Nonprofit Fundraising 101

Name: Nonprofit Fundraising 101
Rating: 4.4 (13 reviews)

Practical tools, templates, and trainings for professional fundraisers

Created byLindsay Gebhart

Last updated 12/2024

English

What you'll learn

Fundraising Plan Execution: Learn how to create a 12-month fundraising plan that focuses on results and action
Develop your fundraising instincts: Learn what to say, and not say, to major funders
Fast track to best practices: Learn what processes and systems need to be in place for you to be successful
Solidify your baseline knowledge: Learn about the five major types of nonprofit fundraising and how to prospect for each type
Understand what is important -- and what is not -- as a top-notch fundraiser
Learn how to use the following tools/templates: Fundraising Scorecard, Program Gap Analysis, Foundation and Corporate Forecasting, Board Reporting, and more

Course content

6 sections • 30 lectures • 2h 45m total length

Course welcome0:22
Course organization4:18
Take a look around
Nonprofit and Fundraising Basics18:00
This lecture is not required but is recommended to anyone who is not a fundraising veteran.

Introduction to map section1:41
Scorecard introduction2:35
Terms: Reserve, Surplus, 80/20 rule, Cost to raise a dollar
Scorecard Explainer7:29
In order to know where you’re going, you need to know where you are. This is the YOU ARE HERE sticker on the map of your fundraising
Program Gap Analysis introduction2:46
Terms reviewed: Restricted vs, Unrestricted revenue, General Operating Support (GOS), Allocation
Program Gap Analysis Explainer5:45
Understanding your organization’s finances is key to your success as a fundraiser - you need to know what you need to raise before you can raise it
Individual Giving Assessment introduction1:41
Topics: Donor rights and operating in good faith
Individual Giving Assessment Explainer15:02
To maintain or increase your individual donors, you need to understand what motivates them. This will allow you to effectively reach people who are similarly motivated and increase your donor base

Introduction to Navigate section1:47
Core Fundraising Functions introduction: Acknowledgement letters3:29
Core function in highlight: Acknowledgement letters
Core Fundraising Functions Explainer10:51
This document allows you to create institutional processes that are priceless for your organization and ensures no information is siloed on your team
Boilerplate Language Developer introduction: Planned Giving2:42
Topic highlight: Planned Giving
Boilerplate Language Developer Explainer12:47
To codify external language to ensure all internal stakeholders are aware of the way you describe/brand your work. This exercise will save you hours of time and frustration
Foundation and Corporate Forecasting Introduction: Foundation Prospecting2:31
Topic highlight: Foundation prospecting
Foundation and Corporate Forecasting Explainer9:28
The cliché about foundations is, “Once you know one foundation, you know one foundation,” and it’s true. Each foundation and corporation has different funding priorities, strategies, and approaches.

Introduction to Accelerate section1:48
Hard Conversations: Foundations Introduction2:07
Topic highlight: How to talk to foundations
Hard Conversations Explainer10:39
Funders need to trust you, and it helps if they like you. These requests are inherent to fundraising, and being prepared and practiced in these requests is key to having the request land successfully
Funder Meeting Prep Tool Introduction1:28
Topic highlight: The expectations of you as a fundraiser
Funder Meeting Prep Tool Explainer10:14
The one thing you can control before your meet with a major funder is the amount of preparation you do. Remember to practice answers to difficult questions.
Quarterly Board Report Introduction: Topline Board information1:57
Quarterly Board Report Explainer10:25
Boards are required to review financial and fundraising information but what they need is a big-picture view that they can scan quickly
Analysis Sheet introduction0:29
Analysis Sheet Explainer6:38

Introduction to the Development Plan2:50
Development Plan Explainer12:01
Create the perfect plan, no matter what you need to raise.
You need a Nonprofit Fundraising Development Plan template that works as hard as you do - so we made one. This comprehensive template will walk you through an analysis of your fundraising function and brainstorming for your revenue lines so you can develop the strategies, tactics, benchmarks, and pivots to set yourself up for success all year long.

Requirements

No fundraising or nonprofit experience needed; just bring your curiosity!

Description

This first-of-its-kind fundraising course, taught by a NYC-based fundraising expert, ditches the purely theoretical and teaches nonprofit fundraising as it was meant to be taught: through practical application. This course utilizes tools and templates to teach core concepts and illustrate best practices. You will create real-life work products you can use every day. Our unique approach to learning will get your fundraising career off the ground or to its next destination with Nonprofit Fundraising 101. Your work throughout the course will culminate in a 12-month Fundraising Plan: Create the perfect plan, no matter what you need to raise.

Our comprehensive coursework will walk you through an analysis of your fundraising function and brainstorming for your revenue lines so you can develop the strategies, tactics, benchmarks, and pivots to set yourself up for success all year long. Learn:

How to set goals, strategies, and tactics
How to analyze your fundraising department
How to pivot to ensure success

Sample course topic: Scrap your stale language

Banish the blank page panic and keep your team on brand, on message, and on point.

Tired of digging through old grants to find the language you need for a new application? Not finding inspiration for your new campaign by staring at a blank document? Need good sound bites for your Board to use? With the Boilerplate Language Developer, you'll always have somewhere to start.

This Word document walks you through each section of a boilerplate document, helping you to create your own organizational stock language that you can use, tweak, revise, and update for grants, appeals, reports, and more – over and over again.

What You'll Get

A step-by-step guide to creating stock language that can be used by you, your team, your staff, and your Board. You’ll always have a starting place.

What You'll Learn

How to effectively distill your work into a single overview
The most common topics that funders ask for
What funders are looking for when they ask certain questions

Who this course is for:

Those new to nonprofit fundraising who see it as a career change
Nonprofit employees that want to learn about fundraising
Entry-level nonprofit employees who want an edge
Nonprofit managers who want to lead with confidence

Nonprofit Fundraising 101

What you'll learn

Explore related topics

Course content

Introduction3 lectures • 23min

Map your fundraising terrain7 lectures • 37min

Navigate7 lectures • 44min

Accelerate9 lectures • 46min

Development Plan2 lectures • 15min

Conclusion2 lectures • 2min

Requirements

Description

Who this course is for: