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Fundraising Toolkit Launch - Basics & Strategies

Fundraising Masterclass

Thursday, 14 November 2024, 2:00 pm CET | 8:00 am EDT | 6:30 pm IST

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Housekeeping

Please …

🎥 Keep your video on if possible

❓ Show your name & organisation - click on your video, then "rename"

🔇 Unmute when you speak

✋ Technical questions: zoom.us/support or raise your hand ✋

💚 Enjoy!

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Share in the chat:

🙋 Who you are (Name, Organisation, Role)

🌍 Where you are logging in from around the world?

🧑‍💻 What would you like to know about fundraising?

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Introduction to Fundraising

What is fundraising?

A process of soliciting financial support, a way for organisations to build relationships, bring in foundational support, and attract new donors.

Lisa: Fundraising is generally defined as the process of soliciting financial support but it is so much more than just asking for money! It consists of ways for organisations to build relationships, bring in foundation support, and attract new donors

At For Impact, we think about fundraising as composed of 3 parts: it is about telling the story of your organization so donors know why you do the work you do and what impact you are having and looking to have.

It is also about identifying and prioritizing donors that will buy into this story and feel connected.

It is also about, building a process and team to think about how to engage donors in meaningful, deep ways beyond general solicitations or funding requests.

Fundraising to us is about building partnerships focused on impact.

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7 Core Pillars of Fundraising

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1. Earned Income

Selling Products or Services
Selling Merchandise
Cause Marketing
Consulting / Training Services

Organisations can use the funds from earned income as per their need. Many non-profit organisations have items or services it can exchange for much-needed revenue.

Earned Income

Social ventures typically have some form of “earned income” that provides a regular revenue stream for the organisation:

Selling Products or Services: Transfer of money, goods, or services in exchange for goods and services. Examples: handmade products, artisan-crafted jewelry, educational workshops, consulting services etc.
Selling Merchandise: Although selling branded goods online is fine, it should not serve as your main source of revenue. Examples: purchasing a t-shirt or subscribing to a newsletter for a donation.
Cause Marketing: An NGO organisation and a for-profit company collaborate on cause marketing for both parties' mutual gain. Example: pledge made by a company that sells products to donate a portion of each sale to a charitable organisation.
Consulting / Training Services: Offering consulting services or training to other organisations for a fee.

Organisations can use the funds from earned income as per their need. Almost every non-profit organisation has several items or services it can exchange for much-needed revenue.

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2. Grants

There are different sources of grants:

Philanthropic
Government
Corporates
Community
Investments
Foundations

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Grant Pipeline

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3. Donations

Major Gifts
Corporate Gifts

Physical Gifts
Non-physical gifts

Individual Donors

3. Donations: Major Gifts, Bequests, Corporate (supporting sponsors), Individual Donors

Donations are gifts for charity, humanitarian aid, or to benefit a cause. There are different types of donations:

Major Gifts: The largest donations an organisation receives from a single source in a single fiscal year.
Corporate Gifts: This refers to both physical and non-physical gifts provided by corporations to strengthen their relationship with an organisation. Examples of corporate gifts include:

Physical Gifts: Technology (e.g., laptops, software), books, equipment, or supplies.
Non-physical gifts: Tickets to events, subscriptions (e.g., digital services, publications), or charitable donations. Additionally, corporate gifts can also encompass volunteer time, such as when employees are encouraged to offer their expertise or skills to nonprofits during company time.

These contributions not only support the nonprofit but also help foster a stronger partnership between the company and the organisation.

Individual Donors: Refers to a personal monetary or in-kind contribution pro-bono donations (e.g. services like nconsulting, volunteer time, event assistance, software licences, etc.) an organisation.

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To be successful at obtaining donations, ensure that you:

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4. Events Fundraising

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5. Community-Business Partnerships

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6. Membership, Friends, and other supporters

Membership programme can provide sustainable funding and foster a sense of belonging among supporters.
Annual friends giving programme can engage former members through annual campaigns, events, and legacy giving options, ensuring long-term support and strengthening the organisation's community.
Giving circles where community members pool resources to support each other and/or the community.

6. Membership, Friends, and other supporters

Creating a membership programme can provide sustainable funding and foster a sense of belonging among supporters. For some organisations, implementing membership can involve developing tiers (e.g. Basic, Premium, and Lifetime), each offering exclusive benefits such as members-only content, VIP event access, and personalised updates.

Engaging members through online forums, local chapters, and regular communications helps maintain strong relationships, while recognition efforts and easy renewal processes show appreciation. Additionally, an annual friends giving programme can engage former members through annual campaigns, events, and legacy giving options, ensuring long-term support and strengthening the organisation's community.

It is important to remember that membership programmes are about fostering a sense of belonging among your supporters – you need people’s enthusiasm more than you need their money.

Historically, giving circles have roots in practices like “susu” in West Africa and “tanda” in Mexico, where community members pool resources to support each other and/or the community. This form of participatory philanthropy brings together individuals from diverse backgrounds to share resources to distribute the funding to charitable organisations or community projects. The decision making of giving circles is made by the individuals in the circle.

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7. Crowdfunding

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Developing a Fundraising Strategy

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Developing a Fundraising Strategy

Why do you exist?

Where does the money go?

How can I help?

Setting Priorities

The For Impact team highlights the Altitude Framework, a powerful approach that helps you develop and refine your messaging, communications, and storytelling. It helps to develop Engagement Tools and guide the flow of funder visits. This framework is used for everything from funder visits to strategy sessions to addressing donor concerns, but its primary strength lies in the simplifying and refining your message.

The Altitude Framework: Why, What, and How

The Altitude Framework is built around the idea of perspective—much like how you see the world from different heights in an airplane. It is a metaphor for understanding the different layers of your strategy. By organising your fundraising strategy into three altitudes, you can adjust your focus from the big picture down to the granular details.

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Developing a Fundraising Strategy

30,000 feet/10,000 meters Questions:

Why do you exist? Toward what end?

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Developing a Fundraising Strategy

14,000 feet/5,000 meters Question:

Where does the money go?

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Developing a Fundraising Strategy

3 feet/1 meter Question:

How can I help?

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Breakout Room Discussion

Take a moment to reflect individually on how the Altitude Framework applies to each of our organisations or projects.

Instructions:

From this session, think about- what is one thing that spoke to you? Why did it speak to you? How might you apply the learning to your organization?

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Share your thoughts!

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Key Takeaways

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We want to hear your opinion!

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Fundraising Resources

Compiled Grant Opportunities

(Members Only)

A resource for locating donors by sector and region

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Impact Measurement Learning Series

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Systems Change Learning Series

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Social Change Innovators (SCI)

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Find out more

https://catalyst2030.net

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