Jennifer E Goldman, Nonprofit Consultant

When was the last time you got an appeal letter at home that included a self-addressed, stamped envelope...so you ran for your checkbook? I can’t remember either. It may have been enough to get you bonus donors back in our mothers’ day, but today the extra money spent on double the envelopes and double the postage is just an added expense to an already low-netting fundraiser. On average, fundraising appeal letters see a return of around 5%. That’s not a lot. To put it into perspective, here’s a little math I did for you. You’re welcome ;)      100 = number of letters you sent out          5 = the number of donations you receive If your ask in the letter was $100, then you may (or may not) have grossed $500 for that fundraiser. Total. And here’s likely what you spent on this “fundraiser”: 5-10 hours of your time creating, composing, collating, and mailing out – if you make $30/hour that’s $150 - $300 of your time $126 on posta...

  Many nonprofits struggle with fundraising . I see several of them addressing funding concerns by adding events to their already busy calendars. And I get it. An overwhelming majority of people aren’t comfortable with asking for money. It may seem easier to raise funds through ticket sales, silent auctions or cash bars. But in reality it takes a lot more time (not to mention energy) – from your staff and your volunteers. I’d like to help organizations be more comfortable with asking for money. It ties into my 2023 theme of value proposition . It’s easier to ask for money when you believe in yourself and you believe in what you’re asking money for. See and feel the value of yourself and what you bring to the table as well as your organization, your programs, your projects and the level of service that you bring to your community. The first step, in my mind, is to realize (visualize) your own strengths and assets. We all have different personalities, different attitudes, different ...

Funding Planning seems to be on a LOT of minds right now. Perhaps you're feeling a bit squeezed dry from all we've been through in the past 2.5 years. Maybe it's just a 'holy moly the new fiscal year is starting...NOW!' bit of anxiety. Whatever the reason, if you're stressing about moolah, here are a few things you can do to get yourself a bit more organized and ready to make money this fiscal year: Determine your income goal for the next fiscal year and compare it to what the organization brought in last fiscal year. What's the difference? Talk to board members and current funders about possible ways to bridge that gap. Make a list of funding you know is guaranteed this fiscal year. Make a list of current income streams that you feel you can increase this year. Dust off last year's donor solicitation letter, update it with juicy data and stories of success and compelling statements about your new plans. Send the new draft of your letter to your board an...

The most common question I get from nonprofit leaders when they hear about my business is “Do you do grant writing?” I used to say yes, but then the conversation typically continued like this: Nonprofit: Great! There’s a grant we’d like to go after and applications are due in two weeks. Me: Ok. Tell me about the program this grant will be funding. Nonprofit: {crickets} Me: Ok. Then tell me what you’d like to use the grant money for. Nonprofit: General operations. Me: Did you read through the grant to see if they allow for their funds to be used that way? Most don’t allow for use of funds to pay for payroll, rent and other operational expenses. Nonprofit: {crickets} Me: I could help you try to find funding to help with specific programs that you have, or even see if we can find a funder who has a particular interest in helping nonprofits with a mission like yours who will allow funds to be used for operational funds. What is your budget? Nonprofit: How much can you get us? And it’s ok i...