Many fundraising emergencies seem to arise daily – a donor needs immediate attention, a proposal is due today, or a mailing needs approval. How can we change the paradigm and create a healthy, sustainable, and doable fundraising program? This workshop will discuss a realistic, workable plan for your fundraising efforts and strategies to make it actionable daily. Learning Objective: This workshop will discuss a realistic, workable plan for your fundraising efforts and strategies to make it actionable daily.

1. CREATE A PLAN YOU'LL
ACTUALLY USE

2. WHY PLAN?

3. HOPE IS NOT A STRATEGY

5. THIS IS NOT ABOUT
THE TACTICS
BUT THE PLANNING
PROCESS

6. Where are you now? (Assess)
1
Where are we going? (Set
goals)
2
What is on the “itinerary”? (Set
milestones)
3
How will we get there? (Create
action plan)
4
HOW TO PLAN

7. WHERE ARE YOU NOW?
Assessment

8. What do we do well?
What could use some improvement
and why?
How do we feel about where we
are?
QUALITATIVE
CONDUCTING A QUICK ASSESSMENT

9. Template at afpfep.org
6 Growth in Giving Reports
Donor retention, gains and losses,
growth in giving, donor loyalty
across varying dollar segments
QUANTITATIVE
CONDUCTING A QUICK ASSESSMENT

10. SET A TIME LIMIT

11. WHERE ARE YOU GOING?
Goal Setting

12. WHAT DOES YOUR DESTINATION
OR SUCCESS LOOK LIKE?

13. DETERMINE LONGER
TERM VISION

15. WHAT'S THE GAP BETWEEN
WHERE YOU ARE
AND WHERE YOU WANT TO BE?

16. WHAT ARE MY MUST DOS?
Milestones

17. Must do Should do Nice to do
PRIORITIZE

19. What is our end result?
What are the lines we will not cross?
What is mission critical?
PLANNING DURING UNCERTAINTY

20. PLANNING DURING
UNCERTAINTY
BUT ABOUT THE
GUARD RAILS
is not about the road ahead

21. Anticipate best and worst case
Understand your destination and plan
for alternate routes
PLAN FOR AN ALTERNATE ROUTE

22. HOW CAN WE MAKE
THIS HAPPEN?
Action Plan

23. Periodization
You can have a 12-month vision, but
implementation is no more than 12
weeks
MAKE IT A ROUTINE

24. Review quick assessment
Review the longer term vision
Decide on 1-3 “Big Rock” Goals
Select tactics for each goal
QUARTERLY PLAN

25. No more than 1-3 that move you toward
your vision
Should be things you can complete in
12 weeks
WHAT ARE BIG ROCK GOALS?

26. CHOOSE YOUR TACTICS

27. What's reliable and realistic?
What's a calculated risk?

28. Review 12 Week Year
Pick 1-3 things to work on this week
Break down tactics into things to do this
week
EACH WEEK

29. Review Weekly Plan
Pick 1-3 things to work on today
Most Important Tasks, i.e. “Eat Your
Frog”
EACH DAY

30. Eat a live frog first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you the
rest of the day.
Mark Twain (but probably not)

31. “Day of Pain and Suffering”
MONTHLY

32. Do another quick assessment
Reassess “Big Rock” Goals and
rebalance
Start again
QUARTERLY

33. ARE WE THERE YET?
Key Metrics

34. HOW WILL WE KNOW
WHEN WE'VE ARRIVED?

35. Revisit your key metrics on a monthly
basis
Have an accountability partner that is
not your boss
MILESTONES

36. SUMMARY

37. Your plan is a journey
Break down your Big Rocks into
regular tasks
Have a one year vision but 12
week plan
Work the plan every day
Don't be afraid to recalculate
Where are you now? Where are you going?
How will you get there?
SUMMARY

38. ALICE FERRIS
Partner, GoalBusters Consulting
alice.ferris@goalbusters.net
888-883-2690
goalbusters.net
aliceferris
linkedin.com/in/aliceferris/
MBA, CFRE, ACFRE