It is typical for most non-profit organizations that many fundraising activities must be coordinated throughout the year. Two tools that can be useful for the planning and management of these activities are a timetable and an organization chart. An example of a timetable can be found by clicking on Fundraising Timetable and click here for an example of an Organization Chart.

When several fund raising strategies are being implemented to accomplish a goal, it is important that your resources are organized to achieve maximum efficiency and results and that the various fundraising efforts are timed so they do not conflict with each other and follow in a logical sequence. The sections below describe some considerations when planning a fundraising program. Most of the examples would be for a typical fiscal year of an organization, however, in a few cases, a longer time frame must be considered. It is also very important to be aware of other activities in the community and deadlines imposed on the organization by government and other funders.

Within the broad plan for the organization, it is also necessary to work out both organization plans and timelines for some types of fundraising that require special attention in these areas, such as, capital campaigns, special events and gaming. More information about organizing these campaigns and events is shown in the sections below.

Capital Campaigns

A capital campaign takes place over a fairly long period of time, such as 18 – 24 months. The timing and sequence of a capital campaign is critical to its success. The campaign usually begins with a “quiet” phase, during which the largest potential donors are approached first. Their donations set the pace for the campaign. At some point, the campaign will enter a more public phase, usually after about half of the funds are raised. The public phase is often announced with an event and media release. 

If an organization does a direct mail campaign annually, they may want to coordinate it with the capital campaign, to ensure that prospects do not receive a letter and a personal solicitation within the same period of time. Capital campaigns are often large enough to require their own organization chart and timetable, used for planning and management of the campaign.

Click here for an example of a capital campaign organization chart  and here for an example of a timetable for a capital campaign .

Annual Campaigns - Door to Door and Direct Mail 

Door to Door

There is a key difference between the organization of capital campaigns and annual campaigns like direct mail or door to door. Capital campaigns are sequenced so that the top prospects are contacted first and other prospects are not contacted until results are acheived. Annual campaigns are organized so that large numbers of prospects are contacted simultaneously.

Door to door campaigns involve the organization and mobilization of large numbers of volunteers. In order to recruit, train and monitor hundreds or even thousands of volunteers, it is necessary to begin planning the campaign months in advance of the actual solicitation period. Adequate staff and volunteer resources must be allocated to the planning phase of the campaign. The actual campaign may be done during a relatively short period of time, such as a few weeks or a month. During the solicitation period, it is best if no other fundraising activities take place, ensuring that the door to door campaign has priority. If a door to door campaign is being coordinated with a major gift program or a capital campaign, these campaigns should be complete before the door to door campaign takes place. Also, be aware of what other charities have planned so that your campaign does not coincide with another major door to door campaign.

Direct Mail

Unlike a door to door campaign, a direct mail campaign is organized by staff with the support of a company hired to produce and send out the mail.  Direct mail campaigns can be organized in a relatively short period of time, such as a month or two.  So coordination with other forms of fundraising is relatively easy. The key principle is that donors are not solicited by other methods during the mail campaign. Many organizations find that direct mail works best towards the end of a calendar year. Other organizations conduct direct mail campaigns throughout the year.

Other Considerations

There are some other things to consider when developing a fundraising plan. Some forms of fundraising need to be sequenced with annual and capital campaigns because they may support or conflict with those campaigns. So these methods are sequenced on the timeline. However, conducting the event itself may require the organization of a large number of volunteers working simultaneously on different aspects of the project. The sections below provide more information. 

Special Events

In addition to being stand-alone fundraising opportunities, special events are often a part of an overall strategy. As an example, an event might be organized to kick-off an organization’s annual direct mail or door to door campaign, or to raise public awareness during a capital campaign.  Events may be organized to make potential sponsors or major gift prospects aware of a new initiative.  When events are part of a larger campaign, or sequenced with annual campaign strategies, separate committees should be organized that are responsible for the event. The activities of these committees should be coordinated with the broader organization so that efforts are not duplicated and donors are not approached with different requests, such as a request for an event ticket purchase and a request for a donation, within the same timeframe.

Gaming

There are basically two types of gaming activity that a charitable organization might undertake. One is the operation of a bingo or casino. This activity usually occurs during a single weekend or a couple of days, and will not interfere with other fundraising programs. The other type of gaming is the operation of a lottery or raffle. If this type of gaming is conducted, care must be taken to ensure that tickets are not sold through the mail at the same time as a direct mail campaign is underway. Gaming activities that run simultaneously with other fundraising programs may effect the results of those programs.