Five ways to improve your funding situation

With increasing cuts in government and foundation giving, there is increased competition among nonprofits. What can your organization do to stay ahead?

• Stay true to your mission.
  The number one mistake nonprofits make when faced with funding challenges is to “adjust” their mission to fit the criteria of available grants. Doing so can add costs that are often more than the amount of the grant. For example, if you don’t have experts in a new area, you’ll need to hire additional staff. If you don’t have processes in place to deal with new programming, you’ll waste valuable administrative time and reduce productivity in your core programs. And your attention will be diverted from critical fundraising tasks. Staying true to your mission is more cost-effective in the long term It’s easy to become complacent and rely on just a few funding sources—until one of them dries up. Follow the adage of the business world: no one source should account for more than 50 per cent of your revenue. A good place to start looking for additional sources is the national funding database at http://www.guidestar.com/.
  
  
• Use fundraising software.
  Can you name your top 10 donors? When was their last gift? Or their largest? How much have they given in the past five years? Today’s donor management software gives you the big picture so you can be more targeted and effective in your fundraising efforts, and reduce administrative costs. Visit the Sage website for more information on Sage Fundraising Software.
  
  
• Leverage the Internet to seek online donations.
  The Internet is the most significant new fundraising tool of the past decade. Organizations using the Web for fundraising have seen annual increases of 50 percent in online giving, according to a 2004 survey by the NonProfit Times. While it’s true you need to be registered in every state to conduct online solicitations, the process is relatively easy with the new Unified Registration Statement (URS) organized by the National Association of State Charity Officials and National Association of Attorneys General. You can learn more about it at www.multistatefiling.org.
  
  
• Improve efficiency to reduce expenses.
  Are you duplicating efforts across programs? Are you paying a full-time person when the job only requires three-quarters time? If you aren’t able to see where your dollars are truly being spent, then your first step may be to analyze your situation so you have a good handle on your financials.

For more information on how KDV can help you address funding and related issues, contact one of our nonprofit experts.