The Community Voice – Fundraising Planning

Susan Ross

In the Blackbaud Community last month, Blackbaud University asked for your input about fundraising planning. We wanted to know: What fundraising methods do you use? How do you plan your fundraising activities? Do you set fundraising goals? Here are your answers!

Fundraising Methods: Major Giving Is a Major Source of Revenue


We asked, “What fundraising method raises the most revenue for your organization?” The top three responses were:

• 35%: Major Giving
• 19%: Events
• 18%: Direct Mail

The pie chart to the right details all the responses. This is a good reminder that even with changes in technology and fundraising methods, the fundamentals of fundraising remain as important as ever. The time that major gift officers spend cultivating major donors and prospects is valuable. On the other hand, let’s keep in mind online and peer-to-peer fundraising might not be the majority of your funding today, but they are great tools for outreach—helping you find and identify new donors. Also, there is a lot of growth in online giving (in 2016, overall giving grew 1% year-over-year, online giving grew 7.9%¹). The crucial point is to be strategic and purposeful about how fundraising staff spend their time.

Fundraising Plans: The Results Are Mixed


We asked, “Does your organization have a written fundraising plan?”

• 45%: Yes
• 31%: No
• 24%: Not Sure

Fundraising plans can vary greatly in format and scope. A simple fundraising plan is an annual document that describes the fundraising activities of your organization, the expected costs and revenue, and who will be responsible for the work. On the other hand, some organizations have fundraising plans that are more strategic and include plans and projections for several years. Whatever kind of plan your organization decides to create, the more detailed, the better. Writing and sharing a fundraising plan with your entire staff ensures everyone is on the same page and understands the big picture.

Fundraising Goals and Tracking Progress: Everyone Is Doing It


We asked, “Does your organization set fundraising goals?”

• 90%: Yes
• 7%: No
• 3%: Not Sure

If so, how often do you report and measure progress toward your goals?”

• Monthly: 42%
• Weekly: 21%
• Quarterly: 18%
• Annually: 6%
• Not Sure: 13%

This is great news! Setting goals (and measuring progress toward those goals) encourages you to continually evaluate the effectiveness of your fundraising activities. It’s a good idea to set goals for fundraising revenue, as well as goals for donor acquisition and retention. How many new donors will you acquire? How many donors will you retain? You might also have goals for other key measurements based on your organization. Fundraising goals are a key part of the fundraising plan, so if you have goals, a more detailed plan is only a few steps away.

Our Thanks to You

Thanks to everyone who participated in the survey! The survey is closed, but you can join the conversation with your colleagues on the Best Practices thread here. Be sure to share your fundraising plans and goals with us—and your colleagues.


You can also sign up for the Nonprofit Workshop: Fundraising class, where we’ll explore the trends and fundamentals of fundraising, and move through the steps to create a fundraising plan.

¹2016 Blackbaud Charitable Report