Fund Development Plan Outline

Fund Development Plan Outline©

A Resource of The Osborne Group, Inc.

Using This Planning Tool

Building a Three to Five Year Plan

Taking a long-term view helps you visualize a desirable end point and than plan annually for achieving that end point. We should create a strategic plan every three to five years. A plan is a dynamic management tool. Build in regular review, milestones and adjustment. A vision is a picture of the future. A strategic plan provides a road map and credible for that vision.

Annually:

To maximize the efficiency of your planning time and process, set aside time with your staff at the end of each fiscal year to:

· Review and assess the successes and shortcomings of the previous year

· Integrate your review of the previous year into a newly revised plan for the coming year

Monthly:

· Review your plan, progress toward goals and calendar with your staff.

· As necessary, modify and update your plan throughout the year. A good plan is flexible and responsive. This will ensure that you are staying on track and still moving towards achieving your objectives.

Components of a Comprehensive Plan

If your program is relatively new, or, if you are expanding your program and this is the first real comprehensive plan you’ve developed, be sure to include these minimum components:

1. Vision for the Future

· Our mission lasts forever. A vision is time limited. It consists of big ideas that go beyond the organization. Think of it as a vision for the community (or state, region or country) and think of your organization as a leader in achieving that vision. How will the community to be different if your vision is realized?

2. Strategic Directions

· What are the strategic directions that will help you achieve this exceptional, big idea vision?

3. Measurable Overall Goals and Objectives

· What specifically will you need to accomplish in order to achieve the vision?

· What resources does your organization need in the coming years to address your immediate, short-term and long-term goals?

4) Fundraising Priorities and Case for Support

· What is needed to achieve that vision? Why is each fundraising priority important to achieving the vision? What will be accomplished, what will result? Why is it urgent to make a gift now? Why should the potential donor make this a priority for their own giving?

5) Communications and Marketing Plan

· What is your organizational unique positioning statement or service proposition? What are your key themes and messages? What statistics, third party endorsements and stories support your position, themes and messages? How will you share your case for support with your community and key constituents including internal constituents? How will you target these messages to key members of the community, potential individual donors, business partners and foundation prospects?

6) Action Steps for Achieving Objectives

· What will you do to reach your overall objectives?

· Who will be responsible for taking each step?

· What milestones must your reach along the way?

· How will you measure success?

7) Overall Calendar

· How will you allocate time throughout the year to ensure you are making steady progress in completing all the tasks you have planned?

8) Budget

· How much will it cost to achieve your goals?

- Monetary budget

- Staff and time budget

The Planning Process

1. We have to start with the organizational vision and fundraising priorities. As you plan for the next campaign or transition out of a current campaign, where is the agency going next?

· Is there a vision for the next five years?

· Is there a strategic plan for the next three to five years?

· Of the priorities in the strategic plan, which are the “salable” or feasible priorities for fundraising?

· How much is needed each year over the next five years or for the new campaign or until there is a new campaign?

· How much is needed for “business as usual?”

· What is the total needed?

2. Create a Pyramid or Table of Gifts for the amount needed going forward. See Sample in the Fund Development Toolkit.

· This is the foundation for your program.

· It will show you how many gifts you have received historically at the various levels needed for fundraising going forward; it will also help see how many prospective donors are needed and how many you have identified who have the capacity to give at the required levels.

· Note: The Realized Table is based on total amount given in the past by each donor; the Projected Table is based on donor capacity (5% of income and assets)

· Back the pyramid with a name by name table for gifts for the top 100 gifts needed: 300 to 400 names.

· Do you have enough prospective donors?

· Next rank these top 300 to 400 prospective donors in terms of inclination (on a scale of 1-5 or High to Remote, how philanthropic is each donor and how well do they know you) and readiness to give a major gift within the time frame of your next campaign or interim major gift initiative.

· How ready are your donors for solicitation (using a scale of 0-3 months, 3-6 months, 6-9 months, 9-12 months, and 12-18 months, to codify by when you will close their major gift).

· Finally, for those donors with a readiness rating of 12 months or less, project High, Low, and Likely gift outcomes based on your anticipated solicitation amount (High equals solicitation amount, Low is the worse case scenario based on what you know about the donor and Likely is your best guess about how much they will actually give)

· Based on this exercise, assess your donor pool strengths, weaknesses and opportunities.

3. Conduct the same exercise described above for your leadership annual giving program. First create a Realized Table of Gifts starting at the $500 level. If your program is small and you have very few gifts at $500 and above, then start at the $100 or $250 levels. Then add on a Projected Table for the amount of unrestricted and budget relieving dollars required for the upcoming year. If you are able, project for the next several years. See sample below.

· Do you have enough prospective donors?

· Do you have a disproportionate number of donors at any one level or a dearth of donors at other levels?

· Back up your pyramid with a name-by-name table

· Then add one more step for the current or upcoming year – high, low and probable. High equals the annual fund solicitation amount. Low equals the worse case scenario. For some it might be $0 for others the amount they gave last year. Finally, propose the “probable” of likely amount. If you have no idea (which in itself says something about your program) or you have too many donors to do this exercise justice, use a mathematical formula either based on your historical “yes” rate of on the national rate as follows:

· 70% yes for 50% of the ask amount for all solicitations made face to face

· 25% yes for 25% of the ask amount for all solicitations made via the phone

· 2% yes for something for solicitations made through the mail.

4. Assess several other key performance measures for the annual giving program:

· Donor retention: How many of your leadership annual fund donors are you retaining from year to year. Or, what is your attrition rate? To the extent that you can assess this name by name, do so. Obviously, if you’re program is part of a large complex institution, you can only do this by school or constituency; if you are part of a smaller but still large institution or organization start at a higher dollar level with the name by name assessment, and numbers only at the lower levels.

· Determine you “upgrade” track record. For how many or what percentage of your past donors have you secured an increased gift?

· New acquisition. How many new donor and at what levels have you brought into the leadership program?

· Volunteer Program. A good annual giving program involves volunteers in face-to-face and phone solicitations. Are all of your volunteers leadership givers? What percentage of their solicitations is made face-to-face? Are they informed, passionate ambassadors, who understand the role the annual fund plays in achieving the mission and vision? Do they feel good about their work for your organization?

5. Assess and analyze the strength of each of your other fund development programs: major gifts, planned giving, stewardship, corporate and foundation giving, prospect research and management, data entry, information systems, marketing and communications. This assessment is often done by a consultant but staff can do it themselves or respected colleagues may be willing to assist you.

· Once you’ve completed the assessment, analyze the results. You are looking for both strengths and weaknesses. Where are your opportunities going forward?

6. Begin developing your strategic goals.

· It’s important that your goals are based on the mission, vision, values and strategic goals of the organization. In addition, they should be based on your assessment and analysis, especially the tables of gifts.

· If there are gaps between what the organization needs and what you see as possible, based on your assessment and analysis, it is important to include closing the gap strategies or to re-vamp the organizational goals.

· You should have one for each part of your fund development program including stewardship, marketing and communications

· A fund development mission, vision and values statement are also recommended.

7. Once your goals are developed, measurable objectives, action steps, lead person responsible, milestones and due dates should be developed for each strategic goal.

· Ideally, every part of fund development has responsibility for achieving each goal. For example, major gifts may the lead unit responsible for achieving the major gift goal, but stewardship, research, marketing, and so forth should all have objectives and action steps that support each goal.

· See example below.

Annual Giving Objective #1: Raise $1,000,000 through the Leadership Annual Giving Program

Action / Lead
Person / Benchmark
Dates / Completion
Date / Budget
Implications
Make 20 face-to-face visits per month to lead donors
Solicit 100% of the Board for a leadership level gift
Hold x screening and rating meetings to identify new leadership potential donors
Develop (or revamp) leadership mission-based impact statements for each level

Major Gift Objective #1: Raise $2,500,000 from individuals

Action / Lead
Person / Benchmark
Dates / Completion
Date / Budget
Implications
Develop a “moves” strategy for each prospective donor rated $100,000 plus to be solicited this year
Meet weekly to review moves and identify next steps
Recruit hosts for vision meetings
Solicit lead donor and ask if he or she will help cultivate others

Stewardship Objective #1: Increase the number of “high touch” stewardship initiatives for $100,000 plus donors

Action / Lead
Person / Benchmark
Dates / Completion
Date / Budget
Implications
Create a catalogue of photographs that can be used
Create a board stewardship committee
Conduct stewardship surveys with top donors
Develop an insider letter for top donors

8. Next a budget is needed. The budget should include the people, space, equipment, travel, materials, and so forth, needed to achieve the goals and objectives.

9. Staffing is an important part of budgeting

· All of the functions (not necessarily FTEs) should be covered:

· Chief Development Officer responsible for managing the over all program as well as a portfolio of 50 to 125 prospective donors depending on how many people report to him or her

· Major Gifts from all sources (individuals, corporations, foundations)

· Planned Giving

· Annual Giving from all sources (individuals, corporations, foundations) and all applicable methods (direct mail, phone, face-to-face, volunteer initiatives

· Stewardship

· Prospect research and management

· Information systems – data entry, acknowledgements, data management and reporting

· Marketing and Communications (marketing, publications, electronic, media, materials, positioning)

· Each position should have a great job description

10. Volunteers. A good program has a cadre of wealthy, influential, philanthropic, generous volunteers who make your institution number one, two or three among their philanthropic and volunteer priorities.

· Board members

· Major gift volunteers

· Annual giving

Planning Maxim

A good plan is a dynamic management tool. A good plan is flexible, reviewed, updated and used.

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