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Fundraising for Nonprofits: Define Your Work Area

Fundraising is not an easy job. The nature of the nonprofit organization and the kind of activities it does are the important facts to be considered while in the process of nonprofit fundraising. 

 First and foremost, we must define our nonprofit organization's work area. We must identify our work area and then identify possible resources to approach. After the method you use for fundraising might differ from place to place and time to time. However, few things you should consider important are listed below.

 Money Source

There can be several different sources to look for while you are undertaking a nonprofit fundraising activity. There are individuals, corporations and business houses, national and international government bodies, federal funds, and last but not the least, foundations. Individuals are till date the largest source for fund collection for nonprofit activities. The total amount of money donated by individuals in US reached $199.07 billion in 2005. Business houses give money to keep up with the notion of Corporate Social Responsibility. It gives them good will. If it’s a onetime event, corporate houses can be potential places to approach. Local and international government bodies have funds set aside for special nonprofit ventures benefiting mostly the marginalized and underprivileged group of society. These funds are mostly fixed amounts and there are fixed criteria to meet to win these grants. Federal funds like United Arts can be a notable amount of money to established nonprofit bodies. Many different types of foundations also have substantial amount of money to be awarded as grants to specific are of nonprofit work.

 On-going or one time

 While in the process of nonprofit fundraising, we should approach organizations for both one time and continuous financial support. The on-going support can be an annual fund, a multi-year grant or a continuous financial support. Some nonprofit organizations might have long running projects, like a shop or a library. Seeking grants for running of such projects would be to seek a continuous financial support. Funds for projects that run for a few years are multi-year grants, while an annual fund is given for a year of a project, mostly irrespective of the duration of the program. One-time grants, on the other hand, is given for onetime events or other activities. 

 Capital fundraising and planned giving

Also, an important type of nonprofit fundraising, capital fundraising is for projects like building a house, building assets or for researching on some issues. Planned to give on the other hand is when a donor pledges to donate a sum of money on a certain occasion in life, like his or her death, or while they receive their income etc. 

 Determining what type of organization, you are, and the type of funds you are looking for is every important in nonprofit fundraising. A careful balance of all these different types of fund collection can ensure success of your larger fundraising goal. While running a nonprofit outfit, we will need all different types of funds. Understanding how all these fund resources and the ways to approach them is half your success. Rest is the proper execution of your projects.