Don’t judge me. Sometimes I gravitate to what is most comfortable and natural for me and do not reach for the higher, more difficult goals.  Take health priorities as one example. I know that going for a walk, jog or fitness class are important priorities but sometimes I chose the couch instead.  I am also well aware that nutritious foods beat processed, but I have picked wrong on a few occasions.   However there is good news!  I can happily share that I have had success when I set a goal, made a plan and built in accountabilities. As elementary as this seems, sometimes I avoid doing these things because I simply have not committed to the prioritization that propels me to the goal and plan.

I’m guessing you can relate?

The same prioritization applies to finding the right fundraising mix for your charitable organization.  Do you tend to gravitate toward areas that are known to be successful? Are your goals and concrete plans a little light on areas that are new or more challenging?  Do you have an eye on your fundraising mix for long term revenue health, or are you inclined to do what is comfortable?  Today can be the day where you prioritize, and take a look at your fundraising mix and build a plan to strengthen it.

Here are some steps you can take over the summer to build toward your next fundraising planning cycle. 

1. Analyze your current mix. To strengthen your fundraising mix you need to devote some time to analyzing how your donations are coming in currently and look at trends over past years.  Prepare as much data as you can and gather all fundraising and leadership staff to make observations on the data. What story do the numbers tell?  Do a disproportionate amount of  donations come in through direct mail or events?  What are the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats on under or over relying on certain revenue streams? Consider engaging a consultant and/or conduct key stakeholder interviews to get some objective feedback. Invite dialogue with other charities.  Engage the board in the process.
2. Assess resources needed to diversify. Having taken a hard look in the mirror, what does your organization need to work on? Chances are you are working your comfortable, known plans well but need to have courage to build up a weaker revenue area. Is this area a good fit with your organization and demographic of donors and potential donors?  What staff and volunteer support would be required? What tools, would you need?  What can you do now to move this forward?  
3. What new goal can you incorporate this year? What is your long term goal? It’s time to take another hard look at the issue. If you do NOT diversify your fundraising mix, what could this mean to your charitable programs in the short and long term?  What is realistic to expect for year one, in terms of return on investment.  Set those goals!
4. How will you be accountable to plan? Who will be our accountability partner? Can you count on your own determination to strengthen the weaker or nonexistent revenue streams?  You will likely only succeed if you commit to the goal, document and monitor a plan.

As leaders and fundraisers in the charitable sector we tend to play to our strengths and annual planning cycles.  We celebrate the here and now and can become absorbed in  fiscal fundraising goals and managing expenses tied to annual return on investment. It is well known that major and planned giving are two areas that can be challenging for organizations because they go outside of the multi-year cultivation cycles needed to build these programs and engage donors over the long term.  If you have not prioritized these or other key areas, today should be the day you consider a goal and plan for each.   Just as with health and fitness, we all need to start somewhere. Just move!

“Change before you have to.” 
~Jack Welch

. On a closing note, sector research or trend analysis can be helpful in establishing priorities for your fundraising plan and mix. For example, in Charitable Giving Stats Canada (2010), examination of the decile (10%) of people who made the largest donations show that this group alone contributed 63% of all donations. This remains relatively unchanged since 2007. Keep in mind that charitable Canadian donations totalled 10.6 billion in 2010.

Lorelei Wilkinson CFRE has worked as a professional fundraiser for 25 years at organizations such as Parkinson Society, The Lung Association and United Way of Greater Toronto. She is the National Senior Manager, Major Giving at The Children’s Wish Foundation of Canada and Chair, AFP Canada Research Committee.