FDR, coming into office in the midst of the desperate years of the Great Depression, set the standard. What you accomplish in your first 100 days counts.
Chances are, if you’re coming on board as a nonprofit development director in today’s climate, you, too, may be facing a time of great instability.
We’ve all been hit hard by the challenges of the past few years. Nonprofits are facing challenges in terms of donations, staffing, government and foundation funding, and organizational structure.
How can you make a difference quickly? While setting those important standards for your organization’s future sustainability?
You already know this: your worth may well be measured by those without a true understanding of how fundraising works. Today’s grant proposal may take months, if not a year, to bear fruit. Building a successful individual donor program takes time.
How can you best approach your new position in those crucial first 100 days?
Begin by giving yourself some time to review your organization’s history. Hopefully, the grant files will be well organized. The database will be one that you’re already familiar with. You can access what has been done in terms of any type of appeals and events.
Make a list to determine what needs to be done in each of the following areas:
Individual Donors
- Who are your donors? What are the reasons behind their donations?
- Does your organization have any bequest gifts? What are the stories behind those bequests?
- What is the major gift threshold for your organization? For very small organizations, $500 may be the threshold. Another organization may not consider anything less than $10,000 a major
- gift. How many of those donors do you have?
- Most importantly, what is your organization’s donor retention rate?
Make it a point to create a listing of your top ten to twenty donors. You’ll want to speak with them on the phone or meet with them personally to introduce yourself, learn about their motivations for giving, and gather stories.
Don’t make the mistake of focusing only on your top donors.
Query your database as well to find your most loyal donors.
These may be individuals who give $50 – but they’ve given every year for the past ten years. Make it a point to write, call and meet with as many of these individuals as well to introduce yourself and show your appreciation (no ask). Why have they chosen to donate every year?
Stewardship
- Does the organization have written protocols on stewardship?
- What are the guidelines for a thank you letter to a donor? To a corporate or foundation funder?
- How often are thank you letters changed up?
- Do you have a Welcome pack for first-time donors?
- When does the Board president or CEO sign the thank you letter?
- Are thank-you calls made on a weekly basis? By whom?
Great stewardship doesn’t just happen. And it’s your key to lifelong donors and eventual bequest gifts. Make a plan to gather all stewardship materials together and develop a consistent plan for thanking and retaining donors.
Grants
- Determine what percentage of the budget came from grant funding.
- Has the organization run any past capital campaigns?
- Do they have a history of funding from the same funders every year?
- What efforts have been made to locate new sources of foundation or corporate funding?
- What is the organization’s goal for foundation/corporate funding?
- What types of relationships does the organization have with their foundation/corporate funders?
- Does the organization have a grants system in place?
If you’ve been in the field for a while, you may already be aware of other sources. Make it a point to prioritize locating new sources of funding by doing consistent research.
Database
This should be your first priority.
I’m assuming that your organization has a donor CRM. If you’re a one-person development department, the database may be nonexistent or a bit of a mess.
Do your best to familiarize yourself with your organization’s database. Look at their past protocols for data entry and reporting procedures, and their vendor contract. Set aside time for training if necessary.
Communications
- How has your organization communicated in the past? Appeals? Newsletters? Email? Social media?
- What does your organization’s website look like and who maintains it? Is the site current? Is the online donation process seamless and donor-focused? What kind of user experience does the online donor encounter?
- Make an online donation to your new organization. Did you receive an immediate thank you? Did you land on a thank you redirect page?
- What types of collateral does the organization have to express its mission?
- Does your organization have a bequest tagline that is included on all staff signatures?
- Do you have brand guidelines?
- Is the organization logo prominent on all pieces of communication?
- Has communication with donors been consistent, or sporadic?
- Has any effort been made to engage the local press?
- Does your organization utilize social media? How are you measuring ROI? Does your social media integrate well with your overall communications?
Begin to outline a strong, consistent communications plan to retain your donors – and keep the public informed.
Events
- Familiarize yourself with past events, if any.
- How do they relate to the mission of the organization?
- Have they met goal?
- What are the expectations for the upcoming year?
- What types of follow-up are conducted to transition event attendees into donors?
Board
During your first 30 days, you should make every effort to introduce yourself to every member of your board of directors. Find out how what motivated them to become involved with your organization (you’re collecting stories again!). What are their fundraising goals and what kind of communication they’d like to receive from you?
Staff
Set up short meetings with individual staff members to introduce yourself, learn their role in the organization, and discern how you all can best achieve the organization’s goals. Should you be spending a day shadowing a program staffer?
Community
- Has your organization been involved with any community organizations in the past such as Rotary, the Chamber of Commerce, Kiwanis, etc.?
- Who are your state and local government representatives?
- Does your community have local weekly or daily newspapers?
- If so, make it a point to keep current on the connections. If not, you may want to consider how involvement might benefit your organization.
- Draft letters of introduction to your State Senator, State Representative, and regional politicos. Research membership at your local Chamber of Commerce, Rotary or other community organizations. Compile a press kit and draft a letter of introduction to the editors of your local newspapers.
Your Mission
Probably the most important part about your new job is your organization’s mission and how your donors relate to it. Your strong passion for the goals and value of your organization will be the key component to how well you are able to raise funds.
Whether you’re working for a museum, an arts organization, a free clinic, a school, a religious organization, etc., you must be thoroughly grounded and have a strong belief in the mission. Make it a point to learn why your organization was founded, who benefits, and why their services are so important to the community.
Begin to gather your organization’s stories.
Wearing the many hats of a one-person development office is challenging! Make your first 100 days count when you enroll in Your First 100 Days.
View Pamela Grow's profile
I can’t wait to meet with you personally.
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