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Fundraising Strategy

The Guiding Thread for Successful Fundraising:
A well-planned fundraising strategy is essential for success. It helps your organisation stay focused when implementing fundraising initiatives. Learn more now!

Fundraising Tips Strategy (no bg)

A fundraising strategy is an essential tool for setting, tracking, and achieving your organisation’s fundraising goals. It transforms strategic decisions into concrete actions, ensuring a structured and focused approach. Learn what makes a strong fundraising strategy and how to use it to streamline and optimise your fundraising efforts.

 

Strategy vs. Concept - The Difference 

The terms fundraising strategy and fundraising concept are often used interchangeably, but they are not the same. Imagine your fundraising concept as a house—the fundraising strategy serves as the support beams holding it together. Without them, the entire structure would collapse.

In practice, a fundraising concept cannot exist without a strategy, and vice versa. While the fundraising concept defines the overall goals of your organisation, the fundraising strategy determines how you will achieve those goals. Without a clear strategy, individual fundraising initiatives risk being disconnected and ineffective.

 

How to Develop a Strong                  Fundraising Strategy

Successful fundraising requires careful planning. Just as no one builds a house without a blueprint, a well-thought-out fundraising strategy provides the foundation for effective fundraising.

 

3 Key Elements of a Strong Strategy:

Mission

 

Clear Goals

Objectives should be easily understood by everyone in your organisation. Example: "We aim to increase legacy donors by 15% by the end of the year.".

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Realistic Targets

Goals should align with your available resources (time, budget, personnel, expertise).

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Measurable results

After each campaign, performance should be assessed. RaiseNow offers tools and CRM integrations to track key metrics and adjust strategies accordingly.

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To gain deeper insights into donation behaviours, check out our Fundraising Studies.  

 

 

In 4 Steps to your successfull          Fundraising Strategy

A strong fundraising strategy doesn’t happen by chance—it’s the result of clear goals, audience insights, the right tools, and consistent optimisation. These four steps will help you structure your efforts, focus your resources, and maximise the impact of your fundraising initiatives. Let’s get started. 

1. Identifying Your Target Audience - Personas can help

Even the best fundraising strategy will fail if it targets the wrong audience. Many organisations lack a clear understanding of who their donors are.

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Example

A legacy giving campaign promoted on Instagram or TikTok, which primarily attracts younger audiences, is unlikely to be effective. A better approach would be Facebook ads targeted at users over 50, combined with a sponsored legal seminar on estate planning.

To ensure your fundraising efforts reach the right people, consider developing personas—prototypical representations of your ideal donors. These help you refine messaging, channels, and campaign strategies.

2. Selecting the Right Fundraising Methods

Just as a house can be built with different materials and styles, fundraising can be approached in various ways. The key is selecting the right mix of digital and traditional methods.

Consider these three guiding questions when choosing fundraising activities:

  • Does this method align with our strategic goals?
  • Is it a good fit for our organisation’s brand and mission?
  • Can we track measurable results from this activity?

For instance, while direct mail is effective for older donors, younger audiences may respond better to digital fundraising channels like donation forms and community fundraising.

If your organisation is still building a fundraising technology stack, explore the essential features of a fundraising software platform in our dedicated guide.

3. From Strategy to Campaign Rollout

Once your fundraising concept (the blueprint) and strategy (the framework) are in place, it’s time to implement your fundraising activities. Effective campaign execution requires detailed planning and tracking.

Key Planning Tools:

Budget plan – Track expected expenses and revenue to calculate the return on investment (ROI).

Timeline – Set clear deadlines and performance indicators to monitor progress.

Donation pyramid – Define the number and size of donations needed to meet your target.

Example: If your campaign goal is €10,000, you may structure your donor base as follows:

  • €6,000 from 1,000 small donors giving €60 each
  • €2,000 from 20 mid-level donors giving €100 each
  • €2,000 from four major donors giving €500 each

If donations from a specific segment fall short, you can adjust your approach by enhancing engagement for that group or reaching out through alternative channels.

 

4. Measuring Success and Continuous Improvement

Evaluating campaign performance is crucial for refining future strategies. Key fundraising performance indicators (KPIs) include:

Fundraising efficiency – Cost per donation, return on investment (ROI), donor retention rate.

Donor engagement – Frequency of interactions, participation rates, event attendance.

Digital performance – Online donation percentage, email open and click-through rates, website conversion rates.

If donations are lower than expected, analyse:

  • Which channels performed best?
  • Did certain donor groups engage more than others?
  • Were there any drop-off points in the online donation process?

With RaiseNow’s integrations, you can track donations, email engagement, and campaign conversions in real-time. Integrate with Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud, Microsoft Dynamics 365, or Google Analytics to gain deeper insights.

 

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Final Thoughts: A Living Strategy

A fundraising strategy is not a one-time document—it should evolve based on performance data, changing donor behaviour, and new industry trends. By continuously measuring, learning, and adapting, your organisation can optimise fundraising efforts and maximise impact.

 

 

 

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