14 Key Elements of a Nonprofit Development Plan

During a recent CFRE training, these 14 points were mentioned as key elements of a nonprofit’s development plan. Understanding this flow is often a pain point at many organizations and I’m glad to see this clarified. Credit: Jack Alotto, MA, CFRE.

  1. Purpose
  2. Development Goals
  3. Strategies (to achieve a million-dollar gift we might need to hire X major gift people, and we have Y number campaigns that target $ or more in giving)
  4. Operational Policies
  5. Targeted Constituencies
  6. Potential of Constituency and Strategy
  7. Cultivation Strategies
  8. Timetable
  9. Income Benchmarks for Each Strategy
  10. Who is Responsible
  11. Marketing (campaigns and goals)
  12. Budget for Each Strategy
  13. Indicators of Success
  14. Evaluation

Building a Development Office: Clarify Financial Responsibilities

Too often at nonprofits, the person in charge of Development and Fundraising gets charged with doing everything from processing donations, to managing bank accounts, to reporting. This is a problem waiting for an opportunity. One individual should never be allowed to complete a financial transaction by themselves. Having others verify transactions is good for the staff, is ethical for your organization, and it gives donors the peace of mind that processes are in place so their gift is being used effectively.

Start by identifying the stakeholders in the financial process, and then their primary roles. Everyone should have some insight into what the other is doing. Also, make sure there is a touch-base event where the stakeholders can meet to reconcile any paperwork or actions.

Building A Board of Directors: Paperwork for the Newbie

In every nonprofit where I have volunteered with or worked, the same question arises at board meetings: What documentation does a new board member need? The result is often haphazard and the board member rarely receives what they need to feel valued or be successful.

I propose a Welcome Letter that contains links to the key organizational documents. The letter should be “owned” by the Governance Committee (if there is one), even if a staff member is the one who sends it.

The letter should contain links to the following:

  • The Onboarding Plan (This is a simple one-page document that clarifies what success will look like and includes a time frame)

Administrative Documents (to Read, Sign, and Return)

  • Board Members Agreement
  • Conflict of Interest Policy
  • Grievance Policy
  • Board Roles & Responsibilities

Core Documents to Review:

  • Recent Financials
  • RPN’s Budget
  • Recent Annual Meeting Decks
  • By-Laws

Additional:

  • Gift Acceptance Policy
  • Expense Reimbursement Policy
  • Instructions for providing a biography and photo for the organization’s website
  • Instructions about technical processes they might need to know
  • Information about the location or point of contact is for the organization’s founding documents.

Building A Board of Directors: The Board Skills Matrix

A Board Skills Matrix provides an easy-to-use structure to guide decisions in crafting your board’s composition to fit the nonprofit’s needs. This is an essential tool to help build succession plans for recruiting new board members.

Below is an example of a wildlife conservation organization that works internationally with different governments, NGOs, and international donors. The board scored highest in the Natural Sciences (Biology) and Nonprofit Management, while it falls short in knowledge related to Marketing, Legal matters, and HR.

To create a Board Skills Matrix:
A). Identify the skills and knowledge domains needed to succeed.
B). List the experience of the board members qualitatively as Strong, Low, and No experience.
C). Assign a quantitative value to the qualitative descriptive data, such as 2=Strong, 1-Low experience, and 0=No experience.
D. Sort the scores to identify areas where your board needs to focus its resources in recruiting new members. In this case, a score under 10 reveals a scarcity of knowledge in your organization. A score of 5 and below shows an absence of knowledge.

Building A Board of Directors: Creating the Onboarding Plan

New Board Members are excited to contribute to a mission they are passionate about!

Too often though, they join a Board and then wonder how best to contribute. An Onboarding Plan will help new board members better understand their roles and responsibilities, and give them valuable insight into how the organization is structured. In short, they will have all the resources they need to be successful.

Here is a simple plan that can be created to fit onto one page and cover knowledge areas from coming on board to 90 days out. This was created from a nonprofit management course I attended at Oregon State University.

Exiting Through the Gift Shop: Using Interpretive Principles to Strengthen the Park Store

Sharing the story of your nonprofit is critical work.

An on-site resource that blends revenue generation and outreach is the park interpretive store. These stores can be critical sources of funding for friends-of-the-park groups, zoos, museums, education travel organizations, nature centers, aquaria, botanical gardens, conservation organizations, cultural museums, and historical sites. The products sold must be meaningful and relevant so they support the mission, support fundraising goals, and allow for emotional and intellectual connections to be made. This is done by strengthening park store products through interpretation.

Here are six principles of interpretation developed by Freeman Tilden and re-stated by Larry Beck and Ted Cable in their book, “The Gift of Interpretation.” I’ve mapped their principles to questions for you to ask when considering if a product is appropriate for your audience/store.

To learn more about Interpretation visit the National Association for Interpretation online, www.interpnet.com.

Article originally published June 2014; updated November 2020.

Prospective Employees Are Important Potential Donors

Prospective employees are a nonprofit’s most important potential donors. Why? This group is not just enthusiastic about the organization’s mission – they want to see that mission succeed by wanting to commit to their future to your mission. Dismiss them –or treat them as commodities– at your peril. Applicants to a job understand they might not be selected, but they do want their time and efforts acknowledged positively and respectfully.

Here are 2 simple steps that can help –

Respect the Applicant’s Time on the Front End of the Hiring Process

Set expectations that you respect an applicant’s time upfront. Provide information about how long the effort might take and when you plan on making a hiring decision. If the hiring manager, or hiring team, is unable to respond to each applicant, say that. Doing so shows professionalism and allows the job seeker to move on after a specific date. Here’s some suggested text to use on your website or in the job description:

“We anticipate a high number of applicants for this position, and we will not be able to respond to each application. We will be contacting first-round applicants the week of [date] to conduct initial phone/zoom interviews. We understand that your time is important, and we thank everyone for their hard work in applying.”

If the position will be open for an extended time, say that too. If the hiring process will take 6 months, also say that. A little information goes a long way for all involved.

Respect Their Effort on the Back End of the Hiring Process

Not everyone who applies for a job gets the position, and communicating bad news to several people can be very awkward. How can this be handled well? Here is a classy response to a ‘you’re not hired’ situation; it respects the job seeker’s effort while being empathetic. Responding to applicants with an email might cost your organization 1 hour, but what might you get from these people in the long term? I came across this classy response several years ago; edit it as needed for your organization

Good afternoon.

I greatly appreciate your interest in private lands conservation and the [Name of Organization] in particular. Including yours, we received [# of applications] very strong applications for the [Name of Position]. Unfortunately, our hiring team has not included your application in the next round of consideration.

I apologize for the anonymity of the response; in the past, I have always tried to contact each applicant with this news directly, but the good fortune of having many applicants makes that logistically difficult for me this time around.

Hopefully, the quick turnaround on the outcome is at least some consolation. From experience I know that it is very trying to be left hanging about a position, wondering for a long time about the hiring process.

I hope you will continue to pursue career opportunities that further the protection of clean water, fish and wildlife habitat, and special lands; no shortage of work to be done along those lines.

Thanks again for your time, the effort you put into your application, and your interest in the work of the [Name of Organization].

Best wishes,

[First Name of Executive Director]

This empathetic response leaves the door open for a future relationship by acknowledging the applicant’s time and efforts. It also shows that your organization is run by professional humans who care about the nonprofit mission and potential future donor relationships (hint: that’s one reason why it’s called Development)

Job seekers want to work for your organization and help your mission succeed. What better group of potential donors is there? Don’t undervalue this great audience. Always communicate effectively, if possible, always show empathy and appreciate their time.

An Affordable and Easy Way to Measure Events

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When I ask wildlife conservation organizations how they measure the success of their events, I want to hear the numbers. I generally hear that the events were “OK,” or “well attended.” I find this frightening because the organization is spending both time and money, which they cannot justify.

How do they know if their outreach and advocacy had any impact?
For a start, buy a low-cost crowd-clicker (aka a tally counter).
As an example, last year, I volunteered at an annual festival for an arboretum. Attending were 4,000 people who were ecologically minded and happy to be outside. This was a target-rich audience for the sponsor and the other conservation nonprofits that were onsite. Of the 12 nonprofits, I asked about how many people had stopped by their booths; 11 booths had no clue, though some of those groups did have an email sign-up form.

One booth gave me a great answer:

“284 visited the booth,
63 signed-up for the email,
Great conversations with 24 who wanted to come to future events; half of those half wanted information about next month’s meeting,
8 wanted more information about volunteering.”

The organization can use the data as a baseline for next year’s event. The secret for knowing the 284 count was that the staff used a crowd-clicker, and diligently documented the rest. At the end of the day had reached out to a total of 400 people; that is 10% of the event’s attendance!

Do your organization a favor, and get a crowd clicker. Start measuring your events.

How to Create Simple Identity Guidelines for Your Nonprofit

Nonprofit organizations often encounter a “drifting” with their messaging over time. Their imagery, colors, and fonts can appear differently across different media as new people come to start and leave, volunteer, change, etc. This “drift” confuses your supporters and donors who want your organization to stay on message.

To avoid this, use Identity Guidelines (also known as a “Style Guide”) to stay on message. Identity Guidelines are the design elements that serve as your organization’s visual signature, this can include: graphics, colors, and typography.

Creating such a document is often a time-consuming endeavor, but it doesn’t have to be. Use my free example to help your organization stay on target with your visual signature.

>> Download My Identity Guidelines Example PDF

The Turkeys of Nonprofit Development and How Not to Be One

Thanksgiving is a perfect opportunity to introduce the turkeys of nonprofit development. These are ideas frequently held by small organizations about raising money that could be considered “bird-brained.”

When I started helping nonprofits with their development work, I was surprised at how many on the Board and the staff became uncomfortable when “the ask” was mentioned.

I understood the frustration but needed to know more about the source of their angst. When I inquired about why the subject of fundraising was viewed as a negative, these same three reasons appeared:

  • Profit was seen as contrary to being a nonprofit
  • Making money was viewed as a shameful act
  • Money reflected everything that is wrong with society

I understood the angst, but these reasons were turkeys: ideas incongruous with the mission of the organization. Here are 3 non-turkey interpretations of these 3 concerns:

  • Money is not contrary to an organization’s mission, rather it is the lifeblood that supports programs, and public engagement activities and helps to communicate the nonprofit’s important mission. Money is needed for the success of an organization.
  • Making money is neither good nor bad, how it is used should be the focus. What is shameful is not allowing an organization’s mission to thrive and create good in the world.
  • Money is not reflective of everything that is wrong with society. Yes, greed and financial inequality exist in society, but these issues are distractions in the larger conversation. Rather, focus on how the organization views money. See money as potential energy. Then ask, how can this energy be harnessed?

One final thought: we have all heard that donations do not grow on trees. True. Donations are not easy to come by, donors must understand (with an emotional connection) and realize that your organization’s work has meaning – to think otherwise would be a turkey. Happy Thanksgiving

The Bogeymen of Nonprofit Development and How to Stop Them

Image from the ‘Nightmare Before Christmas’ Oogie Boogie.

Halloween is a great time to write about the bogeymen of nonprofit development. At first, these gremlins might appear harmless annoyances, but if allowed to become bogeymen, they can scare away donors and kill your nonprofit. What are these three bogeymen, and how can they be exorcized?

Bogeyman #1: Stopping New Leads

The first bogeyman thrives when you stop developing new leads.
New leads must flow into your nonprofit to grow support, expand your donor base, and replace former members who did not renew. This flow of leads must be continual for your organization to remain vibrant.  When an organization diminishes lead generation activities, it allows this bogeyman to reside at your nonprofit; without new leads, programs will atrophy, community involvement will atrophy, and the mission will starve. Exorcize this fury before it makes a home! Always have a development and marketing plan that is forward-facing, engaging, and will bring in high-quality leads.

Bogeyman #2: Trivializing Your Donors

The second bogeyman reveals itself when donors (and potential donors) are trivialized by development staff.

Recently, the Development Director of an environmental nonprofit mentioned her organization was not attending a celebrated annual community event because “it always had the same people, and they would just be preaching to the choir.” I was momentarily stunned because she was missing a superb low-hanging fruit moment for engaging with donors and nurturing future members. This nonprofit had a bogeyman!

The occasion was a community favorite that had an attendance of over 3,500 people each year. It had a well-attended history dating back over three decades. The audience was passionate about environmental issues and in line with the nonprofit’s mission. The event cost nothing for the nonprofit and offered direct contact with individuals from ages 1 to 100, with attendance weighted toward retired folks. The only investment for this organization was setting up a tabletop display, 8 hours from a staff member or volunteers, and any communications they chose to send. This was a low-investment, high-engagement opportunity to interact with a receptive audience and nurture future donors/members.

At the end of the day, the nonprofit had passed up an opportunity to shake hands with 350 individuals, with half being new leads who signed up for an e-newsletter Plus, there were two dozen new volunteer signups. (As reported by the nonprofit who was able to use their space). 

When your donors are “cheapened” they open the door to a bogeyman that will create havoc and confusion within your organization. Exorcize this nightmare by not just working for your mission; but working toward your mission, being involved in what your supporters are interested in, and being a part of their life experiences.

Bogeyman #3: Being Unresponsive

A third bogeyman appears when nonprofits are unresponsive.

If a prospective donor inquires about participating in your nonprofit, you should answer, right? Sadly, many organizations do not respond. Just from my own experiences, I have been frequently disappointed by unresponsive nonprofits. I “get it” that people are overworked, which is why I encourage fundraisers to create an FAQ page that answers the most common questions that prospective donors have

When an organization is unresponsive, it communicates to the donor (or prospective donor) that they are not crucial to the organization’s mission. What is frightening is that the bogeyman does not just move into your office – it moves into the individual’s mind and affects the perception of your nonprofit. When that person wants to write a check to help a good cause, they think of your non-responsive nonprofit, then they’ll write a check to your competitor.

Exorcize these phantasms by keeping the flow of leads open, being engaged with your audience, and always being responsive to people who are interested in your mission.

Cleaning Up the Nonprofit’s Development Outreach and Communication Files

Your organization’s outreach and communications should be treated like gold.

Everything that your organization produces: brochures, fliers, fact sheets, signage, trade show booth layouts, newsletters, volunteer materials, signage, web content, graphics, emails, and even social media messaging has the ability to:

  • Reveal the story about your cause,
  • Encourage others to learn more, and
  • Inspire people into action.

All of your outreach and communications are valuable assets that need to be protected and organized. Sadly, many good organizations do not manage their assets proactively.

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Have you ever seen files kept like this?

Let me say, “I get it.” I completely understand; when the office is busy, the phone is ringing, and there are multiple interruptions the various revisions, edits, changes, and updates to the project you are working on can get the better of you. It is easy for well-intentioned work to become a chaotic mess.
There is an easier way…

Below is the structure I use for keeping design projects organized.

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First, structure all of the brochures, factsheets, fliers etc. into Collateral folders. This makes organizing all of the various projects easier to manage. Collateral is a catchall term for items the public will see.

Then list by Project, in this case, let’s look at the “Flier 2014 Big Event.”

The highest within the “Flier 2014 Big Event” directory is the _Inputs folder; this includes all of the requirements for the project. Note the “_” underscore, to have this folder automatically appear at the top of your alphabetized folder tree add an underscore before the name. This helps a great deal in keeping folders organized into a logical flow.

Next is the Assets folder. This holds all of the images and any related design elements.

The Business folder is all of the proposals, pricing info, quotes, and schedules that you might need to reference quickly.

The Design folder is where I house the graphics files and their revisions. In the example are 3 Adobe Illustrator (AI) files, after the name is the date 140528 (2014, May 28) and there were 3 versions, with #3 being the most recent. I display the date with the year first, a numeric month, then a numeric day because after several months/years of collecting files, this is an easy way to view what is most current. The notes.txt file is one of the most powerful files in your design arsenal because you can document important changes, and include notes about why something was done, or who might have requested a big change.

The Production folder contains the final, print-ready files of your work. Label the final version with the completion date and the word “final”. If the project is going to a professional printer I also include a readme.txt file that includes information the printer will find helpful.

NOTE: You do not need to display the date as I have, include hyphens, or keep the file names in the lower text; this is my personal style – do what works best for you. What is important is that you are consistent with how you name and organize your work so that it can be an asset for your organization. I hope this helps.

What the “Spirit of the West” Can Teach About Nonprofit Development

The “Spirit of the West” from the movie, “Rango.”

Imagine that you are in the desert. You are visiting this hot and dry place to spend some time in nature, let your mind center, and hopefully obtain some clarity about improving your effectiveness as a development officer in your mission-based organization.

On the horizon, an apparition forms in the mid-day heat. As the shimmering merges and flows into itself, it begins to step out, then walks. The form now confidently strides in your direction. You see that this is a rough-looking guy. He stops about ten feet away, lowers his head, and slowly lights the end of a stubby cigar. He regards you from under the hat’s brim, his steely eyes flash. You know him from the movies, he is the Spirit of the West!

He spits on the ground.

It must be the heat or lack of water, for you know this is not a real person but a caricature of an actor. A shiver runs down your spine. A gnawing sensation in your gut wants you to run like a deer, while another part of you wants his autograph.

You put on your development officer’s hat and stand your ground before this phantom. You quickly size up the Spirit of the West, making a mental list of his tangible and intangible qualities:

Tangibles Intangibles
  • his no-name name
  • cold gaze
  • cigar stub
  • ragged poncho
  • a dead shot
  • dusty
  • independence
  • purpose-driven
  • underdog
  • hero
  • loner
  • on a mission and won’t stop

The Spirit of the West speaks in a dusty voice: “How I connect with donors isn’t about finding tangibles; it’s about the intangibles! That’s my true face. Everyone tries to look tangible-badass out here in the Wild West, but badass is a commodity; the intangibles of what I do, that’s how I connect with donors.”

That gets you thinking. Too often, development officers and fundraisers only focus on the tangibles (the physical aspects) of their mission: the logo, design, layout, images, signage, content, website, the location of where an office will be located, etc.

Once again, the Spirit of the West speaks, “Donors connect with what’s authentic.”

A rattlesnake slides up to his boot. He spits, it lands inches from the snake’s head, and the snake retreats. He inhales, then exhales in a plume of smoke as he says, “So, got anything to say?”

You think about what he said, then reply, “Development often overlooks the intangibles, which is a donor’s need – authentic and meaningful experiences.”

The Spirit of the West chews on the stub of his cigar. He says one dusty word, “…Yeah,” then turns away. The wind swirls around his worn-looking poncho as it waves erratically in the wind. He walks towards the horizon and soon becomes an unrecognizable form, a shimmer, and then he is gone.

Sometimes development staff focuses only on their tangible assets: a logo, colors, typefaces, business cards, website, or flyers; but development is not just physical (the tangible) things. Development must include a passion for the mission, a positive attitude, enthusiasm, products that are authentic, engaging programs, and a belief in the mission. All of these things reinforce development.

It is time to leave the desert. As you return to your good cause, you think about how to weave together the tangible and intangible elements so your messaging will be meaningful. That is how a development officer survives –and thrives– within a harsh world.

 

Trademark Basics for Wildlife Conservation Nonprofits

As a wildlife conservation nonprofit, you need to know about copyrights, trademarks, and patents. You do not need to be an expert, but you need to understand their correct use and when they should be applied. …Not knowing can cost you and your organization.

For example, your boss approaches you and says that within the budget are funds for a field sign featuring interpretative language and your organization’s logo. You have a non-registered trademark, but you are not sure what this means. Which of these symbols might you use?

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If you are not sure, it’s okay, a lot of people are confused by this-

One California-based nonprofit I worked with was also confused about how to present its trademark. During a well-attended public event, I congratulated the Executive Director on the Circle-R symbol next to their name as it showed their trademark was not officially registered.  He pointed back to the logo and said, “Oh, yeah the patent, we recently added the Circle-R.” I politely asked him to clarify. Sadly, he did not know that his organization was publicly using the wrong trademark symbol and legal name associated with the trademark.

Such mistakes occur at large for-profit companies too. After a tech firm had moved to a new two-story office in Silicon Valley, a new street sign was manufactured at a price upwards of $10,000. In a rush to finish the job, an admin ordered the sign and the incorrect trademark symbol, a “TM” was used on the sign when a Circle-R was needed. The oversight demonstrated that internal processes had not been followed and because of expense the error remained on the sign for several years.

Don’t make these same mistakes; here are some basics about copyrights, trademarks, and patents to avoid such confusion.

The Registered Trademark

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A trademark is a sign or design used in association with a product or service. The Circle-R demonstrates the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has recognized your trademark being used in the pursuit of commerce.

Organizations and groups obtain the Circle-R to differentiate and better protect their identity from other products or brands. After you have been recognized by the USPTO, and you need to go to court to protect your brand, your case will be significantly strengthened.

You should never use the Circle-R if the USPTO has NOT registered your trademark. To do so could invite possible legal headaches.

If the government has not recognized your organization as being the owner of the trademark you should not use the Circle-R.

The Trademark:

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Using the “TM” is the easiest way to proceed until your organization can go through the registration process.

It is a good idea to keep a record of when you first associated the TM with your product or service as this designated when you used your product in the pursuit of business. You will need this information if you apply eventually for the Circle-R registration. Also, you will need this if you ever have to go to court to defend your use of the trademark.

Note: There is a type of trademark called a service mark “SM”, this is reserved for services and is not being discussed here.

The Copyright:

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Using a “Circle-C” with your logo is incorrect, just don’t use it!

A Circle-C represents copyright.

A copyright is used for original works, like books, videos, music, or other creative pieces. The copyright allows the author to receive compensation or recognition for their idea. Use the “Circle-C” at the end of your organization’s printed newsletter, emails, etc.

The Patent:blog-2014-05-21_img5

Patents are used for inventions (an invention provides a solution to a product or process). If you or your organization invents a better mousetrap you would obtain a patent. You should never associate the word “patent” with your logo or creative work.

I hope this helps.