There’s been a great deal of discussion recently about the effects of inflation. These price increases are not only impacting home life but also the workplace, especially for those at the helm of organizations that are responsible for budgeting and operations.
Frequently, non-profit organizations are too focused on where they are — not where they are going. Organizations will have "banner years," crushing fundraising goals, engaging donors, and hosting sold-out events, and assume that they can maintain that level for years to come. They can't.
While many non-profit organizations are focused on raising money year-over-year and use this measurement to determine success, this fails to provide an analysis of historic performance and prevents accurate projections.
You have likely considered kicking off a major gifts or capital campaign with a feasibility study to examine the factors that could contribute to your campaign’s success or failure, such as leadership, target audience, brand impact, and costs.
We believe data is important to drive sound decision-making and avoid the “see-what-sticks” approach on which many organizations rely heavily. We utilize data when helping clients with their fundraising strategies; however, organizations can extrapolate the concept to support innovation and new ideas with evidence, ultimately leading to a higher success rate.
In this “lull” before “gala season”, now is a good time to look at your data and clean it up! Run a duplicate record search, run your data through the NCOA (National Change of Address) database, perform an e-mail append, etc.
Monthly Tips, Advice, and Guidance for Non-Profit Professionals
