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Your Guide to Increasing and Diversifying Your Nonprofit’s Fundraising Revenue

April 19, 2024

Today’s nonprofits need to increase and diversify their revenue streams for sustainability. This article will help you learn how to make the most of your fundraising efforts.

Article

6 Fundraising Event Tips Your Nonprofit Needs Today

April 18, 2024

Fundraising events can bolster your nonprofit’s giving strategy if you plan and execute them effectively. Drive donor engagement, retention, and, ultimately, giving to your organization with our fundraising event tips.

SEE ALL IN: Health

For more than 100 years, the traditional fundraising campaign has been the vehicle of choice for institutions to galvanize the community and secure significant gift commitments. Especially in the healthcare space, traditional campaigns are bigger and more popular than ever. Million-dollar campaigns gave way to $100 million dollar campaigns and now, multi-billion dollar fundraising campaigns are the norm. Campaigning raises more money, creates community excitement, provides a rationale to support giving, and demonstrates what donations will accomplish.

Sounds like a slam dunk, right? Not so fast. Traditional campaigns undoubtedly provide tremendous benefits to those institutions that run them well. Yet healthcare organizations may focus too much on the five- to seven year horizon of the campaign and forget to consider what happens when the campaign is over. You’ve surpassed your goal and celebrated your success. Now what? If you have not planned ahead, it is likely that your post-campaign fundraising revenue will drop to pre-campaign levels. While you funded the greatest needs of your institution, you neglected the overall health of the organization by failing to create sustainable growth.

Consider an Alternative Campaign Approach

To mitigate the traditional post-campaign lull, alternative fundraising campaign designs are becoming more common. Some organizations never stop campaigning, taking a perpetual approach with decade-long funding initiatives and back-to-back traditional campaigns. Others employ smaller and shorter mini-campaigns to continually target specific funding priorities, or to simply bridge between traditional efforts. Some organizations are scrapping the traditional campaign altogether, instituting a “never” campaigning approach where targeted transformational gift solicitations are built into “business-as-usual” fundraising.

While these campaign designs have separate benefits and risks, they all share one common element – the flexibility to pivot strategy to accommodate shifting donor desires, community needs, and institutional priorities. Economic volatility, new legislation, evolving trends, societal interests, and institutional leadership changes are just a few of the challenges that you could face during a multiyear campaign. Don’t get stuck in a campaign that restricts funding to a singular and rigid initiative. Consider a single project as one of your campaign funding priorities, not the only one.

Don’t Forget the Annual Fund

Regardless of campaign design, make sure you pay attention to your annual fund at the start. Consider growing your annual fund as one of your campaign goals or as a parallel strategic initiative. Focus on bringing in new donors and new dollars. Cultivate and upgrade your smaller gifts. Prioritize stewardship. These gifts may take years to cultivate, but by the end of your campaign you should see an increased fundraising baseline, a softened post-campaign revenue dip, and a secure fundraising future for your organization.

Embrace Flexibility

Campaigning is not a one-size-fits-all proposition, and traditional campaigning may remain the best fit for your organization. However, campaign timing and design should be grounded in the financial needs, strategic initiatives, and specific culture of each organization. The key is to remain flexible to changing priorities and community needs while addressing the traditional post-campaign revenue decline. Appropriate campaign design alongside a deliberate approach to building and sustaining relationships will ensure that your organization is in the best position to raise more money while growing sustainably.

CCS Fundraising is a strategic fundraising consulting firm that partners with nonprofits for transformational change. Members of the CCS team are highly experienced and knowledgeable across sectors, disciplines, and regions. With offices throughout the United States and the world, our unique, customized approach provides each client with an embedded team member for the duration of the engagement. To access our full suite of perspectives, publications, and reports, visit our insights page. To learn more about CCS Fundraising’s suite of services, click here.

This article is an update from a previous post published in November, 2016.

More Insights

Article

Your Guide to Increasing and Diversifying Your Nonprofit’s Fundraising Revenue

April 19, 2024

Today’s nonprofits need to increase and diversify their revenue streams for sustainability. This article will help you learn how to make the most of your fundraising efforts.

Article

6 Fundraising Event Tips Your Nonprofit Needs Today

April 18, 2024

SEE ALL IN: Higher Education

Giving days—24-hour digital fundraising challenges—are worth the investment. Executing a giving day strategy can be a useful tool to raise awareness and funds, as long as you make the right preparations and have reasonable and achievable goals. The organizations that are succeeding in their outreach have robust strategies that align closely with their wider institutional goals and include investments in time and staff resources.

Why Participate?

The purpose of participating in a giving day is to offer new and established donors a special reason to engage with your cause. Getting involved is essential, as they are increasing in popularity year after year. #GivingTuesday, the best-known giving day that takes place annually on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, is growing exponentially. According to the Chronicle of Philanthropy, in 2017 it raised more than $270 million — over $100 million more than the previous year. In 2018, overall performance exceeded expectations with $380 million being raised with an average gift of $105.

There are opportunities in every nonprofit sector on #GivingTuesday. For example, #iGiveCatholic, which was deemed “the most successful Catholic crowdfunding event to date” by the National Catholic Register, has taken online Catholic stewardship practices to the next level. #iGiveCatholic is a bishop-led initiative in partnership with lay leaders in Catholic philanthropy that offers assistance to Catholic organizations as they build their outreach strategies for the online giving event. Through this service, organizations gain access to training, toolkits, and materials to execute a successful plan. In 2018, the #iGiveCatholic campaign raised more than $5.6 million for 2,500+ participating parishes, schools, and nonprofit ministries representing 29 dioceses across the country.

There are also regional giving days to investigate in your own area. Whichever days you choose, follow our three steps to maximizing your giving day strategy.

The Three Keys

1. Preparation

Making the most out of a giving day takes planning. Many organizations stumble by jumping into the giving day conversation without proper outreach strategies, branding, or realistic goals. It is a best practice to create an outreach plan over six months in advance. You should have a calendar filled with strategies for:

Content creation (i.e. branded templates, videos, images, testimonials, podcasts etc.)
Email marketing to your database to build momentum
Social media posts across channels that tell a consistent story of impact
Website enhancements to serve as a “home base” for giving day promotion
Public relations/media outreach

The preparation stage also gives you an opportunity to survey the people who gave the previous year. Tap into your network to ask them what compelled them to give, what content they found most effective, and what they would want to see improved. This will help you create a new strategy that resonates with your core audience.

2. Standing Out Above the Crowd

As the popularity of giving days grows, the chances are good that your audience will be inundated by pitches from many like-minded organizations. Therefore, the way you present your mission can make all the difference. The first question to ask here is, Why should people give to our cause? Consider the elements of your case that stand out, and boil those differentiators into a ten second elevator pitch to grab attention and clearly present your case.

Once you have narrowed your focus, create professional-looking content that support your case. Think about using campaign-specific graphics and colors in emails and on social media. Remember that you will be attempting to attract new people who may not be familiar with your cause. Your messaging should aim to clearly underline who you are and why this day is special.

3. Promotion

While it is important to communicate your strategies well in advance, outreach should be ramped up a month before the giving day. This includes communications through all of your social media channels, your email database, as well as through events in your communities. It is also important to activate your strongest supporters to raise awareness. Pull a short list of your most active volunteers and major financial supporters and make personal calls to ask them for help in spreading the word.

When promoting your giving day, it is also essential to strike a balance between underwhelming and overwhelming your audience. Be purposeful with your outreach and avoid redundancies in your content to keep your audience engaged. For example, sending the same emails several times without adding something new to the conversation could slow momentum as you get closer to the day.

Following Your Giving Day Campaign

The first thing to do after your giving day is to track and publicize your results to celebrate your success. It is also useful to do an immediate internal evaluation to determine which parts of your plan worked and which parts didn’t. This audit will allow you to identify the outreach channels that were the most effective which will help greatly the next year. It is valuable to thank all donors who participated in elevating your cause through all channels.

If you’re just getting started, here are some reminders:

As you think about your strategic plan for this year and beyond, it may be tempting to participate in as many giving days as you can find, but you could risk spreading yourself thin. Take a look at your calendar, identify all the giving days you might want to participate in, and then see which ones fit your organization best. Try a few the first year and then assess which one(s) worked best for you.
It’s okay to start small. Consider a reasonable goal to create an early win.
No matter how far out your next giving day is, it is worthwhile to assemble your team to begin strategizing today. Take a look at the organizations who are doing it well, and brainstorm what it will take for your organization to exceed their success.

One of the fastest growing trends in the philanthropic world is impact investing. But while you may see the term appearing more and more often, it may not always be clear what it can do for your nonprofit organization.

To offer you more clarity around this subject and provide you expertise from the field, CCS Fundraising has published a brief report that explains impact investing as it applies to your work. Written by CCS Fundraising Fellow Julia Seigel, this piece details what it means to be involved with impact investing from both sides of the transaction. It also features the most recent study data as well as case studies of nonprofit organizations currently applying this strategy to their programs.

We hope you find this report helpful and informative.

The ability to access and understand the signals within our data has reached peak importance within both the nonprofit sector at large, and across healthcare organizations in particular. In fact, the future of healthcare philanthropy will be built on a foundation of data-driven insights.

Organizations with the ability to aggregate and analyze their information will emerge as thought leaders, able to assess their fundraising to date and identify opportunities for growth.

Those with sufficient confidence in their data to act on the outcomes of that analysis will be able to capitalize on found opportunities, and secure the funding required to bring their visions to life.

In recognition of this potential, many healthcare organizations are seeking to modernize the way they manage information, taking a critical look at how data is gathered, entered, analyzed, and valued, as well as the tools and protocols utilized throughout the process. Hospitals and medical centers are investing in improvements to their IT infrastructure, from new Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems to record donor interactions and planned asks, to Software as a Service (SaaS) tools to centralize e-mail communications and create dynamic reports. Additionally, as healthcare consolidation/merger and acquisition activity continues to increase, health systems are streamlining IT operations in order to gain visibility into donor and grateful patient activities across an expanded network. Accompanying these structural changes are revised business processes and guidelines, requiring teams to learn new ways of working.

The Case for Change Management

Change management, an organization’s systematic approach to engaging with and supporting teams through times of transition, is vital for helping ensure changes are understood, controlled, and embraced by staff, and ultimately successful.

Investments in new technologies, systems, and data quality, and the insights they generate have promise, but only if they are:

Understood: do all staff know the purpose of these tools, and how each will be used to monitor and drive fundraising strategy?
Focused: is it evident what information matters to hospital and development leadership, and to each member of the team? Is it clear where this information is sourced?
Relevant: are the metrics used to track and evaluate progress aligned with the organization’s strategic objectives? Do they reflect the institution’s values?
Trusted: is leadership confident in the accuracy of the data to act when appropriate?
Actionable: does the data presented make it clear what needs to happen next?

It doesn’t matter how advanced an organization’s tools are if the rationale behind their selection, design, and desired use isn’t clear to the people who rely on them. Building a culture of awareness is key to increasing the receptivity to using data to drive decisions. It is not enough to gather feedback at the outset of a systems project and reveal a solution at the end. All stakeholders must be engaged throughout the process, and invited to co-create a narrative that captures the logic behind choices made at every stage.

This is especially important for healthcare institutions, where coordination between fundraising staff, physicians, patients, development, and hospital leadership is required, and effective philanthropy is reliant on insights and information from all parties. Coupling any information systems project plan with a parallel plan focused on change management will help ensure that all staff see the logic behind the implementation of new systems, processes, and protocols, feel empowered to make educated decisions in line with an institution’s data strategy, and that the practice of healthcare fundraising remains truly patient-centric.

Navigating Change in a Complex Operating Environment

Leveraging healthcare data for fundraising purposes means addressing the complexity inherent in serving a patient population. Solutions for the aggregation of data for analysis must be HIPAA-compliant, preserving the security of protected health information (PHI) across all platforms. Fundraisers must be able to develop prospect strategies in partnership with clinicians and communicate progress to both development and hospital leadership. Above all else, the collection and use of data for development activities must not interfere with the quality of patient care.

Navigating these intricacies and aligning the development team around the information that matters most is as much a change management exercise as it is a technical one. A good data strategy makes it clear what information leadership is choosing to use to oversee progress, and why. Well-designed systems and processes make it possible for the right stakeholders to access that information in a secure and efficient way. Ongoing socialization of the logic behind the insights is what makes it part of an organization’s culture. Understanding how one’s day-to-day work contributes to an institution’s big-picture objectives is what makes that work meaningful.

Three Guiding Principles of Change Management

Change takes longer than you think
- Don’t be afraid to dedicate time and resources to systems design projects. It’s worth putting in the time to achieve your target results as well as widespread utilization of new tools and processes
- It’s better to overcommunicate than to risk leaving stakeholders out of the conversation

The process works when everyone steps up
- Visible leadership commitment makes a difference – showing up to meetings and using new systems, reports, and data in managing the team adds credibility and reinforces the importance of the work
- Encourage and create a safe space for suggestions, criticism, agreement, and dissent as the process moves forward; allow everyone to bring their full spectrum of thoughts and emotions to the table

Keep the momentum going
- Having a central driver is key for keeping stakeholders organized and the project on track
- If there are areas where your project team is getting stuck, don’t be afraid of imperfect solutions – keep pushing forward, and revisit at a later date
- Design for the rule, not the exception. There will always be scenarios that you haven’t accounted for at each turn. If what you aim to accomplish with your data is well-understood, trust your team to make the right decisions given the circumstances
- Celebrate milestones throughout a lengthy project to keep morale high

Implementing an Effective Change Management Strategy

Invite Everyone to Help Design the Future
- Intentionally and proactively engage all stakeholders in assessing the institution’s current state and envisioning the desired end result. Everyone has something to bring to the table, regardless of level or role
- Conduct one-on-one or small group meetings to understand how data is currently generated, gathered, entered, referenced, and valued, what tools and systems are used, challenges from each person’s perspective, high-level needs, and specific functional requests

Develop a Data Narrative
- With leadership, define the values that drive your work, the questions that support those values, and the key performance indicators/metrics required to answer those questions
  1. From these conversations, develop a logical and approachable data narrative to contextualize systems and process changes
  2. Help all staff see the importance of their work in helping the institution achieve its top objectives
- Use storytelling techniques to communicate the rationale behind process changes so they are easily understood, explainable, and remembered by others

Socialize Your Solutions
- Devote time and resources to training the team on your new way of working
  1. Crowdsource examples of real-life tasks and challenges and show how they work within the context of your new tools and processes
- Provide an opportunity for staff to share feedback on what works and what doesn’t, and whether proposed solutions are meeting their needs
  1. Create an environment where staff members feel comfortable vocalizing their challenges. A staff assistant may not be eager to speak up about something they don’t understand while their manager is in the room
  2. Consider using tools like Poll Everywhere that allow participants to ask questions and share feedback anonymously

Case Study: A Plan in Action

A focus on change management was central to the success a leading academic medical center found in optimizing its approach to information management. Following a successful campaign, the institution partnered with CCS to evaluate its IT infrastructure, systems, and processes in preparation for ambitious future growth.

The project began with a deep dive into the structure of the medical center’s CRM and associated systems, coupled with an analysis of the processes by which data was entered, managed, and used. All 100+ members of the team were invited to share their perspectives, either in person or via an e-survey. Following over 30 hours of conversation with leadership and staff representing all facets of development, CCS Fundraising delivered a set of high-level and tactical recommendations to support the creation of a set of core reports to achieve consistency and visibility around key institutional metrics.

To operationalize these recommendations, medical center leadership convened a cross-functional working group tasked with documenting the structure, definition, and use of each key performance indicator comprising the reports. Meeting on a weekly basis to start, the working group engaged in healthy dialogue about the intended purpose of each metric, and how to maintain the integrity of data across systems. The group’s diversity made it possible to understand how each department would be impacted by changes made, and with decision makers present for every discussion, the group had the authority to act.

As each new definition, process, and report was formalized, the institution invested time socializing these changes in multiple formats across each unit, including in-person training, hands-on workshops, and small group meetings with opportunities for direct feedback. Medical center leadership elevated this work to a place of importance by providing updates at all-hands meetings, and kept staff informed as the project progressed. Additionally, given the consistency of messaging around intent and objectives, the institution strengthened working relationships with colleagues across the University through the course of the project. With clarity of purpose, everyone worked towards the same goal.

Today, the academic medical center is preparing to roll out a set of dashboards tailored to, and reflective of, the staff’s extraordinary work, an achievement built from the efforts and insights of every person on the team.

From Theory to Practice

For a healthcare institution, embarking on a systems optimization project means contending with complexity, balancing the priorities of multiple stakeholders, and wrangling data from disparate sources, all while preserving the integrity of the patient experience.

Before your project begins, spend time reflecting on the culture of your organization: how your staff communicates, shares feedback, and how each member of the team prefers to receive information. Be thoughtful about how you convene your project team: select a diverse group of stakeholders representing all user groups and levels. Anticipate pain points and devote time and resources to socializing solutions within and across teams. Help everyone see the importance of their work in the context of the organization’s goals. When done well, the process of bringing data together brings teams together, too.

Taking on a parish campaign of any size requires careful planning. Campaigns rarely fail in the middle or at the end. Success typically hinges on proper preparation prior to launching a major fundraising initiative. With increased competition for the philanthropic dollar, it is important that a parish undergoes necessary planning steps before proceeding. Consider the following five things before moving forward.

1) Assessing the Accuracy of Parishioner Information

Knowing how to communicate with your parishioners is essential to a successful campaign. Before taking any steps forward with your campaign plan or case for support, it is absolutely essential to know the accuracy of your parishioner records. Having a reliable database can be the difference maker in ensuring your campaign hits its target, and can help ensure certainty that you are prioritizing your outreach.

Ask yourself the following questions:

How many parishioner email addresses and phone numbers do we currently have?
Do we have reliable and consistent parishioner giving information?
When was the last time our parish conducted a census?

It doesn’t take very long for a donor database to need refreshing. Consider allocating staff time and resources to obtaining the latest contact information. Once you have ensured that your database is dependable, you can move into the next phase of campaign planning with confidence.

2) Activating Your Advocates: Volunteers

Your existing parish leaders will most likely champion your cause at every turn. However, it is important to look at volunteers at all levels. Volunteers can be your strongest supporters on the ground level, and the proper organization of their roles can make or break a campaign. One common denominator of successful parish campaigns is that there is a strong volunteer infrastructure in place that includes every aspect of an existing ministry. This includes lectors, CCD teachers, members of the finance and parish councils, Eucharistic ministers, and choir members. Existing ministry members are usually some of the most active, supportive, and passionate members of your parish community.

Prior to your campaign, create a list of all ministry groups and their members, including contact information, and categorize them into groups, each of which have specific action items and plans. It is also important to make sure to consider all volunteers—even those on the periphery— into this plan. Convene volunteers early and often through gatherings, such as a ministry breakfast, to communicate next steps and maintain momentum before the campaign begins. During this process, it will become clear who your biggest volunteer leaders are as they will be the ones who step up and take ownership of their responsibilities.

3) Honing Your Case for Support

Having clear and well-thought out messaging is paramount to any successful parish campaign. While overarching aspirations and grand visions are essential for inspiring support of your campaign, it is also important to focus on specifics. The campaign plan, which includes all internal steps as well as external goals, should be carefully thought through before embarking on the creation of your case for support. During successful campaigns, every detail has been considered. For example:

How much will every aspect of your case cost?
Is the parish set up to acknowledge and process a large volume of gifts over a multi-year period?
If your case calls for mostly capital needs, what is the precise construction timeline?

The best case for support is air-tight and thorough. It allows you to have answers to any questions that parishioners may throw your way, and shows that you have carefully thought through every corner of the campaign.

Begin with the tangible goals you hope to accomplish through your campaign. What are the areas that need financial support? If you can produce a detailed list of items, costs, and projected timelines, you are one step closer to creating a robust case.

4) Solidifying Approvals

Involving your arch/diocese before you begin work on your campaign is essential. Every arch/diocese has a different campaign approval process. It is worthwhile to consider all steps needed to gain approval—including paperwork and a cost breakdown—so you can formally enter into a campaign with full support from your church hierarchy. This is also a great opportunity to test how your newly-created case for support resonates with audiences. If your arch/diocese has questions or is uncertain about any aspect of your case, the chances are your parishioners may have similar concerns. Carefully consider all feedback and incorporate it into your final case for support.

5) Improving Your Online Communications

Your digital communications strategy shouldn’t be an afterthought. It should be something that closely mirrors your mission before your campaign begins. Your online presence includes your website, social media, and digital branding. Everything should be consistent and backed by a comprehensive output strategy. Successful digital communications strategies also include emails and your e-giving provider. Having steady outreach to your parishioners is essential, and so is making the process of donor giving simple. Before embarking on a campaign, consider how you want to communicate and who will execute this plan. The importance of having proper staff time and resources allocated to these endeavors can’t be understated.

What to Do Today

If you are considering a campaign, meet with your leadership to begin discussions about what the pressing needs of your parish are, and how you hope to accomplish these goals. Build a consensus around priorities so you can start your campaign planning on the right foot.

The prevalent impact of grateful patients and their families on healthcare philanthropy is widely accepted and well documented. Amidst rapid changes to the healthcare industry and the economy at large, grateful patients and families remain important because individual donors are flexible and more resilient to uncertain conditions.

There are key reasons why a grateful patient program is important to your organization:

Grateful giving has an added sense of meaning and fulfillment to the patient, creating a situation where the patient and/or the patient’s family feels connected to your institution’s goals and aspirations
This kind of program also allows your development team to build a pipeline and a base of loyal supporters
The process of creating and implementing a strategy of this nature ultimately gives fundraisers an opportunity to build processes around engagement of defined prospective donors

As fundraisers, we see the impact of philanthropy through the contributions that are gifted to our sectors each year. In 2018, charitable giving in the United States reached $427.71 billion, and 77% of all giving came from individuals through personal contributions and bequests. Healthcare alone received over $40 billion, and it is individuals, grateful patients, and families who are driving this philanthropy. Giving USA and The Association for Healthcare Philanthropy (AHP) confirm that grateful patient fundraising continues to be important in the healthcare subsector as government funding continues to decline.

Because of these factors, the need to develop a more comprehensive system to execute a robust grateful patient program is often top of mind for leaders in this industry. In this article, we lay out the five critical steps to initiating, planning, and sustaining your successful grateful patient program.

Step 1: Create and Assess Your Culture of Philanthropy

This whole process begins with creating and reinforcing a culture of philanthropy within your institution. Enlisting, educating, engaging, and inspiring your community to champion your cause greatly strengthens your organization’s mission and creates a foundation for your program. Every constituent plays an important role in the process, from the president to physicians to volunteers to greeters. They all serve as ambassadors for the organization and must understand their value within one integrated team. Once the organization as a whole firmly supports and embodies a culture of philanthropy, the process of raising funds will work more effectively, and ultimately, the community can have a collective and transformative impact.

Whether your grateful patient program is just getting off the ground, or simply in need of some fine tuning, there is always an opportunity to assess your fundraising landscape with specific objectives. The assessment includes in-person conversations with as many administrators, associates, physicians, nurses, and all other staff as possible centered around their current knowledge of fundraising. Electronic surveys can also be utilized to increase feedback.

The assessment will provide results to help you develop a systematic and sustainable approach to fundraising. It will also help you tailor comprehensive education and training programs to the needs of your constituents, identify and recruit caregiver networks, and establish goals for measuring the success of your grateful giving program.

Following the assessment, critical organizational steps should be taken to ensure that follow-up activity is timely, diligent, and effective. In addition to an overall action plan to reach systematic goals, a grateful patient appeal plan should be created in conjunction with annual giving efforts. As a component of this plan, consider implementing grateful patient mailings on a consistent basis (i.e. every 90 days) so that you can establish expectations for your output.

Finally, once your new or improved grateful patient program is ready to launch, consider revitalizing with new branding which includes look, feel, and materials.

Step 2: Provide Comprehensive Education and Training

The creation of an education and training program for all staff is essential to your grateful patient program. Training centered around solidifying an understanding of the value and process of the program will ultimately give staff a sense of ownership around grateful patient giving. As you begin planning your assessment, it is important to determine core audiences for clinical trainings based on established relationships with clinical staff, patient demographics as they relate to donor potential, and hospital knowledge and expertise. More specific training with gift officers and the development team can be conducted separately as they relate to their individual roles.

One effective way to introduce training opportunities with clinical staff is to schedule “goodwill tours.” These informal conversations don’t need to be more than ten minutes long, but give development staff an opportunity to meet clinical staff at all levels. They can help to establish early momentum and lay the foundation for the more in-depth training that will follow.

Step 3: Establish Goals for Measuring Progress

As you continue to train staff and grow your program, it is important to develop measurable, quantitative goals to track the progress year after year, and to highlight areas for growth or challenges that need to be overcome. Key measurements should be determined for the first two years which should focus on establishing benchmarks and refining strategies. The data collected in each following year should be measured against benchmarks established in years one and two. Specific goals and measurements for gift officers, annual fund, and the stewardship team should also be created in the short term. For example, key measurements could include:

Change in number of donors
Increase or decrease in dollars raised
Potential donors identified by caregivers

It is important to consider how goals will be tracked and measured. Generally, creating systems and reports in a donor database is best practice, but each organization should consider what works for their individual situation.

Step 4: Identify and Recruit Caregiver Networks

Caregiver networks are groups of clinical partners who advocate for the organization and help to identify potential donors from their patient base. Creating a caregiver network or leadership council comprised of a small group of clinical leaders can allow your institution to test ideas and remain focused on the mission. These individuals should be:

Leaders among peers
Respected within the organization
Open to partnering with the foundation
Represented by specific service lines identified by foundation leadership for involvement

The leadership council can also serve as a stewardship group who can be asked to initiate strategic planning conversations with their connections about hospital fundraising efforts and future campaigns. Including the strategic planning conversations as a part of the initial recruitment process of these leaders allows them to see the direct benefit their partnerships with the foundation will have on future fundraising.

Step 5: Organize the System

It is important for any institution to be organized and meet the needs and expectations of staff working on your program. Holding consistent leadership meetings and communicating weekly through staff emails can help provide insight on program developments and timelines. In-person staff meetings provide the opportunity to revisit the work plan and continue building momentum toward your goals.

Communication is an important component throughout the entire process to ensure a smooth and transparent plan. Having a clear and actionable strategy also helps set expectations for all involved.

What Does Success Look Like?

Any organization looking to focus on this type of effort should understand that creating a comprehensive program takes time, and not every success can be shown by dollars raised. If you are diligent in your approach to developing a grateful giving program, however, the following are key signs of a program that is working at its highest capacity:

There is a heightened awareness among administration, caregivers, and associates of the importance of philanthropy
All constituents show an understanding of fundraising as a core value and shared responsibility
You have developed a committed donor base and major gift pipeline
There is an organized and seamless way for grateful patients and families with opportunities to give back
Patients and families are supporting the people and programs that are making a difference in their lives
There is increased revenue to advance the mission of the organization

Ten years ago, the U.S. economy was in the depths of the most devastating economic downturn since the Great Depression. The impact was substantial and wide-spread: 8.8 million people lost their jobs, GDP fell more than 4%, and home prices deteriorated by 30%. At the same time, Americans collectively gave less to charities than they had since the 1990s.

Today: the economy has been growing for the past ten years and in 2018 philanthropic giving reached an all-time high, surpassing $427 billion. While the Great Recession may now feel far in the past, there has never been a more pertinent moment for nonprofits to consider what lessons could be learned. With many economists predicting an impending economic downturn, it is crucial to consider how recessions impact philanthropy and what charities can do to best weather a storm.

What are economists predicting?

In recent months, there has been increasing speculation that an economic downturn is coming. A survey by Duke University Fuqua School of Business shows that 82% of US CFOs believe a recession will have begun by the end of 2020. With strong memories of the Great Recession firmly fixed in the minds of Americans, there is no doubt that signs of an impending downturn have stirred anxiety in nonprofit leaders who rely on philanthropic support to operate. But there is no need to approach the future with uncertainty. Understanding how recessions have impacted charities in the past can shine light on what to expect and, more importantly, what to do now to prepare.

How did the Great Recession impact giving?

The immense generosity of Americans has stayed fairly consistent through good and bad times. According to the five-year CAF World Giving Index, the U.S. ranks second among all countries in giving behavior, with 62% of respondents indicating they donate to charity. Furthermore, in four of the seven recessions highlighted by The Stanford Center on Poverty and Inequality, seen in the chart below, giving continued to increase, albeit sometimes at a slower rate than in non-recession years.

Figure – Russell Sage Foundation and The Stanford Center on Poverty and Inequality: Charitable Giving and the Great Recession

However, despite the resiliency of Americans during tough economic times, the Great Recession’s deep and widespread impact left many people giving less. Giving decreased by 3.7% in 2008 and then 8.3% in 2009. Much of this drop can be attributed to declines in giving by the wealthiest Americans. As reported by the New York Times, from 2006 to 2014, “[t]he share of income donated to charity by Americans who earned $200,000 or more decreased by 4.6 percent.”

While these decreases surely impacted many nonprofits, it is important to note that the decline was short-lived and did not impact everyone. According to the Center for High Impact Philanthropy at The University of Pennsylvania, “[a]s our economy has bounced back from the recession, so has philanthropy, and at a much faster rate than experts predicted: giving in 2014 rose to $358.4 billion, surpassing pre-recession rates.” Further, some charities actually performed better in the recession. Nonprofits who address poverty-related causes were often targeted by philanthropists who saw increased need for services throughout their communities. For instance, in a study by The Russell Sage Foundation and The Stanford Center on Poverty and Inequality, “total funding to food banks in 40 cities rose by…31.9% from 2008 to 2009.” Additionally, foundation grants toward areas with the highest unemployment increased from 19% of funds awarded in 2008 to 65% in 2009.

What can nonprofits do to prepare?

In the midst of a recession, many leaders may have the urge to retreat by decreasing contact with prospects and delaying the implementation of new initiatives. Rather than reacting, CCS Fundraising has had success working with leaders across nonprofit sectors to be pro-active: by developing a multi-year strategic plan now and sticking to it, nonprofits can prepare for any storm to come.

When preparing a strategic plan in preparation for economic uncertainty, consider the following approaches:

Clearly reaffirm the organization’s mission: strategic plans ensure a renewed effort to clarify the organization’s mission. Further, the purpose your organization serves does not go away when the economy suffers (in fact, the need may very well increase) and your mission and vision should remain firm.
Start talking about the strategic plan now: ensure your donors and friends know that a multi-year plan is in place and get their buy-in on ensuring the plan succeeds. In the event of an economic downturn, your supporters will know that your vision and mission still apply and that the needs still exist.
Double-down on outreach to donors and friends: even before signs of slower fundraising growth, plan to increase outreach with the intention of sharing the organization’s mission, impact, and need.
Include volunteer leaders in the planning: by letting them know you are proactively planning and seeking their feedback on strategy and messaging, you will reinforce their commitment to the organization no matter the status of a recession.

While there has not been a substantial link established between economic recessions and a decline in charitable giving, talk of an impending downturn can leave leaders anxious about the future. And whether or not the economic predictions come true, any nonprofit can take steps now to secure the future. By clarifying the mission, expanding outreach, and being transparent, nonprofits can ensure greater success in any economic climate.

Many parishes opt for a campaign when considering capital projects or debt reduction, but often become intimidated by the tremendous needs and the equally tremendous goals associated with such an endeavor. CCS Fundraising always recommends doing a thorough analysis to assess the feasibility of a capital campaign before deciding whether to move forward in that direction. If your conclusion is that your parish is not ready for a large or extensive campaign, it would be wise to consider an alternative approach: conducting a campaign to increase weekly collections.

Like most charities, operational funding in churches often comes from annual giving. To keep up with inflation and growing expenses, such as maintenance, compensation, and benefits, it is vital that churches also grow donor giving over time. An increased offertory campaign can help begin that process.

Many religious denominations have used pledging and annual stewardship drives for years and, as a result, encourage their members to grow their giving regularly. But what about those churches (especially Catholic parishes) that haven’t developed such programs?

CCS’s experience shows that Catholic churches (and even entire archdioceses and dioceses) are more often turning to increased offertory programs to overcome financial challenges and fulfill unmet needs. These programs can be easy to implement and can help you accomplish the following:

Educating parishioners on the need to be responsible stewards of the gift that is their church
Commencing discussions regarding the importance of increasing giving annually to keep up with growing expenses
Getting more parishioners involved as volunteers
Starting a pattern of written commitments that can aid in real-time budgeting
Addressing real financial needs in a fair approach that doesn’t negatively impact a parish’s ability to run a campaign at a later date

These programs are indeed easier to run than a traditional capital campaign, and can often be completed in a period of seven weeks. They have also proven to be very effective. Through our work in this sector around the world, CCS has found our tailored increased offertory programs to elevate parish giving as much as 25% with sustained levels of increased giving during the years that follow our engagement. When combined with broad implementation of electronic giving by parishioners, these increases can be “locked in” and generate a steady stream of additional revenue for the parish.

Over the past eight years, CCS has helped parishes conduct over 100 increased offertory programs. These programs engaged 900 volunteers, and saw more than 6,500 commitment forms returned. Parishes gained an average 20% increase in giving, ending with a projected $3.5 million increase in annual offertory. Some parishes even experienced an increase that approaches capital campaign results when calculated over five years.

Just as important as the results, however, is the cost. Most of these increased offertory campaigns saw a complete return on their investment after just five weeks of increased collections.

The key to generating the highest response and keeping the costs low is volunteers. A well run program will take advantage of every communication channel a parish has to offer: the bulletin, the pulpit, mail, email, social media, and the personal contacts made by parishioners. These contacts need not be solicitations, but rather a personal reminder to respond and a testimonial about why the parish is so important to them. These personal contacts help reduce the number of mailings needed in the program and have been proven to generate higher rates of commitment.

When planning an increased offertory program, it is important to have a very clear sense of what you hope to achieve. In addition to increased financial support, an increased offertory program should focus on achieving the following key objectives for the parish:

Identification of parish strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats
Increased understanding of the principles of stewards by the clergy and laity
Development of ongoing educational and faith formation opportunities
Parishioner commitments of time, talent, and treasure
More active involvement of parishioners in parish and diocesan life
Growth in Mass attendance
Upsurge in registration
Increased giving
Development and implementation of a plan for ongoing commitment to the principles of stewardship

In the end, however, the ultimate objective of an increased offertory program is changing the pattern of giving. At the conclusion of each program, CCS offers parish leaders training on conducting annual renewals of these commitments. Permanent change in parishioner giving behavior is only possible through regular attention and communication. It takes some work, but as any “stewardship parish” will attest, the process becomes automatic and expected by parishioners after a few years.

As an additional benefit, conducting an increased offertory program will not impact your parish’s ability to conduct a capital campaign in the near future – in fact, the process may help get you closer to campaign readiness.

So, when a campaign seems out of reach, or maybe you just need another year before starting one, consider an increased offertory program. The results speak for themselves.