There’s always a sense of accomplishment when your fundraising campaign soars past its revenue goal, and you know you have the funds to move your mission forward. But inevitably, you’ll need funds for another program or initiative, which means going back to the drawing board to plan another fundraising campaign.
Although nonprofit organizations are familiar with the push and pull of funding campaigns, it’s not the only way to approach revenue generation. Increasingly, mission-driven organizations are looking toward sustainable funding, which they acquire by adopting innovative, repeatable strategies.
In this guide, we’ll explore four best practices to help your organization develop sustainable, lasting revenue streams that ensure you have the funds to power your mission.
1. Build an Annual Fundraising Calendar
Instead of spending a lot of time designing and developing each campaign, create a clear fundraising calendar that maps out events, campaigns, and stewardship touchpoints throughout the year. This enables you to plan your activities and balance workloads, freeing up your staff time to focus on developing sustainable revenue streams. And the good news is that once you start, you’ll be able to build upon it, year after year.
In your annual fundraising calendar, you should:
- Schedule a mix of campaigns, events, and donor engagement activities each quarter. Variety shows your supporters that you value their engagement beyond the donations they give, and increases participation in your initiatives.
- Assign responsibilities and deadlines to team members to ensure accountability. When you conduct regular check-ins, you’ll also be able to ask for updates from specific team members about how their tasks are going and re-align on your calendar.
- Align campaigns with seasonal giving trends. For example, the end of the year is a time of heightened giving for donors so be sure to time your fundraising initiatives accordingly. Giving days (like GivingTuesday) provide another opportunity for heightened generosity.
- Include stewardship milestones, so supporters feel appreciated year-round. Build time for drafting and sending appreciation messages directly into your calendar. Additionally, outline messages you’ll send to keep your audience engaged in your mission.
For example, if you’re an animal rescue, you might plan four big fundraising events every year. Two might remain the same every year, such as a charity auction and a combo pet walk-a-thon and shoe drive fundraiser, whereas the other two might fluctuate from year to year. Your annual calendar will include each event’s plans and marketing strategies. The calendar should also include outlines of other communications you’ll send, such as invitations to volunteer or participate in community events.
2. Establish a Monthly Giving Program
Recurring giving is one of the strongest tools for stabilizing revenue. Not only that, but recurring giving often results in more funds for your mission, as the average monthly gift is $24 ($288 annually), and the average one-time gift is $115. Monthly donors are committed to your mission and provide reliable, consistent support.
Establish a monthly giving program to entice more donors to participate in recurring giving. Enable recurring giving options directly on your donation page to make it easy for donors to sign up and join. You can also attach impact labels to your recurring giving options to inspire further generosity. For example, an animal shelter nonprofit might write that a $25 donation helps them feed four animals for a month.
Additionally, create a page directly addressing your monthly giving program. On it, list the perks you offer, such as monthly impact updates or small recognition gifts. While most donors give to help your nonprofit make a positive impact, providing these perks helps keep donors engaged, increases retention in your monthly giving program, and boosts sustainable revenue. You can even survey your monthly giving participants to ask what they would most enjoy, whether that’s branded merchandise, behind-the-scenes content, or something else entirely.
3. Maximize In-Kind Contributions
Although monetary donations are by far the most versatile gifts your supporters can make, in-kind donations, or non-monetary gifts of goods or services, should not be overlooked. According to Double the Donation, in-kind gifts come with several benefits, such as:
- Cost savings and resource efficiency: In-kind gifts reduce the need for nonprofits to purchase goods or services on their own, as donors can directly provide these to the organization.
- Enhanced program delivery: In-kind donations of goods and services can support your nonprofit’s operational needs. For instance, a food bank greatly benefits from in-kind gifts of canned food, which it can then distribute to beneficiaries.
- Stronger donor relationships: Just like volunteering, in-kind donations provide another avenue for your supporters to contribute to your nonprofit without opening their own wallets. Additional engagement points like these foster a strong sense of purpose and deepen your community’s engagement in your mission.
- Access to expertise and resources: In some cases, in-kind gifts may give your nonprofit access to goods and services you might not otherwise be able to afford. For instance, pro bono services like legal counsel or web development can significantly improve your nonprofit’s operations.
You can even apply the principle of in-kind gifts to your nonprofit’s fundraising events. For instance, Funds2Orgs recommends nonprofit shoe drive fundraisers to turn in-kind gifts into funds. In these events, you simply have to collect gently worn, used and new shoes from your community. Then, you send all the collected shoes to a shoe drive fundraising provider, which will send you payment for the pairs you collected.
Ultimately, in-kind gifts support sustainable revenue by reducing cash outflows, stabilizing budgets, diversifying resource streams, expanding your donor base, and building long-term relationships.
4. Explore Corporate and Local Business Partnerships
Partnerships with businesses can yield ongoing financial or in-kind support. Increasingly, more and more companies are seeking ways to give back to their communities. For instance, shoe retailers and wholesalers might donate their overstock to the aforementioned shoe drive fundraisers. Other companies might partner with nonprofits to fund their events or campaigns, in exchange for marketing or branding opportunities.
Aside from one-time partnerships, you can also consider creating ongoing relationships with businesses in your community. For instance, workplace giving or volunteering programs provide a channel for business employees to connect and engage with your mission. Two common initiatives in this category are:
- Matching gifts: In a matching gift program, whenever an employee donates to an eligible nonprofit, the employer will match their gift, usually at a 1:1 ratio. For example, if an employee donates $50 to your nonprofit, the employer will also donate $50, doubling the funds your organization receives.
- Volunteer grants: In a volunteer grant program, employers donate funds to nonprofits once their employees have reached a certain number of volunteer hours. For instance, the employer might set it so that in their program, they’ll donate $50 to a nonprofit after an employee volunteers for 25 or more hours.
To achieve more sustainable revenue, your nonprofit should seek out opportunities like these, which upgrade existing gifts of funds and volunteer time. Don’t forget to implement stewardship and retention efforts for your partnerships as well. For programs like these, you can provide personalized impact reports, offer marketing opportunities, and thank your corporate partners for their support.
Revenue sustainability enables you to go beyond surviving fundraising cycles and thrive through intentional, long-term strategies. By implementing these best practices, you can diversify income and create reliable revenue streams that fuel your mission for years to come.
The next time you conduct your financial audits, assess how well these practices have helped your nonprofit’s funding. Don’t be afraid to tweak your strategy until it’s tailored to your nonprofit’s needs and community preferences.