Best Fundraising Plan Worksheets

By Sandy Rees, CFRE © Sandy Rees, 2012 Fundraising Plan Worksheets ebook 2 www.GetFullyFunded.com Sandy Rees, CFRE www.sandyrees.com

No portion of this ebook may be reproduced, copied, changed in any format, sold, or used in any form, or by any means, without prior written permission from the publisher. Exceptions are made for brief excerpts used in published reviews.

For reprint permission, contact Sandy Rees at [email protected].

This book may not be sold or distributed by anyone other than Sandy Rees, CFRE.

Disclaimer

The materials contained in this book are for informational purposes. I hope that the information presented here will help you be successful in fundraising, but no guarantees of return on investment or warranties are expressed or implied.

All links are for informational purposes only and are not warranted for content, accuracy or any other implied or explicit purpose.

Simple Success Fundraising Plan Self Assessment 5 Simple Success Case Statement Template 8 Simple Success Program/Project Summary Worksheet 10 Simple Success Summary Calendar Template 11 Simple Success Strategy & Goal Worksheet 12 Simple Success Fundraising Budget Template – Simple Version 13 Simple Success Fundraising Budget Template – Detailed Version 14 Simple Success Action Step Detail Worksheet 15 Simple Success Monthly Checklist 16

Ready for More? 18 About Sandy Rees 19

I’m so excited to bring you my best worksheets for creating a fundraising plan!

I created this ebook full of my favorite planning worksheets in the hopes that you will use them to create a written fundraising plan for your nonprofit this year. I want you to be proactive and not reactive – it makes all the difference in the world for your ability to be successful in raising money.

You won’t find a lot of fluff here. Instead, you’ll find practical, usable templates and worksheets that will help you create the best plan you’ve ever had for fundraising.

My favorite thing to do is to give nonprofits the tools to develop a vibrant donor base, spread the word about their cause, and build a strong Board of Directors. That’s why I’m so happy to get this ebook in your hands!

Way too many nonprofits don’t plan to fail – they just fail to plan. Don’t be one of them!

Warmly,

Sandy Rees Fundraising Coach

Evaluating your organizational strengths, weaknesses, and capacity for fundraising is a great place to start with pre-planning. Sometimes the simple exercise of collecting and analyzing information can reveal areas where attention is needed.

Take the time to answer each question for your organization’s fundraising efforts so you can get an accurate snapshot of your current fundraising program.

Organizational Information Do you have appropriate registrations and permits to operate and fundraise? □ Yes □ No Do you have a clear and easy-to-understand mission statement? □ Yes □ No

How much is your organization’s annual budget? What are the main sources of revenue?

How much revenue comes from fundraising?

Does your organization have a current, written strategic plan? □ Yes □ No Does your organization have a current, written fundraising plan? □ Yes □ No Do you have a budget for fundraising? □ Yes □ No How much money do you have budgeted for fundraising expenses during the year?

Basis for Fundraising Do you know why you need to raise money? □ Yes □ No Do you have a written case for support? □ Yes □ No In one easy sentence, why should someone give money to your organization?

Donor Base Do you use a donor-tracking software? □ Yes □ No Which one? How many donor names are in your donor data base? How many of them made a donation in the last 15 months? How do you track information about your donors and their gifts? (software?) Do you track specific details about every gift, like the date, the amount, the gift type (check, cash, credit card, etc., and the reason for the gift)? □ Yes □ No Do you have a policy for keeping donor information confidential? □ Yes □ No

Marketing Do your organization and its leaders have name recognition in the community? □ Yes □ No Do your organization and its leaders have a good reputation in the community? □ Yes □ No

© Sandy Rees, 2012 Fundraising Plan Worksheets ebook 6 www.GetFullyFunded.com Do you know who your typical donor is? □ Yes □ No Have you developed a donor profile to identify the common donor demographics? □Yes □ No

Do you have a relationship with the local media (tv, radio, newspaper)? □ Yes □ No How many times during the past year have you been in the media? (estimate) Do you create an annual report? □ Yes □ No Do you have a basic brochure for your organization? □ Yes □ No Do you seek out speaking opportunities in the community? □ Yes □ No How many times in the past year has your organization made presentations to groups in the community?

Newsletter What is your newsletter’s purpose (is it to provide information, raise money, or both? Or something else?) In a perfect world, how often would your newsletter go out? In reality, how often does it go out? When was the last time you sent out a newsletter? Did you mail it to everyone on your list? Do you include a reply envelope so that the recipient could send a gift back to you? □ Yes □ No

Direct Mail Do you send fundraising letters through the mail to your donors? □ Yes □ No How many times each year do you mail fundraising letters? Who writes the letter? How do you decide who to mail to? Do you ever rent lists of names to mail to? □ Yes □ No How do you decide if the mailing was successful?

Grant Writing How many grant proposals did your organization submit last year? How many were funded? Do you have a grant calendar or a list of the proposals you will submit this year? □ Yes □ No Who writes the grant proposals? Who researches new grant opportunities?

Acknowledgement & Recognition How often do you change your standard Thank You letter? How long does it usually take you to get a Thank You letter in the mail to a donor? Do you do anything else to thank donors? □ Yes □ No

Major Donors How do you define a Major Donor? ($500, $1000, etc.) Do you know without looking how many major donors you have? □ Yes □ No Do you know without looking who your major donors are? □ Yes □ No

Special Events How many special events does your organization hold each year? Who is largely responsible for organizing the event, staff or volunteers? Do you recruit corporate sponsors for your events? Are you successful in getting them?

Do you recruit media sponsors for your events? Are you successful in getting them?

How do you decide if the event was successful?

Online Does your organization have a website? What’s the address? How often is your website updated? Is there an easily-recognized “Donate Now” button on your website? □ Yes □ No Is there a way to capture visitors’ names and email addresses on your website? □ Yes □ No

Do you have a blog? How often do you post?

Do you send out an electronic newsletter? □ Yes □ No How often do you send out the electronic newsletter? Is it different than your print newsletter? □ Yes □ No

Do you have a presence on Facebook, Twitter or other social media? □ Yes □ No How often do you share information on each?

Personnel Do you have a staff person whose sole job is fundraising? □ Yes □ No Does this person attend Board meetings? □ Yes □ No

What skills do you have to fundraise?

What skills do other staff, Board, and volunteers have to help you fundraise?

Is there training you need? Is your Board willing to help with fundraising? Does the Board have a Fundraising Committee? □ Yes □ No Do each one of your Board members make a personal financial gift? □ Yes □ No

© Sandy Rees, 2012 Fundraising Plan Worksheets ebook 8 www.GetFullyFunded.com Do you belong to a professional association? □ Yes □ No Do you follow a fundraising code of ethics? □ Yes □ No Do you follow the Donor Bill of Rights? □ Yes □ No

Your Case Statement is a summary of the reasons for people to give. You should have a Case Statement for your organization, and one for individual programs or projects.

Before you attempt to craft a Case Statement, you may find it helpful to collect a copy of each of your organization’s materials, like previous Case Statements, brochures, annual reports, newsletters, direct mail letters, and grant proposals. Often, you can re-use the information.

1. What is your organization’s mission statement? It needs to be short, concise and compelling.

2. What problem does your organization address? (Feed the hungry, help the sick, house homeless animals, protect the environment, etc.)

3. How many people are affected by this problem in the area you serve?

4. Briefly describe your organization’s history.

5. What success has your organization had in addressing the problem?

7. How is the organization uniquely positioned to successfully address this problem?

8. What need are you raising money for?

9. What is the fundraising goal for this need?

10. How will the donor’s gift affect the need?

11. What makes the need urgent? (Why should the donor give now?)

Program/Project name:

Purpose of program/project:

Population served by this program/project:

Number of people served monthly or annually by this program/project:

History and accomplishments of this program/project:

Program/project budget:

Grants Special Events Individual donors Major gifts Marketing (public Communications Other (vacations, training, (monthly giving, speaking, media, (newsletter, etc.) direct mail, lapsed advertising, etc.) website, annual donors, etc.) report, etc.) Jan

Strategy Description Target Revenue Goal Projected Cost Who is When? Audience responsible?

Grants

Events

Individual donors

Major gifts

Marketing

Communications

Totals

Fiscal Year:

Last year Coming year Difference Revenue actual budget Grants Special Events General Public Contributions Direct Mail Major Gifts Newsletter Miscellaneous Total

Last year Coming year Difference Expenses actual budget Printing and copying Postage Special event expenses Donor and volunteer appreciation Travel and meetings Staff and volunteer training Contract services Miscellaneous Total

Revenue over Expenses $0

Fiscal year:

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Total Revenue Grants Special events General public contributions Direct mail Major gifts Newsletter Miscellaneous Total

Expenses Printing Postage Special event expenses Donor & Vol appreciation Travel & mtgs Staff training Contract services Miscellaneous Total

Difference

Objective :

Action Step Who will do it? When will it What resources happen? are needed?

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Step 4

Step 5

Step 6

Month/Year:

Date Completed Item Fundraising Management 1. 1. Compare actual revenue from the month to budget. 2. 2. Compare actual expenses from the month to budget. 3. 3. What adjustments need to be made for the coming month? 4. 4.

New Donors 1. 1. How many new donors made gifts this month? 2. 2. Call and thank new donors. 3. 3.

Donor Acknowledgement 1. 1. Update “thank you” letter text 2. 2. Email Board members with names/phone numbers of donors to 3. thank from previous month 3.

Grants 1. 1. Identify upcoming proposal deadlines 2. 2. Check to see if any follow-up is needed on outstanding proposals 3. 3. Check to see if any reports are due 4. 4.

Special Events 1. 1. What activities need to happen this month in support of upcoming 2. special events? 2.

Direct Mail 1. 1. What activities need to happen this month in support of the next 2. upcoming direct mail letter? 3. 2. Update direct mail campaign tracking sheets. 3.

Major Gifts 1. 1. Review your list of top 10 donors 2. 2. Choose 2 to visit during the coming month 3. 3. Schedule visits 4. 4. © Sandy Rees, 2012 Fundraising Plan Worksheets ebook 19 www.GetFullyFunded.com Lapsed Donors 1. 1. Pull list of recently lapsed donors and send hand-written cards 2. 2. Call those who have renewed during the month to thank them 3. 3.

Newsletter 1. 1. What activities need to happen this month in support of the next 2. upcoming newsletter? 3. 2. Update newsletter campaign tracking sheets. 3.

Marketing 1. 1. How many times did the organization appear in the news or gain 2. exposure during the month? 3. 2. What media exposure is planned for the coming month? 4. 3. Were appropriate “thank you” notes sent to the media reps? 5. 4. How many speaking engagements or presentations did the 6. organization provide during the month? 7. 5. What speaking engagements or presentations are planned for the coming month? 6. Were appropriate “thank you” notes sent? 7. Miscellaneous 1. 1. Were appropriate memoriam and honorarium notices sent? 2. 2.

There are more worksheets and detailed explanations in my Simple Success Fundraising Plan.

As part of this do-it-yourself kit, I’ll walk you through each of the major components of my Simple Success Fundraising Plan starting with your organization’s strategic goals and your fundraising goals. I’ll give you my personal formula for developing goals that I guarantee you can reach! Next, we’ll talk through every component of the plan including the reasons why someone would give to you, the strategies you’ll want to implement, and more.

Included in the step-by-step guide:  100+ page workbook in a 3-ring binder  1 CD with customizable Word versions of the 28 worksheets  Sample fundraising plan

Get yours at http://getfullyfunded.com/simple-success-fundraising-plan/

Special surprise! Use the code Get25 to save 25% off the retail price of $147!

“Sandy, I’ve been to countless seminars and have hired consultants to help me put a plan together, none of which really worked. Your system is just amazing! It’s the “how” that I’ve always found missing. I love how the worksheets ultimately all work together to create your plan. Many, many thanks for having the wisdom to create this material. You are really terrific at what you do!” - Julie Condy, Executive Director, Stage to Stage, New Orleans, Louisiana

“I just finished your Simple Success Fundraising Plan and found it very helpful. In this book you have covered all the possibilities and how to get there. I divided my plan into sections and each part has goals, objectives and action plans. I was very overwhelmed before reading your book and had a hard time organizing everything. Now it is organized. Thank you so much. You made my life easier.” - Shahnaz Mazandarani, President/CEO, A Better Way, Berkeley, CA

I’m Sandy Rees, creator of the Get Fully Funded system for attracting donors.

I am a nonprofit fund-raising coach and consultant, and I love showing mission-driven nonprofit organizations how to successfully raise all the money they need. My favorite thing to do is to give nonprofits the tools to develop a vibrant donor base, spread the word about their cause, and build a strong Board of Directors. I love seeing them “get it” about fundraising and I love being there to celebrate their successes with them.

My personal Fundraising Beliefs:  Every non-profit organization with a compelling mission can be fully funded.  The best fundraising is based on relationships with donors.  Donor relations and gift acknowledgement are critical to successful fundraising.  Heartfelt passion is the key to attracting support.

What’s ‘Get Fully Funded’ about? ‘Get Fully Funded’ is a concept I started mulling over many years ago. I was working at the local Food Bank and it was February. If you’re not familiar with food banking, winter is not a good time for food donations. Our shelves were empty and it bothered me. I knew that many of the food pantries we supported relied on us for canned goods, and when we didn’t have them, they didn’t have them. I shared my concerns with my Executive Director and she said “we never have cans this time of year.” I was stunned. Somehow, she accepted the status quo. But it was NOT okay with me! So I set out to do something about it. I started figuring out how to shift some big food drives from the Fall to Winter. I recruited new food drives. I turned over every rock to find other ways to get food into the warehouse during the low times. And guess what? The next year, we had canned goods in the warehouse in February.

Bottom line - I changed the status quo!

What really changed was my thinking. I found that I was willing to do whatever it took to provide food to the hungry and I quickly realized that I would have to start thinking differently about bringing in resources in order to accomplish my goal of having canned goods in the winter months. The success I achieved inspired me to go further. I started asking my colleagues on the front lines what they needed and I set out to find the money to meet their needs. In a short time, they had it - equipment, vehicles, and additional staff. I refused to accept the status quo, and I went out and raised the money. I did it! It was exhilarating! And I never looked back.

Fast forward to today. I’m now a coach and consultant, and spend my days doing what I love: helping nonprofits make a difference in the world. I challenge my clients to be the best they can

© Sandy Rees, 2012 Fundraising Plan Worksheets ebook 22 www.GetFullyFunded.com be and I expect the same level of “no excuses” work from them that I used to be successful when I sat in the Development chair. That’s what it takes to Get Fully Funded.

How long have you been doing what you do and how did you get to be a Get Fully Funded coach? When I was little, I never said “I want to be a Fundraiser when I grow up!” I fell into it like almost everyone else who works in nonprofit fundraising. In 1998, I was working in commercial marketing and sitting on the Board of the local rescue mission. A position came open in their Development office and I applied. The rest is history.

I found that I had great instincts for marketing and fundraising. After all, the principles of marketing and sales were applicable to raising money, with a few simple shifts.

Since 1998, I’ve worked in nonprofit fundraising, as a staff member, a Board member, a consultant, and a coach. I’ve “been there, done that” with all aspects of fundraising, from annual fund to planned giving. I’ve started from scratch and grown donor bases, created monthly giving programs, started major giving programs, and just about anything else you can think of. What I’m really good at is:

 Donor relations  Direct mail  Non-profit marketing  Board development  Strategic planning

What’s the difference between consulting and coaching? Consulting is a way for me to share my experience and knowledge of what works in fundraising. It’s the “how to” information that most people want. Coaching is more about helping you as a person stretch and grow to reach your goals. It involves a lot of listening, tough love, and unwavering support for you. Usually when I’m coaching a nonprofit leader, we talk about improving relationships with staff or Board members, dissolving fear around fundraising, and attitudes toward money.

I’m often told that I’m the one person who truly understands what an Executive Director is dealing with, I’m the one person who constantly supports and listens to them, and I’m the one person who can push them forward with love.

How are you different from other nonprofit consultants? I’ve been told from clients, friends, and colleagues that what makes me different from other consultants is the deep level of care and concern that I have for my clients. I think it’s the hybrid approach I take. I’m a consultant AND a coach – I can tell you the “how to” of raising money at the same time that I support you to stretch and grow professionally (and sometimes personally). I’ll help you think bigger than you ever have before and I’ll keep you focused on your goals.

© Sandy Rees, 2012 Fundraising Plan Worksheets ebook 23 www.GetFullyFunded.com I’m very realistic and I can quickly assess your situation to determine what’s the shortest path to cash for your fundraising efforts. I’m all about picking the “low hanging fruit on the tree” and I’ll have you thinking that way, too. Think of me as your Chief Encouragement Officer.

What are some of your biggest accomplishments? 1. In 1998, I turned around a failing thrift store, going from operating in the red to clearing $10K each month, all in about 3 months. 2. In 2002, I started a monthly giving program for the local food bank. Within a year, the program had 150 members giving over $50,000 in the course of a year. 3. In 1999, I launched a direct mail program to generate revenue and grow the donor base for the local food bank. Within 4 years, we were raising hundreds of thousands of dollars through the mail. 4. I grew the donor base at the food bank from 1,200 to 8,500 people within 5 years. 5. In 2008, I showed a client nonprofit how to utilize a heart-based approach to create a signature event. In 2010, the event earned $120,000 in gifts and pledges. 6. I’ve showed dozens of nonprofit Boards how to re-ignite their passion for their organizations and overcome their fear of fundraising.

About me personally I’m a fun-loving, outdoorsy kind of girl. On a sunny day, you’ll find me either brushing a horse or weeding the garden. And if I’m outside, there’s probably a brown and white cat close by.

If the weather is bad, you’ll find me inside working on a quilt. I have a whole room dedicated to creating scrappy quilts that I often give away. It’s my creative outlet and keeps me sane when things get hectic.

I’m active in my East Tennessee community and have volunteered with many community organizations, including Shangri-La Therapeutic Academy of Riding (STAR), Lost Sheep Ministries, Horse Haven of Tennessee, and the Loudon High School Band Boosters. I’m a former Girl Scout Leader and currently serve on the Board of Directors for the Loudon County Habitat for Humanity.

Signature Product— Get Fully Funded: How to Raise the Money of Your Dreams

6 Figure Fundraising: How to Create and Run Your First $100,000+ Fundraising Campaign

10K Fundraising: How to Raise Your First (or Your Next) $10,000

Fundraising Buffet

E-books:

The Small Nonprofit's Guide to Winning Grants

The Small Nonprofit's Guide to Raising Money Through the Mail

The Small Nonprofit's Guide to Thanking Donors

The Small Nonprofit's Guide to Successful Newsletters

The Small Nonprofit's Guide to Raising Money Online

The Small Nonprofit’s Guide to Getting Big Gifts

More fundraising tips and how-to information can be found at http://www.getfullyfunded.com.

Got comments on this book? Visit Sandy’s blog at http://www.getfullyfunded.com/blog and let her know what you think!