The Difference Between Asking for Money and Building a Fundraising Strategy

A few years ago, I was talking with the executive director of a small nonprofit that was doing really good work. They had been around long enough to have proven their program worked, their community knew who they were, and they had a group of loyal supporters. On paper, it looked like they should have been in a pretty good place.

They weren't. Every few months, they were worried about money.

When a grant ended, they needed to replace it. When an unexpected expense came up, they needed to find the money to cover it. When the year-end fundraising campaign came around, everyone scrambled to write emails, schedule social media posts, and mail letters. The board was asked to reach out to friends and family, and the executive director spent hours making phone calls to people she hoped might be able to help.

During our conversation, the executive director said something that stuck with me. She looked exhausted and said, “I feel like all we ever do is ask people for money.”

She wasn't wrong. But the problem wasn't that they were asking too much. The problem was that they didn't really have a fundraising strategy. They had fundraising activities.

When Fundraising Becomes a Series of Emergencies

This is a place where many nonprofits get stuck, especially small and growing organizations. The organization needs money, so someone starts thinking about who they can ask. A fundraising campaign is created. An appeal goes out. Maybe an event is planned. A grant application is submitted. A few board members make calls. Donations come in, everyone celebrates for a moment, and then attention turns back to the programs.

Until the next financial need appears, and it starts all over.

It can look like fundraising from the outside. There are emails, events, grant applications, social media and appeals. But there isn't necessarily a strategy connecting all of those activities. There isn't always a clear understanding of where the organization's revenue should come from, which donors it needs to develop, how relationships should be cultivated or what should happen after someone makes a gift.

The organization is asking for money, but it isn't necessarily building the relationships that make fundraising sustainable. That's an important distinction.

A fundraising strategy isn't simply a plan for getting people to donate. It is a plan for building a community of people who understand your mission, believe in your work and want to be part of what you're accomplishing. The request for money is only one part of that relationship.

The $50 Donation That Doesn't Look Like Much

Think about a donor who gives your nonprofit $50 for the first time.

It's easy to look at that donation and think, “That's nice, but we need to find the people who can give $5,000 or $10,000.”

Of course you need to identify major donor prospects. But what happens to that $50 donor matters too. Maybe that person has been looking for an organization that addresses an issue they care deeply about. Maybe they have a personal connection to your mission. Maybe they have the capacity to give much more than $50, but they don't know your organization well enough yet. Maybe $50 is all they can afford right now and, over the next five years, they could become one of your most loyal supporters. You won't know unless you build the relationship.

This is where a fundraising strategy begins to look very different from simply asking for money. Instead of thinking, “How do we get this donor to give again?” you start asking, “How do we help this donor understand the difference their support makes?”

You thank them. You tell them what happened because people like them stepped up. You share a story from your program. You invite them to an event or a tour. You keep them informed about what is happening and keep them engaged. You learn what part of your mission matters most to them. And eventually, when the time is right, you ask them to become more involved. The next gift becomes part of a relationship rather than another transaction.

Going Back to That Nonprofit

Remember the executive director who told me she felt like all they did was ask for money?

We started looking at what was actually happening with their donors. They had plenty of them. What they didn't have was a plan.

They had donors who had given once and never heard from the organization again until the next appeal. They had long-time donors who had quietly increased their gifts over the years but had never been personally contacted. They had people attending events who had never been invited to learn more about the organization's programs. They had donors who had been giving for years but were still receiving the same generic communications as someone who had just made their first $25 gift.

The organization wasn't lacking people who cared. They were lacking a system for building those relationships. So instead of immediately creating another fundraising campaign, they took a step back. They looked at their donor list. They looked at giving history. They identified their most loyal supporters. They looked for people whose giving had increased over time. They identified donors who might have the capacity and interest to become major supporters. They thought about which donors had personal connections to different parts of their mission.

That changed the way they communicated. Not every email asked for money. In fact, many didn't. Sometimes the organization simply told people what was happening. Sometimes they shared a story about who had been helped by the program. Sometimes they thanked donors for being part of the work. Sometimes they invited people to see inside the program for themselves.

And when they did ask for money, the request made more sense because the relationship was already there. They weren't suddenly appearing in someone's inbox because the organization needed to close a budget gap. They were inviting someone who already cared to help make something meaningful happen.

Fundraising Is More Than the Ask

There is nothing wrong with asking for money. In fact, nonprofits sometimes make the opposite mistake and spend so much time talking about their mission that they never actually ask anyone to support it. People cannot give if you don't ask.

But a successful fundraising strategy understands that the ask doesn't begin when you write the appeal letter, and it doesn't end when the donation comes through.

It starts with how someone first hears about your organization. It continues when they visit your website, follow you on social media, attend an event, volunteer, sign up for your newsletter or have a conversation with someone on your staff. It continues when they make their first donation and, perhaps most importantly, what you do afterward.

• What did you say thank you for?

• What did you tell them?

• Did you show them what their support accomplished?

• Did you give them a reason to stay connected?

• Did anyone at your organization know who they were?

• Did you notice that they gave again?

• Did you notice that they increased their gift?

• Did someone pick up the phone and call them simply to say thank you?

These things may not feel like fundraising activities, but they are some of the most important parts of fundraising.

The Problem With Always Needing New Donors

One of the reasons nonprofits get caught in the cycle of constantly asking is that acquiring new donors feels productive. There is a campaign, a number to track and new names coming into the database. But if those donors disappear after making their first gift, the organization is constantly starting over.

Imagine filling a bucket with water while there is a hole in the bottom. You can keep pouring more water in, but eventually you have to address the hole. Donor onboarding, engagement, and retention are part of that equation.

A donor who gives for the first time has already made a decision to support your organization. They have crossed an important line from being someone who knows about you to being someone who has invested in your work. That relationship is worth developing.

This doesn't mean every first-time donor will become a major donor. They won't. And that's okay. Some people will give $25 once a year. Some will become monthly donors. Some will volunteer instead of giving. Some will introduce you to someone else. Some will eventually leave a significant gift in their estate. Your job isn't to turn every donor into a $10,000 donor.

Your job is to build relationships and create meaningful opportunities for people to participate in your mission.

A Fundraising Strategy Gives Everyone a Role

A real fundraising strategy also changes what fundraising looks like inside the organization.

The executive director shouldn't be the only person responsible for raising money. The development person shouldn't be expected to magically produce revenue. The board shouldn't receive an email two weeks before an event saying, “Please send this to everyone you know.” Everyone needs to understand their role. Developing the roles of your volunteers and internal staff is important to the overall mission.

The executive director may be responsible for developing relationships with major donors. Board members may help open doors and make introductions. Program staff can help tell the stories that demonstrate impact. Development staff can manage the donor pipeline, communications, and stewardship. Volunteers can become ambassadors for the mission.

Fundraising becomes part of the organization's culture rather than something that happens whenever the budget gets tight. That is a much healthier place for a nonprofit to be.

So What Does a Fundraising Strategy Actually Look Like?

It doesn't have to be complicated.

For a small nonprofit, it might begin with a simple understanding of how much money the organization needs to raise and where that money is expected to come from. Maybe the goal is to build individual giving while continuing to pursue foundation grants. Maybe the organization wants to develop its first major donor program. Maybe it needs to improve donor retention before spending more money acquiring new donors.

From there, you identify the people and relationships that can help you get there. You create a realistic fundraising calendar. You decide when you'll communicate with donors and when you'll make appeals. You establish a process for thanking and stewarding donors. You identify potential major donors. You determine how board members can participate. You make sure your donor database contains useful information. And you regularly look at what's working and what isn't.

A good fundraising strategy should be something your organization can actually implement.

The Question I Would Ask Your Nonprofit

If your organization feels like it is always asking for money, I wouldn't start by asking, “How can we raise more?” I'd ask a different question:

“What happens between the time someone discovers our organization and the time they make their next gift?”

The answer can tell you a lot. If the answer is, “They get an automatic receipt and then hear from us when we need money,” you have an opportunity. If the answer is, “We're not really sure,” you have an opportunity. If the answer is, “Our executive director personally knows all of our donors, but there isn't a system,” you have an opportunity.

And if the answer is, “We have a plan for acquiring, cultivating, soliciting and stewarding donors throughout the year,” you're already thinking strategically.

Fundraising Should Build Something, Not Just Fill a Gap

The nonprofit I mentioned earlier eventually stopped thinking about fundraising as something they had to do whenever they needed money. They started thinking about it as something they were building.

1. They were building relationships.

2. They were building trust.

3. They were building a community of supporters.

4. They were building a pipeline of future donors.

5. They were building systems that didn't depend entirely on one person making frantic phone calls at the end of the year.

   
   

And, over time, they were building something even more important: confidence. They knew where their next opportunities were likely to come from. They knew which donors needed attention. They understood how their board could help. They had a better sense of what they needed to raise and why. Did they still ask for money? Of course they did.

But the asking no longer felt like begging people to rescue the organization. It felt like inviting people to invest in something they already believed in. That is the difference between asking for money and building a fundraising strategy. Your nonprofit doesn't need to ask everyone for everything all the time. It needs to know who its supporters are, understand what motivates them, build relationships with them, and create a thoughtful path for them to become increasingly connected to the mission.

Because ultimately, fundraising isn't about getting people to give you money.

It's about giving people who believe in your mission a way to help make that mission possible. When you build your fundraising strategy around that idea, the ask becomes much easier.

If your nonprofit needs assistance developing a fundraising strategy, schedule an introductory call with us to develop a customized plan.

Frequently Asked Questions About Nonprofit Fundraising Strategy

What is a nonprofit fundraising strategy?

A nonprofit fundraising strategy is a plan for generating the revenue an organization needs to accomplish its mission. It typically includes donor acquisition, donor retention, major gifts, grants, events, corporate giving, planned giving, stewardship, fundraising communications and a calendar for when and how these activities will occur.

What is the difference between fundraising and fundraising strategy?

Fundraising includes the activities used to generate financial support, such as making donor asks, writing grants, hosting events and sending appeals. A fundraising strategy connects those activities to a larger plan for developing relationships, diversifying revenue and creating sustainable funding for the organization.

Why is donor retention important to fundraising strategy?

Donor retention is crucial because a relationship has already been formed with someone who has shown interest in the organization's mission by donating. Developing a considerate stewardship and communication strategy can encourage donors to stay engaged and keep supporting the organization.

How can a small nonprofit build a fundraising strategy?

A small nonprofit can start by identifying its fundraising goals, understanding its current donor base, reviewing its existing revenue sources and determining where the greatest opportunities exist. From there, the organization can create a manageable fundraising calendar, establish a donor stewardship process and identify specific prospects for larger gifts and other funding opportunities.

Should nonprofit boards be involved in fundraising?

Yes, but board members don't all need to be professional fundraisers. Their roles can include making introductions, opening doors, thanking donors, attending donor meetings, sharing the organization's story and helping build relationships within their networks. The key is giving board members clear and realistic expectations about how they can participate.

When should a nonprofit start fundraising?

A nonprofit should begin building fundraising relationships long before it urgently needs money. Sustainable fundraising depends on cultivation and stewardship, which take time. Waiting until there is a budget crisis to begin developing donors makes fundraising much more difficult.

What is the biggest fundraising mistake nonprofits make?

One common mistake is treating fundraising as a series of individual campaigns instead of as an ongoing relationship-building process. When every communication is focused on getting the next donation, organizations can miss opportunities to cultivate, engage and retain the people who already care about their mission.