The 3 Cs of Fundraising – Capacity, Commitment and Connection.
. . . the old but still reliable rule of thumb that in any substantial capital campaign you have to get about a third of the money from the top ten gifts, another third from the next 100 largest gifts, and the last third from everybody else.
Many organizations refer to the 80-20 rule (or the Pareto principle) to discuss the importance of major donations. This principle dictates that 80% of a nonprofit's funding is contributed by only the top 20% of their donors.
In the article, “Fundraising 101—Fundraising Cycle,” it states there are five stages of the donor fundraising cycle, which are identification, qualification, cultivation, solicitation and stewardship.
Simply put, the Rule of Seven recommends seven contacts with a donor within one year after that person makes a gift. In other words, for every one request you make for a gift, you need seven other meaningful contacts.
Network fundraising can be done through social media such as Facebook, through e-mailing or through personal contact. This way of fundraising can be done by any organisation but works especially well when an organisation has good contacts with journalists, the media and/or a large group of followers.
The first rule of fundraising is that people give to people.
But few donors and board members really understand how to evaluate fundraising expenditures. So what exactly is normal? A 15% fundraising expense ratio is often cited as the “expected average”.
The Pareto principle or "80-20 rule" stating that 80% of outcomes are due to 20% of causes was named in honour of Pareto, but the concepts are distinct, and only Pareto distributions with shape value (α) of log45 ≈ 1.16 precisely reflect it.
The 3-1 Cultivation-Ask Rule
Generally speaking, your non-profit should be cultivating your donors a minimum of 3 times in between every ask. This means that after getting a solicitation, your donors should be hearing from you – without getting an ask – 3 different times before you make another ask.
The conventional theory for running an accounting practice says that you should split revenue by three. A third for wages, a third for overheads, and a third for partner profit.
The fundraising cycle outlines six stages to identify, engage, evaluate, solicit, recognize, and steward your donors and donor prospects.
Honesty: Fundraisers will always be honest and truthful, upholding public trust and never misleading supporters or the public. Respect: Fundraisers will always be respectful of our beneficiaries and donors, following their choices and wishes, wherever possible.
A fundraising event (also called a fundraiser) is an event or campaign whose primary purpose is to raise money for a cause, charity or non-profit organization.
Goal setting is one of the most important aspects of any endeavor. Budgetary needs of the organization generally guide the fundraising goals that are needed. Your organization should have yearly financial requirements, and then a plan to reach that requirement with individual fundraisers and campaigns.
Fundraising Efficiency Ratio
You can calculate a charity's fundraising efficiency by dividing the total expenses by the total contributions. A point to note here would be that if you are calculating any of these metrics, you won't get very meaningful results solely by calculating them for one time only.
It's knowing when and how to respond appropriately, being clear and accurate and making the exchange pleasant. Fundraisers should focus on delivering information about their cause in a way that's tailored to the listener. It should be engaging, interesting and informative. And that takes advanced communication skills.
Especially when it comes to meetings in person, not doing your homework is one of the biggest fundraising mistakes you can make. This includes asking for too little, asking for too much, asking your prospect in the company of others, and asking for a donation too casually or too indirectly.
The Rule of Three is a very simple way to get better results with skill. Rather than get overwhelmed by your tasks, you get intentional about your three victories that you want to accomplish. Think in Three Wins. This puts you in control, now matter how chaotic things are around you.