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Fundraising for Nonprofits 101

Do you have a non-profit organization with a wonderful humanitarian idea? Are you stuck in the process of turning those ideas into realities because you are struggling to fund your project? Then perhaps reading the rest of this article might be of some help.

The donor community, those who run no-profit organizations, have a short attention span and it can be very difficult to grab their attention. There are two things that are key to successfully getting their attention; a brilliant idea, and evidence that you can turn it into a reality. Why? This is a generally very competitive market and if your idea is not unique or timely, it will face even more relentless competition. Unless the people involved have extensive or at least some experience in the field, the organization itself has taken the initiative to do something along the line of their purpose, chances of winning them over is low. 

Let’s say you have the right idea, the right team and have some working history also. So, what’s the next step to fundraising for your non-profit organization? There are several approaches you can take. One is taking a closer look at the donor community so that you can identify the donors that seem related to what your non-profit organization is trying to accomplish. Once you have a list, extensive or not, start researching their contact information. Most times it might be just a generic email address or their mailing address and fax number. Sometimes, you can find the contact info for the person who is designated to handle inquiries based on certain subjects only. The easiest way to find this information is from the websites. Almost all nonprofit organizations have a website.

 There are several other methods that you can use to fundraise for your non-profit organization. Hosting drives in your community or organizing big or small-scale fundraising events are quite popular too. There are traditional methods like mail-in fundraising requests or by calling people on the phone as well. But again, you can try these but the internet is quickly overtaking these methods.  

Consider making a website for your organization. If you already have one, then perhaps you should consider adding a link where visitors to your website can donate money online in a secure and efficient way. If you haven’t noticed, it is becoming one of the fastest ways to raise funds for all sorts of causes these days, including for the campaigns of the candidates seeking office. Anyway, just make sure that you are registered as 501 (c) (3) organization so that you are tax exempt and all your donors can deduct any donations to 501 (c) (3) organization as a charitable deduction in their tax returns. This way, your donors will get a part of their contribution to your organization’s cause back in tax returns at the end of the fiscal year. 

Well there you have it, a crash course on fundraising for your non-profit organization. And don’t forget, persistence and patience are key.