Small nonprofits can be real powerhouses when it comes to fundraising

By Dane Grams and Richard Deveau

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These tips were excerpted from the FundRaising Success online exclusive feature, Last Look.

“Adhere to a reasonable growth plan. I’m constantly amazed how so many nonprofits are pushed by executive directors and boards for rapid expansion, with projections upwards of 75 percent revenue growth from one year to the next. Even corporate America has come to grips with the idea that slow, steady growth is the best path for long-term prosperity. Governed by a plan to grow revenue modestly, with [a] 10 percent or so target, begin building the narrative with your key stakeholders about the state of your union, how they’ve helped you get to this point and what opportunities the future holds directly due to their support. Take time during slow periods of growth to shore up operations and to tangibly measure and articulate the impact of your mission. Come up with innovative ideas, even for small audiences, as a way of touching people and perhaps getting some media coverage for the novelty of your idea. Be frugal with expenses, and try to work in a ‘doing more with less’ component to your message, but do not cut funding to anything core to your ability to generate revenue.”

— Perry Jowsey, development director,  Freedom Service Dogs

“Believe in your mission and present it with passion! Never lose sight of your donors and their interests. Stewarding donors is essential in charitable work. Our donors are loyal supporters who want to know what is going on at all times in our organization. They want to feel assured that their dollars are well-spent and that our programs are healthy. We never miss an opportunity to invite them to see our programs firsthand, volunteer with us or attend an event. Never take your donors for granted. We constantly call donors to thank them for their generosity. There are many organizations competing for the same dollars and it is our charge to be grateful and worthy of their contributions. Recruiting, educating and retaining new donors are also an essential part of a healthy development office. Understanding your constituents and involving them in a way that works for them will create loyal supporters.”

— Meryl Sheriden, chief development officer, Horizons for Homeless Children

“Focus on [your] core mission and leverage what already exists so [you don’t think you] have to invent everything. Use QuickBooks for finances and wikis for collaboration. Find out what others are doing, and trade and barter. Stand on the shoulders of giants, and rely on partnerships.”

— Fred Mednick, founder,  Teachers Without Borders

“Social media has certainly become a primary way to communicate with donors and members. So anything you can do to make yourself more visible through a variety of social-media venues is helpful — as long as you have good content to share — program updates, links to other resources, kudos to members or sponsors, etc.”

— Jennifer Marrapese, executive director,  Northeast Sustainable Energy Association

This year, FundRaising Success is happy to introduce a new column called Little Shop. (And yes, I do hope that song gets stuck in your head as it does in mine every time I mention the name.)

Little Shop will be written alternately by fundraising coaches and consultants Pamela Grow (January, May and September) and Sandy Rees (March, July and November). In the debut column,  Pamela talks about how  smaller development offices can make the best of their thank-you notes.

But here, fundraising pros Dane Grams and Richard DeVeau offer some general tips.

— Margaret Battistelli, Editor-in-Chief

What About Us?

A few pointers for small to medium-sized nonprofits  (the smallish guys).

By Dane Grams

From time to time, I find myself frustrated when I read fundraising articles or other nonprofit advice resources. Great — DRTV works! Now if I could just come up with an extra half-million dollars to get my new acquisition program running. Or worse yet — thinking you have to settle for second best when it comes to the latest technology or product.

Do you ever feel this way?

Despite the challenges, there are a lot of great things about being a smaller nonprofit, including not having to wade through some enormous bureaucracy because you have an idea. Or not having to get sign-off from eight directors if, God forbid, you want to change plans to seize an opportunity.

(Can you tell I used to work at one of the big guys? Anyway, I digress.)

I understand that there are roughly 1.5 million registered nonprofit organizations in the United States. The large majority of these organizations could be described as "small." Yet it seems to me that most resources are geared toward large organizations. Enough is enough!

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Dane Grams Author's page

Dane Grams is the director of membership for Human Rights Campaign. He has held senior positions at Amnesty International, Greenpeace USA and Care2. Reach him at dane.grams@hrc.org.

Richard Deveau Author's page

Little Dogs ... Big Tricks