In a successfully operated nonprofit, there will come a time when you need to raise funds to scale to the next level.

However, I’m seeing more and more organizations close their doors before they get to scale to the next level. They don’t have the money to keep their doors open at all. Running a nonprofit is NOT just about providing a service to the community, it’s a business with expenses and obligations. 

There are several ways to obtain finances to scale your organization. 

• Business Loans
• Grants
• Campaigns
• Events
• Public Solicitation
• Investors
• Collaborations/Partnerships

Regardless of which route you take; your mission statement MUST always be at the forefront. People are more likely to give when they can relate to what they are giving towards.  When you are planning out your fundraising strategy, consider asking yourself the following questions:

• Will this campaign help accomplish our mission and/or bring awareness to our mission?

Every campaign should either be an objective within your mission statement or bring awareness to your overall mission statement.  If you have created a mission driven strategy plan, your entire organizational structure will be mission focused. No one will have to determine if the project aligns with the mission or not.

• Who are we trying to get our mission in front of? How can we attract them?

Know your audience! Are you seeking donations from the community or from an investor? Are you seeking a loan or a grant? Do you need to build collaborations or partnerships so you can pursue larger donations like Federal grants?

Once you know your audience how do you attract them to your mission? How do you stand out from all the other organizations making fundraising pleas?

• Do we need to change the way we connect with our target audience? What matrix will we use to determine this?

Marketing is constantly changing! The attention span of America has decreased significantly. The old way of marketing no longer exists. Emails are being overlooked and fewer people are opening their mail. What are you using to attract donors? 

What metric will you use to determine if you are connecting with your target audience?

• How will we connect the results of this campaign to our mission?

Remember everything goes back to the mission. Once you have connected the success of a campaign to your mission, you will have data to advance any of the campaigns to follow. Donors want tangible evidence of where their money will be utilized. If you can show how previous donations have been instrumental in achieving your mission, donors will be led to participate.

Fundraising is about strategy. YET you have the best strategy sitting at your fingertips. You worked hard to create it. You have developed a vision surrounding it. You have programs that support it. Why not use it to bring in funding – USE YOUR MISSION STATEMENT!