The questions around fundraising goals continue to swirl for leaders as they strive to balance sensitivity towards families that may have been financially impacted while also meeting their organization’s needs.
If you are struggling with this valid concern, here are a few tips to help you land on something you’re comfortable with.
Evaluate Your True Monetary Need
Often, organizations have similar goals year over year. Therefore budgets are mostly tweaked, and the amount of money needed to meet those goals is well-vetted from years past. Start by looking at your budget and adjusting anything that will either be eliminated, limited, or has increased costs due to COVID. Identifying changes and drilling down to your actual needs will help you to move forward confidently with your ask!
Will You Alter Your Annual Fundraising Strategy?
When leaders ask about what they can expect to raise fundraising with Raise Craze, I always have a counter-question, “Is this going to be your primary fundraiser, or do you plan multiple throughout the year?” I am finding that more leaders are either unable to execute most normal fundraising activities or are unsure. If you usually have multiple fundraisers, it may be worth considering scaling back the number of fundraisers this year and focusing on just one or fewer asks rather than lowering your goal.
Communication
Communication is everything!
Work on defining the causes you are fundraising for to better resonate with donors.
Example Cause - Teacher supplies
More Defined Cause - To provide teachers with PPE and sanitation supplies for classrooms.Example Cause - Technology Needs
More Defined Cause - To provide 300 Chromebooks for virtual learners.
You get the idea! Ask yourself, would you be more willing to give if you better understand how your donation will be utilized?
Be transparent! When introducing a fundraiser, it’s OKAY to let donors know if you have greater needs this year, if you aren’t going to be able to accomplish as much due to COVID, or if you will have just one or fewer fundraisers, definitely let them know!