Nonprofit Development Plan
This last week I saw two interesting pieces of information: first, the number of organizations granted tax exempt status grew for the fourth year in a row to nearly 80,000 (Chronicle of Philanthropy, May 4, 2018); second, nonprofits are the nation’s third largest workforce (The Johns Hopkins Nonprofit Economic Data Project). This is both good news and bad news because it tells me the need for services is ever increasing as is the demand for dollars.
We will soon see the latest numbers from Giving USA, and I expect there to be another increase in dollars contributed since the 2017 report. Are more people giving or are bigger gifts being given by the same amount of people? If you look at the continual growth of nonprofits and the size of the workforce, it is clear that the competition for raising support is getting stronger, especially with the largest charities being Donor Advised Funds like Fidelity and Schwab.
If you are dependent on one or two revenue streams — such as events and direct mail — you should be thinking about how the above factors will affect your bottom line and operating reserves. What are you doing to secure the future of your organization? Do you have a major gift strategy and planned giving program in place? If not, what is keeping you from developing a nonprofit development plan with a variety of revenue sources like annual fund, mid-level donor program, major gifts, etc.? It may take a few years to get there so build a foundation today. Start small, but get the right people on your team who can help you build a strong nonprofit development plan which can compete in an ever-increasing competitive environment.
“There’s no heavier burden than a great potential!”
Written by:
Paul D’Alessandro
Founder and Chairman
