you personalize each letter to include the amount that your donors previously gave and how much you would like them to give this time. "Priscilla, thanks so much for your last gift of $50. If you could give a little more this time, we'll be able to reach more people in our homeowner education program. We're hoping that you will consider a gift of $100." Maximize returns by asking your staff, board, members, and volunteers to make follow-up phone calls to donors. This could also be a great time to send letters to and call lapsed donors to bring them back into the fold.

Plan small events. These can include house parties, open houses, or movie nights. This is not the time to decide to do a large-scale gentrification tour with media coverage or a 15th-anniversary gala, unless you've already started planning it. Even small events need to be planned eight weeks out, require a lot of time, and may incur significant front-end costs.

Thank your donors. Don't forget to thank your donors and have some kind of communication with them that is not a request for funds. It can be simple as long as it's sincere - from an e-mail with an update on your work to an invitation to a free movie screening or discussion.

Before you jump into any of these year-end activities, it's important to first take stock of where you are in your fundraising plan. Maybe you've stuck to your plan and are on target for your goals. Maybe you started the year with a grand plan but haven't been able to stay on top of it. Or maybe you never developed a clear plan and are a little panicked about reaching your annual goals.

If you're behind, it's worth taking a step back to identify the obstacles you faced so that they don't hinder your fundraising efforts for the remainder of the year. I don't necessarily recommend doing an in-depth evaluation, however. Now is the time to decide what you'll be able to accomplish over the next few months and focus on doing that well. Just make sure you do an evaluation prior to creating next year's fundraising plan.

Even if your donor fundraising isn't as sophisticated as REACH's, make sure that you do something this fall to connect with your donors and ask them for support. As Dee Walsh, executive director of REACH, says, "Developing a large base of individual and business donors not only enables you to raise funds for important programs, but it also provides a way to maintain a strong connection to the communities where you work, by engaging them as investors in your organization."

If you make a concentrated and well-planned effort to reach out to your donors, you will be rewarded with their support.

Priscilla Hung is the co-director of the Grassroots Institute for Fundraising Training (GIFT), which publishes the Grassroots Fundraising Journal.

Maximize the Power of One

By Priscilla Hung