We hear you loud and clear – fundraising ain’t easy! When you depend on others’ generosity to support your cause, meeting your goals and creating a sustainable solution can be quite complex. However, if you start by evaluating and validating the fundraising goals set for your organization, you’ll have a much higher chance of succeeding and growing.
Here at Honey, we’ve been lucky enough to work with a range of causes to reach their fundraising goals. After collaborating on many non-profit marketing campaigns, we feel we have a pretty firm idea of what works and what doesn’t when goal setting.
Using our first hand experience, we’ve compiled 3 actional steps to help you meet your objectives for your organization:
- Goal get em with SMART goals
- Keep your donors in the loop
- Analyze your campaign results
Top Tips for Setting and Meeting Your Fundraising Goals:
Your Goals Must be SMART, Honey!
When you make fundraising goals, consider using one of the most popular goal-setting frameworks – the SMART system. SMART is an acronym that stands for:
- S: Specific. Goals should be clear and concise. For example, it’s not enough to simply say, “I want to raise more money than last year.” That goal can be accomplished by raising one dollar more. Instead, shift your focus on an actual dollar amount, as well as programmatic impact.
- M: Measurable. You must have a way to measure your goals, because without a quantifiable objective, you won’t be able to track your progress!. For example, if you need to raise “a lot” of money, everyone will have their interpretation of what that means. Without quantifying this goal, you’d have no way of knowing if you’ve succeeded. Instead, ask yourself questions like “how many” and “how much”.
- A: Attainable. Your fundraising goals should be ambitious, yet attainable. In other words, you want your goals to be hard to reach (otherwise, it’s hard to truly foster inspiration and growth) yet not so high that they seem impossible.
- R: Relevant. If you want your goals to be effective, they must focus on the needs of your organization – aka, the “why” behind your fundraising goals. For example, if you’re seeking financial support for a sports team, your goal may be to raise $2,000 to fund new team uniforms. This way, you’re raising money towards a mission-driven goal.
- T: Timely. An important part of making your goals specific and measurable is ensuring they have deadlines. Without one, it becomes easy to put off indefinitely. Not only does setting a visible deadline act as a powerful motivator, but it also makes it easy to check your progress towards reaching your goal.
Keep Your Donors in The Loop
If you want your supporters to take action, it’s important that you keep them up to date. The key here is transparency. Everyone likes to hear good news, and that’s especially true when it comes to your campaigns being in line with your goals. However, if you’re facing roadblocks, it’s important to communicate this with your donors too. This will allow them to step up their efforts – whether by donating again or helping you promote the campaign to friends and family.
If you let your supporters know your progress, they’ll have faith in your organization and your fundraising goals. Here’s a few ways to n let them know your progress:
- Email: If you have a mailing list or a list of donors, you can email them informing them of your progress. This is also a great way to re-engage them in your cause.
- Social media: It’s probably safe to assume that a majority of your supporters are active on at least one social media platform. Take advantage of this by posting updates related to your cause and fundraising campaigns.
- Fundraising thermometer: Consider using a site like Fundly to help users visualize progress toward fundraising goals.
Analyze Your Campaign Results
Did you meet your goals? Did you connect with your supporters? Did your campaign run smoothly? These are just some of the many questions you should ask yourself following a campaign to determine its’ success and to learn what needs to be improved upon next time around.
Start first with the data – did you meet your fundraising goal? If you fell short, how far off were you? If you exceeded the goal, how much more? Once you’ve analyzed the data, consider the why behind the results you received. What worked? What didn’t work? Did we run into any obstacles? What can be done differently next time around? Huddle with your Hive and brainstorm ways to redefine your fundraising strategy. It’s an ever-evolving work in progress!
Let’s Crush Your Fundraising Goals Together!
Raising funds for your nonprofit organization is a continuous process. If you want to meet your fundraising goals, you should always be mindful of your progress. It is important to manage your staff, create a SMART plan, and develop a fundraising strategy. It may be challenging to meet your fundraising goals at first, but with a few tweaks here and there, you’ll have it down in no time!
Do you need help boosting your organization’s brand? Leave the job to our team at Honey Creative! Our branding agency has got you covered with a dynamic, experienced skillset and attentiveness that is promised and proven to help you reach your goals creatively and beyond. Connect with us today to learn more!
