#3 Truth About Fundraising: The Plan Matters

In this third installment of our five-blog series on community and economic development fundraising, we’re exploring the pivotal role of your strategic plan. With more than 45 years in strategic fundraising and capital campaigns, these insights will help you achieve the transformative change your community or organization desires.

So far, we’ve covered:

1. Fundraising Can’t Just Be About Money
2. Your Community and Organizational Dynamics are Unique

Fundraising is all about what you could do for your community if you only had the resources. Therefore, it’s not about just having a plan, it’s about having the most compelling plan possible before seeking investors with those resources.

The Plan (and Why it Matters)

Just like truth number one, thinking about fundraising purely in terms of getting money in the door is an oversimplification that leads to failed campaigns. It’s not just about money, it’s about what you’re going to do (the plan).

Instead, think of money (and how much comes in) as a tool for measuring how well you addressed the real questions behind fundraising, such as:

• Is your plan ambitious enough (will it move the needle/make a difference)?
• How relevant and innovative is your plan as a response to your community’s dynamic needs or opportunities?
• Is it easy or difficult to find influential leadership to unite around your vision?
• How energized are your volunteers?

These factors, among others, will dictate your level of success. Money is how you measure the quality of your plan based on leadership, public, community, organizational, and investor interest.

The quality of your plan determines the quantity of funds you can raise.

S.M.A.R.T.  Fundraising Plan Development

Just like S.M.A.R.T. goals, your fundraising plan will be most effective when it (and its constituent parts) is specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timely. Step one in developing your plan and its goals will be to directly address your community's most pressing needs and opportunities by ticking each of these five boxes.

When formulating your plan, you can build upon proven strategies – what’s old is not always bad, and what some refer to as “progress” isn’t always good – yet it's equally important to incorporate innovative, energizing approaches that align with your community’s dynamic needs.

Over decades of fundraising, we’ve noticed investors are most responsive and energized when you:

1. Have a track record of success with proven strategies
2. Have new ideas that offer an innovative and/or more efficient path to the outcomes they want

You can strike a balance between the two through brainstorming sessions or retreats with internal staff and board members, or by seeking guidance from external strategic planning consultants who specialize in fundraising.

Validating Your Fundraising Plan

The first version is rarely the best version of a successful plan. It’s an iterative process where you and your team will validate how S.M.A.R.T. it is in the eyes of your key stakeholders and prospective investors before saying “go.” 

To get the validation process underway, condense your plan and its essential objectives into the simplest version of your direction so you can solicit review, feedback, and commentary.

• Is your plan something they can get behind?
• Do they believe in it enough to invest their dollars?
• Does your plan achieve its stated goals effectively?
• Are there better approaches?
• Are others in town better equipped to execute on parts of the plan and would it make sense to collaborate? 

How deep and detailed you go in the validation stage depends on how much is at stake. For broad fundraising campaigns in the millions of dollars that affect many stakeholders, we highly recommend an in-depth feasibility analysis. At NCDS, our feasibility analysis and goal assessment services play a crucial role in this stage, providing invaluable insights to refine and enhance the plan based on stakeholder input. As an independent third party from outside the community, we find key leaders tend to be more candid with their feedback – allowing for much more clarity in our findings and recommendations.

Refining Your Fundraising Plan

Once you’ve gathered your feedback and validation, carefully refine and modify your plan. Some data points will be helpful and some won’t, but they’re all worthy of consideration and provide insight into your direction.

For large-scale fundraising like we perform at NCDS, your final plan will include:

• A multi-year implementation timeline that’s consistent with the organization's mission and objectives
• Clearly articulated strategic objectives, tactical details, and performance goals
• Tracking and reporting capabilities
• Multi-year projected budget (this is your top-line fundraising need), encompassing staffing, marketing, research, consultants, and more
• Projections on economic impacts and other community benefits when you achieve your goals

Depending on your organization’s or partnership’s maturity and status in the community, you may find it helpful to craft a convincing and persuasive case for why you’re uniquely capable to make your plan a success. If you’re in this position, consider every frequently asked question a prospective investor may ask and have a concise answer ready in your presentation.

Get Help Developing and Proving Your Fundraising Plan

There’s no cookie-cutter fundraising system that works for everyone. Your organizational and community dynamics are unique, and may benefit from an experienced fundraising consultant to help you make the right decisions on your plan.

At NCDS, one of our specialties is helping our clients develop the S.M.A.R.T. plans that both make an impact and attract the most influential investors in town. We’re always here if you need a hand navigating the nuances that can derail capital campaigns. Contact us for a free consultation.

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