
Fundraising during uncertain economic times is difficult.
But that does not mean that there are not opportunities to fuel your mission…you just need to know where to look.
Following are three areas to focus on during economic downturns.
Tip 1. Champion Retention and Life-Long Value
Champion retention is the key to sustainable revenues.
And donors who are staunch supporters of your organization may be open to increasing their giving—either in the form of money or in talent and time.
Your champions are the ones with whom you can be honest about your needs and who will mobilize to help you meet your goals. To effectively partner with these champions, you will want to make sure your systems are efficient and up to date. Having a clean, efficient, user-friendly CRM that allows you to quickly see who your champions are and who might be interested in going deeper is a must during any fundraising environment.
Tip 2. Streamline the Process
Sometimes, you can find more revenue without raising a single extra dollar.
Lean times are an opportunity to focus your executive team and board on streamlining your operations.
Some things to consider:
Are you spending too much on grant reporting because you lack, or are not effectively using, systems to track expenses in two dimensions, instead of manually updating spreadsheets?
Is your CRM effective and efficient for meeting your needs?
Are you missing key software such as Slack to reduce the amount of time your team spends combing through their inbox?
Tip 3. Build Your Capacity for Applying for Government Grants
Increased federal funding typically results from hard economic times.
These dollars can flow through federal agencies, states and local governments to your nonprofit.
When looking at economic uncertainty, make sure you understand what sectors will be historically likely to see an increase in funding.
For example, ARPA dollars were heavily invested in workforce development, an area that is often of importance when the economy is in a downturn. Other areas that often see an increase in federal funding include K-12 education and healthcare.
Knowing the agenda of government agencies can help you best position your organization and programming for time-sensitive opportunities.
If you don’t have the internal skills to pursue government funding, consider hiring a grant consultant.
Conclusion
Uncertainty does not have to mean that your organization cannot continue serving your community well.
Being prepared and finding the opportunities with the highest ROI can help your organization navigate difficult economic times.
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