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Imagine the things we have to get done in a day!

You have to be online! You have to send out emails, and respond to much more emails! Search for new donors! Manage old donors! Help your board resolve issues! Treat every donor like a major donor! People are calling for program updates! You need to plan your next hangout! Pick up the kids! Decide on the next big thing!

It is just too much and how does anyone expect you to focus on fundraising?

Trust me as a busy third sector leader, I understand and to conquer Productivity, Time Management, and Fundraising, you must understand the different mindsets driving your decisions

The productivity mindset says Get more work done!

The time management mindset says ‘Get the most important work done well’.

So how can you effectively manage your time so you can focus on successful fundraising strategies?

1. Cultivate a Time Positive Mindset

What is your MOST important goal?

For many nonprofit leaders, your most important goal is securing funding which automatically makes your donors are a priority.               Individual donors remain 75% of the highest amount of donors who give so prioritizing your donor interaction is now more important than ever.

One of the ways to do this is to ‘’Develop a more efficient way to engage and interact with everyone on your value chain so you can continue to deliver an experience.

Have a more high-quality targeted list of stakeholders that is segmented. (This is one of the areas we will be discussing at our upcoming training). Categorize everyone on that list so your communications are easier and more direct.

1. Control Your Interactions

There are  3 types of interactions: People, Communication & Environment

People: Daily prioritize people you should communicate with such as your Donors, Leaders & Board Members, Volunteers & co-workers, family & friends.

Communication:  It’s important you schedule time on your calendar for responding to emails, newsletters, reports, and projects.

Environment: How cluttered is your workspace? your desktop, or your mind? How do you handle visual distractions? Learn to work in an environment that excites you and keeps you committed to your task.

Other ways to manage your time effectively are;

• Make a plan: Do you have a Master, Monthly, Weekly, and Daily calendar?
• Control the interruptions. Do everything to protect your work time. Focus.
• Find your preferred time management app. There are so many apps; workflow, Trello, Asana, Monday.com, To-do-list, slack. Find an app that works for you.
• Find your peak zone: When is the best time for you to work
• Carve out personal time. Don’t spend all day dedicated to working activities alone. Block off personal time on your calendar.
• Delegate
• Learn to say No

We have so much more information packed for our upcoming Masterclass, please send us an email at donorsforafrica@gmail.com for more inquiries.

In a world dominated by social media and digital technology, fundraising trends, strategies, and best practices evolve at a rapid pace. New and creative ways of asking for donor support emerge so quickly that it can be hard for organizations to keep up. 

For many nonprofit founders, fundraising is just one of your many, many responsibilities, you barely have time to run through each activity how much more to stay on top of trends, and put into practice the things you learn. 

When we work with third sector leaders, oftentimes they ask us what are some of the ways to know it’s time to have a strategy in place as well as a possible fundraiser.

Below are some ideas; 

You don’t have enough in-house staff: 

Many successful nonprofits often have departments dedicated to fundraising that include independent teams that handle all the moving parts. If your nonprofit has big goals but only a handful of people who can dedicate their time to fundraising activities, it may be time to consider hiring outside help. 

Training in-house staff:

Sometimes, even if you have enough in-house staff members responsible for fundraising, they may not have the necessary expertise. It may be helpful to hire a fundraising consultant instead.

Reaching untapped audiences:

As a nonprofit founder, sometimes all you may know is the information available within your immediate network. That doesn’t mean there isn’t a lot more outside your network. Engaging fundraising professionals who work with dozens of organizations just like yours and have a network of potential partners, vendors, and sponsors will give you access to an untapped audience.  They can see opportunities and ways to expose your organization to new audiences.  

Planning a fundraising program:

Creating a new fundraising program from scratch requires experience in that area and a deep understanding of how to maximize your organization’s resources. Your in-house staff will be able to maintain the program once it’s up and running, but it’s not a bad idea to get someone to help plan and implement it.

Launching a capital campaign:

Campaigns are an enormous undertaking and often take time to execute. They involve a lot of moving parts and rely on each fundraising program working in unison toward the same mission. Even if you have a full staff of experienced fundraisers, it can still be helpful to hire outside help to plan the campaign and keep it on track. 

Becoming a better digital fundraiser:

We rely on digital technology for just about everything, and its role in fundraising will only continue to grow and evolve. By learning new digital fundraising skills and learning from experts, you can help your organization meet its donors where they are—online. 

Now, we have talked about why you need a strategy and the realities that surround having a successful campaign.

In our upcoming e-course, we will be breaking it down and showing you a lot down to ways to approach your potential sponsors and fundraisers.

Do click HERE to be the first to know.

Have you accessed a grant before?

Well, if your nonprofit organization hasn’t received or applied for any then you should. I tell most nonprofits that the best way to learn how to apply for a grant is to actually apply for one and this is why.

Applying for grants will improve your technique and expand your ability to write a competitive document. Remember, you are not the only one competing for that money. There are many other organizations like yours with real problems they intend to address and are interested in the same money, hence you MUST bring your A GAME!

Below are a few tricks and tips you must consider when preparing for your next application and we will be expanding on this at our upcoming working webinar themed ‘Get Ahead’. Do check it out.

1.Understand the amount of work that goes into the writing process

Grant writing takes time and the first key towards writing a winning grant is to pay attention to the amount of dedication and hard work needed in drafting a convincing proposal. The same effort paid in finding the right opportunity should be the same level of precision required in grant writing.

2. You must be meticulously thorough and address all the grantor’s requirements.

Often, the problem with an ineffective grant proposal isn’t the quality of the writing, the reputation of the requesting organization, or the worthiness of its stakeholders and community. Instead, what often diminishes a proposal’s effectiveness is a failure to thoroughly address the expectations of the grantor.

It is VERY important that you review the grantor’s requirements and ensure your organization meets them.

3. Establish how your organization is specially equipped to meet the community and the funder’s needs

Never assume that your potential funder will be familiar with your organization’s mission, the scope of activities, populations served, and unique programs. Whether you do a concise (very concise!) “about us” section at the beginning of the proposal, or whether you decide to weave specific information about your organization throughout the proposal, your brand and your value must come through. How?

4. Keeping your data and resources for the grant application well-ordered and easily accessible

Do you have a checklist of all that is required to be submitted for the varied applications you are putting forward? Do you know all that is required? Are they easily accessible?

5. Ensure you are thoroughly vetted and reviewed before submission.

You should treat your grant proposal as you would any important document. Just as you would your annual report, letters to donors, or any other communication that leaves your organization and lands on another’s desk, establish an editorial review process.

Grant writing isn’t like other types of business writing. It has its own language and “rules.” Have someone – or many people – work with you during the production of your proposal to ensure that the final product is as near-flawless as possible.

Download apps that allow ease of this process and our program  Get Ahead will  share several platforms and apps you can ap

If you have questions or inquiries, please feel free to email us at donorsforafrica@gmail.com  

The fiscal year end for many donors and corporate organizations, is in June/July?

What does this mean for you and your nonprofit? and how do you ensure you attract and don’t lose any of your new and existing donors? (Learn How to fund your Nonprofit Here)

How do you tie up every loose end so you don’t leave money on the table?. (This will be discussed in details at the upcoming FREE Webinar. Register Here)

For many nonprofits, long-term sustainability and donor retention is important  and although most donors are well-intentioned, they may just be too busy to consistently fund your organization.

What strategies can you implement to retain and access new ones?

Create a List

You need to first understand your current realities. Who funded you last year? This could be friends or families, companies or grants accessed etc. Do you have an existing database? If you do, then contact them to find out why they did not give to you this year and what you can do better. There is an art to asking and we will touch on this in our upcoming webinar.

Contact Your Most Consistent Donors or Partners

Now you have a list, begin to contact those who gave consistently. I know it may be difficult to engage past sponsors, so here is something that may help; do a live role play with your team or volunteers, develop a script and practice so people feel more comfortable and ask  expected questions afterwards. Don’t forget to send a heartwarming letter  or an inspirational quote to leave  people feeling inspired.

Send a We-Miss-You message:

This can be sent to people you called but didn’t reach. Remember in our How to Fund Your Nonprofit Class, we spoke about ”having an abundance mindset”. So assume in your tone and language your donor simply has forgotten or has just not got around to it due to the busyness of daily life.

Send specific email blasts targeting your donors:

Now if you don’t have an email listing and regular newsletters, this may be foreign to you. It is important that you make this message about your donor. So a tip would be to simply write “Did you forget you made this possible?”  Then you insert success stories from your community.

Call donors who promised to pay but are yet to:

In our Inner Circle ( you can still join us here), I shared a story about how a fortune 500 company in the UK, consistently followed on a $10 service /product someone was interested in. If a firm as big as that could be persistent, what are you worried about? You are worried about sounding pushy? Ok na!

Send out progress reports:

This is pretty clear and I will expatiate on the impact and success stories recorded simply from practicing this. Remember to register. It’s FREE

Build stronger bonds:

Relationship building in the nonprofit sector is an art. It takes skill and consistency. Who is on your target list? Do you know what a target list  is and how to work it? Our Inner Circle members recorded mind blowing testimonials simply by implementing a relationship management strategy. So can you.

Do you have a Donor Acquisition and Management Strategy?

For those who may not be joining the Inner Circle, consider participating in our upcoming training called Get Ahead where this will be discussed in details! Please see information below-you can register your interest. Thank you all so much for reading . For inquiries, please send an email to donorsforafrica@gmail.com.