It is important for a nonprofit to plan on how it is going to raise money or support for its organization. To help nonprofits in their outline of the planning the process I have provided 6 questions below.

1. Do you have a Strategic Plan?

2. Do you have a Development Plan?

3. Is the Development Plan incorporated into the Strategic Plan?

4. Can you describe for your nonprofit each outcome in three sentences or less?

5. Is each outcome for the nonprofit something that can be publicize?

6. Do you know what it costs the nonprofit to deliver each outcome?

If you answer no to any of the six, your nonprofit needs to improve to be more successful in raising money.

The degree to which the USA is dependent upon outside financial support, the more likely that its independence is influenced by other countries. Two of the largest influences come from China imports and the purchase of foreign oil. The USA has the ability today to change its dependence upon oil and China imports.

Similarly, organizations depend upon outside financial support for their organizations. Due to the fact that the federal or state government may place restrictions or requirements on an organization receiving its funding, some choose not to accept government funding. However, unless self-supporting, the more that an organization is dependent on annual fund raising, the more the influence on what it does by outside influences.

Strategic Planning is a key component to utilize in implementing your annual giving campaign for your organization’s mission. Your brand and message should be evaluated annually and adapted to reach the organization, its supporters and the community it serves.

Providing access to services should be first and foremost.  The credentials to provide clinical work, whether it be a Bachelors, Masters or MD takes professional experience as well. 

A clinician’s work guiding a person through their journey to obtain the skills that help them achieve their desired outcome has to be measurable.  When it comes to billing the insurance carrier or government funding entity the case notes are needed.  Since case notes need to be electronic, what prevents the case from going through the electronic format for therapy? 

The use of electronic interaction, especially when distance makes interaction even more difficult to access services, will only improve more folks dealing with the issues or when they may be in need of a stabilizing force.  

Being able to access an interaction with another person is what individuals need when there is not a danger to themselves or others.  The use of the telephone, which can be recorded, and definitely the computer for recording an interaction, provides solid back up and documentation of what occurred in a session. 

Further, assessment tools online quickly find strengths and weaknesses of an individual and can be more easily accessed with no time constraints.  How effective is the in-person face-to-face vs. the electronic face-to-face? What type of interaction is a telephone interaction between a clinician and the individual?  Is the verbal interaction or an email between two individuals a physical interaction?  I would challenge each of us to think yes.  People react emotionally to email and telephone calls every day. 

In the world of insurance what is the definition of a face-to-face?  The requirement of physical space for the person to attend to get therapy is no longer the only means to provide mental health services.   Change is coming, are you ready?  The licensing of clinics needs to be reviewed in light of this new approach and adopted.

Having the pulse of donors is always a challenge.  Questions to ask yourself in dealing with donors are:

How does the purpose for the funds interest the donor?

How does the campaign for the funds match the means for which the donor wishes to be recognized?

How does the campaign clearly describe whom will be served?

How does the organization plan to convey the outcomes for the funds donors have given?

Automated response vs a formal response with hand written thank you note.

Nonprofits are just too nice when it comes to creating, inventing and working hard. They show their result and the design to achieve the results.

If you create it, especially if it is successful, copyright it or patent it.  Universities and colleges have been doing it for years and making money on the royalties.

You can always give an individual, company or government permission to use it, and certainly always credit the funding source, but make sure you get the credit for what you did.

Branding and Name Recognition = Marketing = Money

The IRS expects that nonprofits will raise funds to offset a percentage of their costs, thereby lowering their cost to the public. Another aspect of measurement is what public good the organization offers. It is not the intent of the IRS to provide an opportunity for a nonprofit company to compete at lower costs than a for-profit.

Questions to ask:

Why is my organization worthy of financial support?

What portion of the dollars we raise will actually be put towards the services we provide?

What is the outcomes measure and how does it show that the organization is successful? How big is the issue the organization is trying to address?

How much of the issue is the organization trying to address itself?

What is the impact of the issue in the geographic area the organization services?

What would it take to address the issue in the geographic area the organization services?

What amount of money is being used to fund raise in comparison to the amount raised?

I have read too many 990’s and fiscal statements of nonprofits where no funds are raised, little is raised, or the proportion of money spent to raise funds of the amount actually raised is more than 25%, sometimes actually resulting in a loss.

Most nonprofits are doing a terrible job for one reason only - the lack of planning. So stop complaining and get your organization organized. The Executive Director and Board should be the leadership and base in this effort. It does not take hiring permanent staff to get the plan implemented. An organization can hire part-timers or consultants to assist in developing a plan or direct the implementation of the plan until there is adequate capacity in an organization. I have estimated that in any given week an Executive Director could contact 8-12 potential donors and only for up to 40 weeks.

So when was the last time you called a potential donor? When was the last time board members gave to your organization? When was the last time the board members helped to solicit money for the organization?

It is time to really make raising funds a priority for the Board and 25 % of the Executive Director’s time.

Insurance companies calculate the likelihood that an organization will file a claim.  They calculate how likely it is that an individual will file a claim. 

Federal and state authorities are responsible for certifying the safety of a bridge.  When a bridge is considered not sound, they weigh the likelihood of its failure.

The FDA calculates the acceptable risk to any individual, if the greater public would benefit over a few. 

Whether going to the beach, going boating, driving a car, traveling via a plane, taking a shower, sitting in the sun, skiing, eating foods, etc.; each action requires a level of risk.

Death and injury are never positive outcomes.  The human body is not invincible.  Even sitting still in one location and being frozen in fear of risk is unhealthy.  Each individual’s genetic make up, environmental conditions, and actions they take create the level of risk for any activity. 

So what can a person do?

Make yourself aware by being an informed consumer.

So what should an organization do?

Decide how to run the organization at a level of acceptable risks.  Plan ahead by creating a Risk Management Plan.  Having a plan lessens the likelihood that critical steps are not missed. 

Risk Management for your organization is not about predicting.  It is about having an ability to respond in an appropriate manner.  It is about appropriately training your staff on how to respond.  Your plan provides staff the base tool on which to be trained.

To the degree staff learn an organization’s risk management plan, they will learn valuable skills for helping their family members.

Risk is everywhere and should not paralyze an organization or individual. Be proactive, create your plan and review it with staff.