Tag Archive for: nonprofit

Nonprofit Fundraising Strategies: Tips for Running an Effective Campaign

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Are you looking to raise more money for your nonprofit and bolster your fundraising strategies?

When you run a nonprofit, knowing how to get money from your supporters should consist of one of your chief goals. Many nonprofits become born out of care for certain needs in the world, yet they can’t exist without a solid marketing plan. You need effective fundraising strategies to get the money you need to continue your initiatives and keep your talent.

So, how do you go about getting the proper funding? We’ll go into nonprofit fundraising strategies below. Keep reading to bring in more money for your cause today!

1. Use a Professional Mass Email Service

You may have a great mission, but you won’t attract many donations if your emails don’t look professional. Even if you run a small nonprofit, professionalism inspires confidence in you and your organization.

In turn, this prompts less hesitation about giving. When people believe you operate in a professional manner, they may trust you with more of their funds.

But how do you ensure your emails maintain a professional appearance? Get a mass email service. These platforms allow you to store your contacts’ information and even provide templates you can edit with your own text. This gives your emails a professional look.

2. Use More Than One Platform

If you just advertise your cause via email, you likely aren’t getting the most money you can. Instead, you should seek to get funds from other platforms as well.

You should start out by having a donation page on your website. Make sure people can navigate to this page from any other page on your site. Your donors should have the ability to find it without much effort.

You can also put donation buttons on each of your blog posts or news updates. This encourages people to give to causes after reading about them.

Some people even advertise their causes on social media. To do this, create posts targeted to raising money for specific causes and include links to donate.

3. Create Nonprofit Fundraising Strategies

You shouldn’t create random fundraising opportunities. Instead, fundraising works best when it gets planned out in detail. As such, you should dedicate much of your marketing endeavors toward creating nonprofit fundraising strategies that work for you.

How do you customize your own strategies? A lot of it involves doing research on how well different types of strategies work with your donor base. Any time you try something new, make sure you look at how well people received your new endeavor by viewing your analytics. The best working attempts will result in more donations, shares, or donor interactions.

Then, once you have an idea of what works well, incorporate it into your fundraising strategy.

4. Plan Out Fundraising Campaigns

Fundraising campaigns should comprise a lot of your fundraising strategy.

But what is a fundraising campaign? Think of them as a multi-component attempt to raise money for a specific cause. Fundraising campaigns harness the power of sending email messages to highlight your mission and the initiatives you want your donor base to give to.

For these, you shouldn’t send out one message. Rather, plan out several that build upon each other and encourage your donors to give.

To get the best results, you should start out with a soft launch of your campaign. These launches target only your committed donors. Ask them for feedback on the campaign and pay attention to the issues they raise. Then, you should implement these changes to your campaign before you send it to the rest of your email list.

You should also create thank you notes to send out to people who donate!

5. Know About Prime Fundraising Seasons

Did you know you can maximize your profits by launching campaigns at certain times of the year?

In particular, people like to give before the end of the year because they can claim their donations on their tax forms. Giving Tuesday kicks off this season. It lands on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, when people follow Black Friday and Cyber Monday with an opportunity to give. You should always start your end-of-the-year campaign on Giving Tuesday.

Then, send messages throughout the month of December. Finish the campaign with a last chance message toward the end of the month, and then follow up with a thank you statement in January.

You can also run fundraising campaigns around holidays.

6. Use Specific Stories

People connect to stories. A well-told story pulls on the heartstrings of your audience and convinces them that they should spend their money giving to your cause.

The more specific the story, the better. Telling the story of one specific beneficiary of your services shows people the impact a donation to your organization can have. These stories also encourage people to put themselves in someone else’s shoes, encouraging empathy and furthering their dedication to your cause.

7. Get Reviewed by a Nonprofit Financial Organization

People want to make sure their money goes to the cause to which they intended to give. Most nonprofits manage their money well, but some don’t, and so it becomes important to have documentation to show how you spend your donations.

To do this, get reviewed by a nonprofit financial organization. These companies focus on reviewing the finances of nonprofit organizations and making this information public for any potential donors. Then, when potential donors contact you asking how you spend your donations, you can send them to the organization’s website so they can view the information for themselves.

This gives your donors confidence in your ability to handle money well and not use it for purposes other than your cause.

Need Nonprofit Financial Services?

Nonprofit fundraising strategies become the crux of many nonprofit organizations. They enable them to raise money for the different initiatives they run and help them keep their lights on.

But you shouldn’t just fundraise and not manage your money. If you need financial assistance for your nonprofit, we offer a full team of accountants who can help you manage the funds you receive. Request a meeting today!

A Guide to Nonprofit Risk Management and Cybersecurity

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A Guide to Nonprofit Risk Management and Cybersecurity

We are living in an age that is characterized by risk. Every decision a company makes needs to take various risk factors into account. If you fail to properly consider risks through a risk assessment and risk management, it could be disastrous for your company.

One area in which non-profit organizations frequently miscalculate risk is cybersecurity. This article explains how you can secure your organization against various cyber threats.

What Is Risk Management?

Essentially, risk management involves trying to foresee what could go wrong for your organization. You then take measures to mitigate the risk. Of course, organizations don’t take measures against every conceivable risk. Instead, they evaluate each risk based on perceived likelihood and expected damage.

For example, consider an event such as a meteor hitting your office. The damage from this kind of event would be catastrophic, but it’s very unlikely that it would ever happen. Therefore, a risk management analysis would conclude that there’s no need to take measures against a meteor strike.

On the other hand, events like a fire happening on the premises are much more likely, and the damage from such an event could be just as severe. Therefore any reasonable risk management strategy would take fire into account.

Risk management looks at both intentional harms caused by malicious actors and accidental harms.

Cyber Risk Management

Some of the biggest risks you’ll face in nonprofit security are cyber threats. These kinds of threats involve harms caused by computers and computer network systems. Most organizations have robust and sensible risk management approaches when it comes to “real life” threats such as fires and earthquakes, but their approach to cyber risks is often lacking.

This is because digital technology has progressed so quickly in the last few decades. Risk management approaches have not had time to catch up. It doesn’t help that many people in management positions are not very knowledgeable about computers and the internet.

Unfortunately, this means that many nonprofit organizations take a reactive rather than a proactive approach to cybersecurity. You can’t afford to take this kind of approach to cybersecurity as threats like data breaches could have a devastating impact on your organization.

Data Security

As a nonprofit organization, one of the biggest cybersecurity threats you face is a breach of your data. Quite often, if data is stolen from your organization, it will mean you’re in violation of data privacy regulation. This could result in fines or other legal action against your organization. It could also have a negative impact on your reputation.

Your risk management strategy should involve reviewing your cybersecurity. This should be on the hardware and software level. For example, all employee workstations should have antivirus and firewall software installed. If you don’t have dedicated IT support staff at your company, you might consider working with a managed IT company.

Two-Factor Authentication

One of the best and most efficient ways to protect yourself against a data breach is to use some form of 2-factor authentication. Basically, this involves using a second device to verify your identity.

The most common form of 2-factor authentication is using a cell phone to verify who someone is who is attempting to log in. This is an effective security measure because it means a hacker who has the password of an employee still won’t be able to log in.

Consider setting up such a system to protect yourself against a data breach.

Consider Social Engineering

One mistake that organizations often make is that they focus all of their risk management on software protection. This is certainly important, but many cyber-attacks involve using social engineering to breach a system.

Social engineering involves using trickery and manipulation in order to breach a system. A firewall or antivirus software won’t be able to protect you against this kind of attack.

An example of a social engineering attack might be an attacker calling up someone at your company. They might then and convince them to give out their password. It might sound implausible, but it’s a lot easier than you might think.

Security Culture

Sadly, there is no straightforward solution for dealing with social engineering attacks. If you want to protect yourself against this kind of risk, you need to create a strong security culture in your organization.

This means that everyone in your organization takes security seriously and knows how to recognize cyber threats. A common way to achieve this is through seminars, presentations, and other activities.

With that said, you can’t just host a seminar on cybersecurity risks and call it a day. Cybersecurity is a constant process. To achieve a true security culture, employees need to have security on their minds at all times.

It helps to have a dedicated member of staff responsible for investigating potential cyber threats. Staff should report and all suspicious activity to this individual. This should be encouraged, even if the majority of reports are false positives.

Consider Shadow Security

Security culture is important, but pushing security too much can actually make your company less rather than more secure. When you implement excessive security policies, this results in what is known as shadow security.

Shadow security is when workers find the official security policy too restrictive. In response to this, they may adopt their own unofficial security methods.

This is problematic because most of your workers are probably not security experts. This means that they may inadvertently do things that could cause a data breach or some other threat.

To avoid this kind of behavior, you need to have an open dialogue with your employees. People may feel like the official policy is interfering with their ability to get work done. you may need to modify the policy to avoid workers taking matters into their own hands.

Risk Management Is Crucial

As you can see, risk management is crucial for running a nonprofit company. You need hardware and software solutions to keep your digital environment safe. You also need to develop a strong security culture in your organization.

If you want to learn more about running a nonprofit organization, check out our FAQs page.

How Nonprofit Technology Can Further Your Cause

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Are you the proud owner of a nonprofit that’s looking to take your organization to the next level? Are you curious to learn about different things you can integrate to give yourself an edge? If so, then you need to learn more about how nonprofit technology can streamline your organization.

Doing so can help turn your nonprofit’s greatest weakness into a strength. For example, with the right accounting services, you’ll be more in-tune with the donations that you receive.

See below for an in-depth guide highlighting the benefits of nonprofit technology and how it can help your organization thrive moving forward.

1. Well-Oiled Machine

Nonprofits are like fish, they can only grow to the size of the pond they live in. If you don’t take the time to organize your business model, it will stunt the growth of your organization moving forward.

Not to mention the fact that if you make a mistake such as losing funds that were donated to you, you could be charged with the misappropriation of funds.

Despite your best effort, you might find it difficult to balance your organization’s need for things like event planning, bookkeeping, production, communications, marketing, and so on.

This is where nonprofit technology can be of tremendous help. For example, you could use event planning software to organize every event or gathering you have from this day forward.

It can help you get a proper headcount, see who is bringing what (EX: tents, food platters, etc.), and where your volunteers will be assigned that day.

This software can also help you control your budget. If you know the exact number of people attending, then things like calculating food serving sizes become that much easier. Stick with the one-pound rule: cater one pound of food for every adult in attendance, as well as 1/2 pound for every child.

2. Optimize Communication With Your Donors

Every successful nonprofit has a group of advocates. These are what’s known in the industry as “supporters”. However, a constructive nonprofit doesn’t wait for the supporters to take action, they’re proactive in keeping their supporters engaged.

Nonprofit technology has made it easier for organizations to keep their most active followers engaged. You can streamline communications with them and maximize each supporter that you have.

For example, you can use your best judgment to invite the right supporters to events they’ll be interested in. This defeats the traditional “email blast” method, which can quickly cause them to lose interest.

It can also help you keep in constant communication with them. You can use technology such as Slack, Zoom, etc. to discuss your nonprofit initiatives with them in their preferred method of communication.

Nonprofit technology can also make it just as easy to talk to your entire support network as it is to talk to one individual.

Let’s say you want to alert everyone to an upcoming event, but wanted to provide more insight to certain individuals. If so, you could use Slack to send a message to the entire group, then direct message those that you had extra insight for.

3. Better Understanding of Your Donors

First and foremost, if you’re struggling with balancing your organization’s finances, don’t leave that to chance. Hire a nonprofit accounting service to get everything back on track.

To ensure financial security for your nonprofit in the future, you have to gain a better understanding of your donor base. The more you know about them, the more engaged they will become.

There is nonprofit-focused CRM (customer relationship management) software that can help you:

  • Track all donations on an account by account basis.
  • Connect your donors/supporters with other like-minded supporters in your database (to form a community).
  • Track the events that each donor attends on an account by account basis.
  • Understand the best forms of communication with each donor.
  • Organize all of the contact information for each donor in their accounts.

Without a CRM system, a person might attend one event, donate $25, then slip through the cracks of your nonprofit’s outreach capabilities. Make sure that no donor is ever left out. It’s how you grow the community surrounding your organization.

4. Increases Your Revenue

Say no more, right? If there’s a way to increase your organization’s revenue, you’re in! Nonprofit technology has proven to do just that for those that take advantage of it.

By integrating nonprofit technology, you can offer ways for your donors to donate online. They simply enter in their card information as they would when they online shop.

This makes it incredibly easy for you and your donors. You can also offer them a way to set up monthly or bi-weekly withdrawals from their account, so they don’t even have to think about it anymore.

5. Optimize Your Website

Do you wonder why it seems as if your site visitors are landing on your site, then navigating away from it without clicking on any other page? This is what’s known as a bounce rate.

Nonprofit technology can help you assess what issues your site has that are harming the site user experience (in other words: what’s scaring them away). This can help you lower your bounce rate and capitalize on those that come across your site.

The more site visitors you capture, the more donors you have for your nonprofit organization. Then you can use your CRM software to build meaningful relationships with each of them!

Take Advantage of Nonprofit Technology Today

Now that you have seen several ways that you can take advantage of nonprofit technology for your organization, it’s time to take action!

Be sure to visit this page to listen to our podcast, the Modern Nonprofit Podcast, to learn more about streamlining your organization.

For more inquiries, please be sure to reach out via our contact us page and we will be happy to assist you further.

How to Create Value-Driving Reporting Metrics

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There are around 1 million nonprofits in the United States. Many of them struggle creating value-driving metrics.

The vast number of nonprofits shows how difficult it may be to find funding if you are considering a nonprofit. You may realize that in order to succeed as a nonprofit, you need to find resources and people who are interested in contributing to your cause.

Another study stated that around 30% of nonprofits failed after 10 years. With such a high risk of failure, it’s important for nonprofits to figure out how to be successful.

Part of nonprofit success is dependent on reporting metrics. Value-driven metrics are what current and potential funders might be interested in when looking to fund your nonprofit.

Here are some key reporting metrics you need to keep an eye out for if you want to attract funders. Ultimately, this is how you create value-driven reporting metrics.

Return on Investment: Creating Value-Driven Metrics

One of the most critical reporting metrics is the return on investments. This is your ROI and how much you are making from your nonprofit.

It’s one of the metrics you can look at and decide how successful it is and if it’s getting the funding it needs to make a difference.

This is where you compare the cost of raising the event and paying for catering and a place to host the event and then compare it to how much was actually raised. You may have broken even, made a profit, or had a loss.

If you want to calculate your ROI for a nonprofit, you would want to divide total costs by total funds raised. This gives you an idea of how much is making from your nonprofit.

It can also give your investors or funders an idea if your nonprofit is successful and attracting interest.

Average Gift Price: Creating Value-Driven Metrics

Another metric to look at is how much a gift is when someone donates to a nonprofit. You want to see how much each gift on average is worth, which gives you an idea of how much people are giving to your nonprofit.

Metrics are important to help guide your nonprofit and your bookkeeping.

You can also see how many gifts in a specific time frame. You may know the average price per gift, but you still need to know how often you are receiving these gifts.

You can also see how many gifts you are receiving from specific donors. This allows you to segment your donors and see what donors in a specific market donate to your nonprofit.

Conversion Rate: Creating Value-Driven Metrics

The conversion rate is how many people actually gave your cause based on how many you asked.

You want to see how many of your target markets is giving to your nonprofit if you asked them over email or set up a link online.

Another way to look at the conversion rate is to see how many people are giving based on your outreach. You want to see how many people are donating on social media, email, websites, referrals, and more.

You can see how many people actually clicked on your link and committed to donating to your cause. You can then measure your conversion rate and compare it to other nonprofit organizations.

Another valuable way to look at the conversion rate is to see what channels provide you the most donors. If you discover that some channels provide more contributors to your nonprofit, it may be best to focus more on your content and marketing on fewer channels that are more successful.

Website Visits: Creating Value-Driven Metrics

If your nonprofit has a website where people can choose to visit and donate, you need to make sure you have Google Analytics are some other measuring tool to see what’s happening on your website.

Funders who are evaluating your nonprofit may look at website visits and see how many people you are attracting to your nonprofit. They will want to see how many clicks you are generating and how many pageviews there are. 

These metrics are important because you want to see if people are engaged with your mission and what you are trying to do in your nonprofit. The better your website is designed and the easier it is to use, the more likely people will hang around longer on your website.

You’ll also want to see if people are specifically clicking on your call to action. Also, you will want to see if they are donating to your cause. This will provide insight on if you need to change the call to action or there’s a general lack of interest in your nonprofit.

Email Marketing Metrics

The final value-driven metric you need in your nonprofit that can give you insight on how to improve any part of your nonprofit is email metrics.

If you have an email list and send emails asking people to donate to your nonprofit, you need to look at the open rate, the click-through rate, and how much you are earning per email.

You want to see if your subscribers are donating based on the emails you are sending. These metrics can give you insight into if you need to make any changes with your emails regarding a subject line or body content.

Now You Know Everything About Reporting Metrics for Nonprofits

Value-driven reporting metrics are a great way to analyze the success of your nonprofit. It can help you determine what changes need to be done. This way, you can attract more investors.

While these metrics can be overwhelming, learning can help you increase funding. You will be able to optimize ways to ensure the success of your nonprofit.

If you want help with your nonprofit, you can contact us here.

The Complete Guide to Nonprofit Startup Funding

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We have created a complete guide to nonprofit startup funding. The guide is for both those looking for seed money to start a nonprofit and existing organizations that need additional funding. The topic is overwhelming to many,  but considering the best nonprofit startup funding strategies is important.

Your dream can become a reality.

Funding is a key step for any charity, but this does not happen overnight. This blog will help you learn how to raise funds for your nonprofit so you can help your organization grow.

4 Types of Funding 

We’ve covered four broad types of initial funding (or for existing nonprofits)

1. Start With Your Community for Nonprofit Startup Funding

What do nonprofits do? Nonprofits serve their communities. If you are looking for funding options, start in your community. Work colleagues, friends, and neighbors might see the potential benefits your startup could bring. Don’t be afraid to post calls for help on your social media, too!

Businesses or Community Leaders

Established businesses have cash to spare if they believe your idea can bring something positive to society and be profitable. Also, community leaders tend to be well-connected. They could assist you in reaching out to other people who will likely be interested.

You can present your startup to these leaders and ask them to become board members. This way, they can represent more active stakeholders in your organization. This action will also increase your access to individual donations. Residents are likely to trust these leaders, so they might donate more.

Other Organizations

You can also contact other organizations who provide similar services, or who would be interested in the benefit your startup will bring. For example, churches are likely to find interest in funding food relief centers or homeless shelters. Food providers might also potentially willing to donate some of their own stock to supply your nonprofit. It never hurts to ask.

Friends and Family

You may find it awkward to approach your loved ones for money. But, reaching out to them will give you a good starting ground. They are more likely to understand how passionate you are about the organization. They might be willing to share a stake in the success of your creation. Even if they don’t, they will be more open to sharing your initiative with their circle of friends, thus expanding your reach.

2. Access Grants for Nonprofit Startup Funding

As a nonprofit, you cannot finance your startup in a traditional way. You don’t get to sell items and use the additional money to uphold your organization, so accessing nonprofit grants is a great way for your startup to flourish. However, nonprofit startup grants are a possible option.

What exactly are nonprofit grants, and what do they do?

Nonprofit startup funding is important for your charity.

Well, when it comes to grants, the earlier you receive them, the better. Instead of waiting until you’ve officially started your organization to begin applying, make sure you have a plan. Start reaching out before your organization becomes fully operational because this will prevent future instability. It will also enable the eventual success of your nonprofit.

Here are two prominent types of grants:

Government Grants

There are many government grants out there. This fact will benefit you because there’s no end to the applications you can send out to finance your startup. That being said, make sure to go through the different grants and see which ones will suit your organization the most. To have a better understanding of available grants, you can look through grants.gov.

There are differences between federal grants and state grants. So, make sure to research the ones that are applicable in your area. Keep in mind that there are requirements to meet and contracts to negotiate. You should expect some initial hurdles!

Foundation Grants

Private foundations also provide nonprofit startup grant funds. It may be difficult to know where to begin, but focus on your state and start researching the available private grants in the area.

You may also need to approach the foundation and give them details about what you plan to do with your nonprofit. This will include your projected budget and the specifics of your business plan. If all seems to be suitable, they’ll happily finance your organization.

Note: Business grants are a possible fundraising strategy. Many for-profit businesses create corporate programs, grant options, or scholarships, available to nonprofit organizations. A different type of corporate funding, if you will.

3. Individual Donations for Nonprofit Startup Funding

Did you know that several nonprofits exist by relying on individual contributions from the public? For example, individual donations are the major driving force for the World Wildlife Fund.

To access public donations, set up fundraisers or auctions. Don’t be afraid to get creative. That’s what will draw people in. Fundraising is also a great way to tell people what your nonprofit is all about. This could improve the chances of more donations or public support. Events like bake sales to full-on carnivals, in a post-COVID world, would be useful.

4. Offering Memberships

Providing membership options is a suitable method to earn a fixed amount regularly. People who sign up will contribute to your nonprofit on a recurring basis. You won’t have to worry about finances drying up.

Offering memberships do not apply to all forms of startups. If you have an idea about what to provide to your members- for example, exclusive access to events or information — then this may be a viable funding option.

Tips for Finding Funding Sources

There are several ways to show your organization is ready for funds, improving your chances to bring in more (and do more for your cause).

  • Compile relevant programs: Doing the research work of gathering all relevant programs (nonprofit grant programs, for example) helps determine the possibilities.
  • Clearly convey your nonprofit projects: Whether it’s through memberships, individual donations, grants, or other funding methods those giving will want to know about your track record and how the fund will be used.
  • Show transparency: Keeping accurate track of how dollars and donations are utilized gives people a sense of trust. Accurate financial record-keeping also mitigates issues with governance. Working with a qualified team, experienced in nonprofits, helps immensely.

Nonprofit Startup Funding Can Be Easy

It may seem scary at first. But, you have many options to access nonprofit startup funding. From grants to memberships, you will benefit from researching. You will also benefit if you try out as many options as possible.

Why should you believe in your dreams? If you are compelled to start a nonprofit, use this as your selling point. Helping your community is a great mission to guide your organization. There will always be others who see the potential in your charitable acts.

For more nonprofit help and outsourced bookkeeping assistance, check out our services. This is also a very popular topic in a Modern Nonprofit Facebook Group, which you can join TODAY.

7 Common Fundraising Mistakes to Avoid for Nonprofits

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Are you trying to build a strong foundation for your nonprofit? Well, it all begins with knowing the in and outs of the entire structure. In premise, the difference between a good and a bad nonprofit is the ability to avoid common fundraising mistakes. 

In this article, we will cover these 7 mistakes, so that you can build a project that’s truly exquisite. Read on to learn more. 

Building a successful project through fundraising is important to your organization’s success.

1. Untailored Messaging

When you’re talking to your supporters, a one-fits-all application does not work. You need to know what works for each target audience and hone your messaging for each segment of your donors. 

Segmenting your supporters into separate groups is critical to making sure that the right message is delivered to the right person at the right time. You can accomplish this by breaking down the entire collective into smaller sub-sections, such as big-donors, first-time donors, recurring-donors, event attendees, third-parties, etc.

You might even consider developing donor characteristics to help with driving action on their part. Once you have segmented your audience, it’s much easier to tailor content for each, thus build real relationships.

Stronger bonds = greater number of financial commitments. 

2. Not Talking About the “Why?”

Most of the nonprofit organizations spend too much time talking about how they will perform their work, rather than why they will do it. 

After all, you’ve adequately enough to create a solution to an important problem with dedication. But to get people to appreciate such efforts, you need them to provide context. Make them care. 

This means that you have spoken about the “why” before you even mention the “how. First, speak about the challenges you have addressed, then speak about how you solved them. This will spark genuine connections with you on the empathetic level which will help them to action. 

Don’t assume that your supporters know everything about you. Just because they’ve decided to donate, doesn’t mean they have an understanding of your work and its importance. 

Make use of the opportunity and give them the full story. 

3. Common Fundraising Mistakes: Wrong Relationships

If your relationships with the supporters are purely transactional, they will move on. If they are relational, they will continue to thrive and blossom. 

With the use of modern technologies, it can be very easy to bombard your sponsors with asks across all channels. Taking this unthoughtful approach to why and when you ask your sponsors for contributions will result in disconnection and donor fatigue.

4. High Expectations, Poor Outcomes

Do not set high expectations and then deliver poor outcomes. Consistency is critical to reputation. Be realistic, honest, and transparent about all of your efforts and outcomes. 

In terms of the marketplace, reach and services, be consistent when articulating their effect. Meet the expectations set by important stakeholders, and deliver exceptional services. 

Exceed all expected outcomes.

5. Lack of Financial Competency

A most important faculty of the nonprofit experience is financial competency. Many founders have not anticipated what it will truly cost to start the nonprofit, much less where to get the funds. 

Any nonprofit needs a funding plan, which will decide if it will charge fees for services, and an effective records system to micromanage all resources. A nonprofit with poor funding is very unlikely to sustain itself before even implementing a verbose fundraising structure.

And even that’s not enough. Financial competency is vividly important in a nonprofit, so don’t dismiss it. 

6. Ineffective Board

If there is one thing that could break or make your project, it might be the quality of your board. Your initial boar members must be your true circle of influence. They should be those who have the influence, resources, and contacts that can help this project grow. 

They should believe in the mission of the organization, and be willing to sell that mission to anybody else. They are the gate-keepers who should help to open doors for you.

And where do you find such people? Well, that depends on the mission behind the nonprofit. But it’s all about networking, so visit meetings, conventions, conferences, and anything else that might be pertinent to the problems that you are trying to solve.

7. Failing to Communicate

Using a single channel for communication is shortsighted. All of your supporters are different. They have different genders, ages, capacities, etc. This is why a variety of communication channels is important to appeal to different people.

You need to have multichannel network strategies that will allow you to effectively collaborate and converse with donors regularly.

Many of your supporters and donors will respond best on certain communication channels. Some might be completely blind to invitations, CTAs, or other asks shared on single channels. 

In order to avoid this, segment your donors on the basis of their preference for communication. Or simply reach out to them on a platform, if you’ve sent an invitation over email, reach out to them by phone afterward.

Accounting Services for Your Nonprofit

Now that you know about the 7 common fundraising mistakes that will ruin your nonprofit, you are well on your way to build a solid foundation for your endeavors. As long as you avoid the pitfalls of others, and make wise decisions supported by an educated and influential board, there is no reason your mission is any less than the big fish. 

If you’re interested in solving one of 7 mistakes, being that of “lack of financial competency”, get in touch with us and we will happily walk you through our accounting services.

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