To get the funding you need to further your mission and reach beneficiaries, your organization likely spends a lot of time and energy on fundraising. From event planning to major gift cultivation, there are countless fundraising activities you could engage in. But if you’re not setting goals that effectively drive your team to success, you could be missing out on crucial funding opportunities.
In this article, we’ll cover five ways you can improve your approach to goal setting to cultivate success for any fundraising campaign:
1. Start with your nonprofit’s mission
2. Assess past fundraising performance
3. Set a topline revenue goal and deadline
4. Determine strategic focus areas
5. Use the SMART framework
Effective goals are only the beginning of a comprehensive fundraising approach, but they’re a key piece of the puzzle. Let’s explore these tips so you can build a strong foundation for your next campaign.
When you begin any fundraising campaign, take time to reflect on your mission. Whether you plan to host a large fundraising event or an online peer-to-peer campaign, make sure the type of campaign and the initiative it supports align with your mission before setting any goals. If the campaign isn’t aligned with your mission, it may be hard to gain the support you need to reach your goals, no matter what they are.
NXUnite by Nexus Marketing suggests also considering the impact of the campaign upfront. Gather your team and ask questions like:
Thinking about the potential tangible impact of your campaign can inspire you to set more ambitious fundraising goals. As a bonus, you can come back to these answers when you’re ready to launch your campaign and use them to inform your marketing strategy.
Once your thinking is aligned with your mission and you’re motivated to set ambitious goals, ground them in reality by assessing your organization’s past campaign performance.
If you’re planning a capital campaign to fund a major project, you should conduct a full feasibility study to determine if the campaign is realistic for your organization to launch right now. If you’re running a more general fundraising campaign, look at the data in your CRM and use past campaign results as a guide for crafting your new goals.
When you look back at your past fundraising campaigns, look closely at metrics like:
Along with these metrics, take stock of any general successes and challenges from your previous campaigns. What did your team do well? Where did you fall short? The answers to these questions can help you determine where to focus your attention for your current campaign’s goals.
Next, set a specific goal on the dollar amount you aim to raise in this campaign. How you set this goal will depend on the type of campaign you’re running:
Either way, you should also take into account your projected operational costs for the year, as this could mean you need to set a higher goal to cover these expenses. You may need board input to get the full picture of your finances. It’s worthwhile to keep them involved in the planning process since you’ll need their buy-in on the campaign budget and other key aspects of your plan as you get further along.
After you’ve finished setting your goals, you can flesh out a full timeline for your campaign, including stages for planning, kickoff, and follow-up. For now, setting a single deadline to achieve your topline revenue goal is a good starting point.
The main focus of every nonprofit fundraiser is to generate more revenue for your cause. Additionally, after setting your topline goal, you should set smaller goals to advance other strategic areas of focus for your organization.
Along with increasing total revenue, Donorly’s fundraising plan template lists three common focus areas to consider:
As you choose these focus areas, also consider any challenges you may face in reaching these goals and make a plan to address them.
Once you’ve defined your focus areas, it’s time to set attainable yet reasonable goals for each area that will push your team to succeed. To put yourself in the best position to succeed, use the SMART framework for goal setting:
Goals provide your team with structure and a solid foundation, but this doesn’t mean they’re unchangeable. If you need to update your goals at any point based on strategy updates or unforeseen circumstances, come back to this framework to make effective changes.
As you dive deeper into the campaign planning process, these goals will be instrumental in guiding your decision-making. Revisit them each time you make your next decision, from crafting a campaign budget to developing your marketing materials.