12 SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2007 Although fall isn’t the start of most organization’s fiscalyears, perhaps as a remnant of our school-year sched- ules, it is a time when many of us gear up after summer holidays — often with renewed energy — for the busy fall fundraising season. One task facing those of us with fiscal years beginning on January 1st is the preparation of our annual fundraising plan. This article presents a systematic way of creating an annual fundraising plan for your organization. The focus of this process (like the focus of the Grassroots Fundraising Journal) is on strategies for building a base of individual donors in order to create a reliable and repeatable source of income. The six-step planning process this worksheet takes you through will help you create a plan that is based on the realities of your organization’s funding base, infra- structure, and fundraising team. We recommend you include both board and staff in creating your plans, along with anyone else who is key to implementing the plan. When the people who are expected to carry out the fundraising activities have participated in developing the plan, their commitment to it will be greater, boosting your chance of fundraising success. Before calling together everyone you want to involve in creating the details, however, go through the steps here and gather whatever preliminary information will be needed to complete the plan. Then schedule a meeting of all the people who will be key to carrying it out, sending them a copy of the following worksheet pages with the information you have gathered. You’ll see that Step 1 assumes you’ve already devel- oped your budget for the coming year, or at least a draft that will be completed once you’ve figured out exactly how much money you can realistically raise. It takes some time to think through a fundraising plan in this amount of detail, but once you’ve done this planning, all your fundraising tasks are clear and ready to be implemented. PRISCILLA HUNG & STEPHANIE ROTH ARE CO-DIRECTORS OF GIFT. MIMI HO IS PROGRAM DIRECTOR OF THE ASIAN PACIFIC ENVIRONMENTAL NETWORK. GFJ Fundraising Planning Worksheet A Tool for Creating Your Annual Fundraising Plan S T E P 1 : G AT H E R T H E N U M B E R S A. What are your projected total expenses for the coming year? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ _________________ B. How much income, in total, is already committed toward your expenses? (Include only support that is already promised — individual donor pledges that have been made as well as government, corporate, or foundation grants that you are assured of) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ _________________ C. Subtract “B” from “A” for total amount to be raised: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ _________________ D. Fill out the following chart with your results from last year’s fundraising activities, your current year-to-date figures, and projections for the c ...

1. 12 SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2007
Although fall isn’t the start of most organization’s fiscalyears,
perhaps as a remnant of our school-year sched-
ules, it is a time when many of us gear up after summer
holidays — often with renewed energy — for the busy fall
fundraising season. One task facing those of us with fiscal
years beginning on January 1st is the preparation of our
annual fundraising plan.
This article presents a systematic way of creating an
annual fundraising plan for your organization. The focus
of this process (like the focus of the Grassroots Fundraising
Journal) is on strategies for building a base of individual
donors in order to create a reliable and repeatable source
of income.
The six-step planning process this worksheet takes
you through will help you create a plan that is based on
the realities of your organization’s funding base, infra-
structure, and fundraising team. We recommend you
include both board and staff in creating your plans, along
with anyone else who is key to implementing the plan.
When the people who are expected to carry out the
fundraising activities have participated in developing the
plan, their commitment to it will be greater, boosting your
chance of fundraising success.
Before calling together everyone you want to involve
in creating the details, however, go through the steps here
and gather whatever preliminary information will be

2. needed to complete the plan. Then schedule a meeting of
all the people who will be key to carrying it out, sending
them a copy of the following worksheet pages with the
information you have gathered.
You’ll see that Step 1 assumes you’ve already devel-
oped your budget for the coming year, or at least a draft
that will be completed once you’ve figured out exactly
how much money you can realistically raise.
It takes some time to think through a fundraising plan
in this amount of detail, but once you’ve done this
planning, all your fundraising tasks are clear and ready to
be implemented.
PRISCILLA HUNG & STEPHANIE ROTH ARE CO-
DIRECTORS OF GIFT. MIMI HO
IS PROGRAM DIRECTOR OF THE ASIAN PACIFIC
ENVIRONMENTAL NETWORK.
GFJ
Fundraising Planning Worksheet
A Tool for Creating Your Annual Fundraising Plan
S T E P 1 : G AT H E R T H E N U M B E R S
A. What are your projected total expenses for the coming year?
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ _________________
B. How much income, in total, is already committed toward
your expenses? (Include only
support that is already promised — individual donor pledges
that have been made as well
as government, corporate, or foundation grants that you are
assured of) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ _________________

3. C. Subtract “B” from “A” for total amount to be raised: . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ _________________
D. Fill out the following chart with your results from last year’s
fundraising activities, your
current year-to-date figures, and projections for the coming
year. There will likely be some parts
of the chart that you’ll leave blank at this stage in your planning
process until you’ve completed
more of this worksheet and can come back to them. The
“sources” listed are examples only.
Add ones that are relevant to your organization, such as house
parties, online appeals, and so on.
In the “expense” column for each activity, include in the cost of
raising the money not only
materials and other expenses but also staff time if possible.
BY STEPHANIE ROTH, MIMI HO AND PRISCILLA HUNG
STEP 2: ANALYZE PAST FUNDRAISING EFFORTS
(Use separate sheets of paper for the following questions for
each source.)
• For each of the sources of income in the chart in Step 1, note
briefly what has worked well
to bring in money that you want to do again.
• What hasn’t worked? How can you improve or modify these
strategies to make them work?
• What are new opportunities coming up that you want to take
advantage of, such as a special
anniversary, a large organizing campaign, a new executive

4. director?
(If you want to do a more detailed evaluation of your past
fundraising efforts, including rate of
response, what worked, and what should change, see
“Evaluating Your Individual Donor Program”
by Stephanie Roth in Grassroots Fundraising Journal, Vol. 20
#6, (Nov-Dec 2001), available at
www.grassrootsfundraising.org.)
STEP 3: DETERMINE YOUR AVAILABLE RESOURCES
Resources for fundraising include the people who will be
involved in carrying out various fundraising
tasks as well as money you’ll need to spend on staff time and
materials. The expenses were included
in Step 1. The following chart will help you brainstorm who you
can recruit to your fundraising team.
13GRASSROOTS FUNDRAISING JOURNAL •
WWW.GRASSROOTSFUNDRAISING.ORG
SOURCE LAST YEAR’S LAST YEAR’S CURRENT YEAR’S
CURRENT YEAR’S NEXT YEAR’S NEXT YEAR’S
INCOME EXPENSE INCOME EXPENSE INCOME EXPENSE
Individual donors
Total
• Membership dues
• Events
• Major Gifts
• Mail solicitation
• Other:
Sales / earned income
Other sources:

5. • Government
• Foundations
• Corporations
TOTALS
If your organization’s budget-setting process has identified how
much you plan to
spend on fundraising, put that amount here as another resource
you have available: $ _________________
Fundraising activities, current year-to-date figures, and
projections for the coming year:
WHO? HOW MANY? WHAT COULD THEY DO?
Board members
Staff (including program staff)
Volunteers (including former board
and staff, members, supporters)
Who else?
Expenses to complete this strategy:
14 SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2007
EXPENSE $ AMOUNT NOTES
Staff time
Consultant / Services

6. Design
Printing
Postage
Travel /Transportation
Food
Other:
Other:
TOTAL
STEP 4: STRATEGIES — WHAT WILL YOU DO?
Now think about the fundraising strategies you’ll use to build
support from individual donors —
and in some cases, from small businesses or corporations —
from the point of view of getting new
donors, renewing current donors, and upgrading current donors.
Acquire new donors — List all the activities you will engage in
to bring in new donors, such as direct
mail appeals, e-mail outreach, house parties and other events,
and individual donor asks:
1.
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____
2.
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____
3.
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____

7. Renew current donors — List the activities you’ll engage in to
ask your current supporters to give again.
Typically, these include mail appeals, e-mail solicitations, and
follow-up phone calls. They also include personal
solicitation for larger gifts. Special events are also activities
that donors often come to year after year.
1.
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____
2.
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____
3.
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____
Upgrade current donors — Getting donors to consider larger
gifts usually requires a more personal approach.
The size of a major gift depends on your donor base. For a
group with few or no donors, a major gift might
be $100. For a group with several hundred donors or more who
give varying amounts, $250, $500, or
even $1,000 may be the threshold for a major gift.
1.
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____
2.

8. _____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____
3.
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____
STEP 5: HAMMER OUT THE DETAILS
For each fundraising strategy that you plan to use, fill out a
separate page with the following information:
Strategy:
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
___________________________
Projected income (gross): $ ______________________
Total cost (use worksheet below): $ ______________________
Net income: $ ______________________
Other goals that this strategy will meet (such as get new donors,
generate publicity, involve board members
in fundraising):
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
___________________
Number of staff and volunteers needed to carry out this
strategy: ______________________

9. 15GRASSROOTS FUNDRAISING JOURNAL •
WWW.GRASSROOTSFUNDRAISING.ORG
Activities / Steps to complete this strategy:
S T E P 6 : P U T I T A L L T O G E T H E R
Finally, you can pull together all your fundraising planning in
one chart that will show what fundraising activities
you are doing, how much you intend to raise, from whom, when,
who will do what, and how much it will cost.
The following worksheet starts with a couple of sample
activities to give you an idea of how to fill it out.
DATE TASK(S) WHO
STRATEGY
House Parties
(total of 3)
Major Gift
Campaign
GOALS
(dollar amount
and response)
$3,000
45 new donors
$20,000
TARGET
AUDIENCE
Friends and

10. family of board
members
Current donors,
$100 & up
DESCRIPTION
Small events in
homes of board
members (or other
supporters)
Personal
solicitation:
phone or
in-person
WHEN
March, May,
October
October 15 –
November 30
COST
$200
per party
Minimal:
some postage
and meeting
costs

11. WHO
Staff: Help recruit hosts, help create
invitations, thank yous, logistical support
Board: Host part, invite own contacts,
provide refreshments
Staff: Prepare materials, identify prospects,
draft letter, conduct solicitations
Board & other volunteers: Identify prospects,
conduct solicitations
TOTAL INCOME: $ TOTAL EXPENSES: $
I used first two points (31,3343) as (X1,Y1), and (27,3551) as
(X2,Y2). Then I found a slope by (3551-3343/27-31) that equals
-52.
My equation in the from of a function is: f(x)=-52X+4955.
My predicted third value is 3655. There is 48 points difference
between actual and predicted value.
Many things can be predicted by applying mathematical skills
into it. Linear equation can be used to solve many problems in
our daily life. I would say that, the our statistical data can be
predicted very accurate as long as the surrounding factors are
not violently changed.
Sheet1First VariableSecond VariableThis is the first point used
for your functionThis is the second point used for your

12. functionThis is the point used to test your functionm
=ERROR:#DIV/0!b = ERROR:#DIV/0!ERROR:#DIV/0!THIS IS
YOUR FUNCTIONERROR:#DIV/0!THIS IS YOUR FUNCTION
EVALUATED AT YOUR THIRD VALUE OF
XERROR:#DIV/0!THIS IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE
Y VALUES
Graph
Unit 3 Discussion: Build a Function
The tables and equations we use in mathematics are not just
arbitrary symbols and variables used to stress out students.
They have applications that can be used in our daily lives.
Using the data we collected in the previous unit, you will make
and interpret an equation in this unit.
You will use the first two points to create a linear equation.
Look at the example provided last week:
Hours studying
Score
Ordered Pair
Meaning
5
92
(5, 92)
I studied for 5 hours and earned a 92 on the test
4
85
(4, 85)
I studied for 4 hours and earned a 85 on the test
In this discussion, you will use an Excel spreadsheet with

13. formulas to help you build a function. This Build-a-Function
graphing tool will provide the slope-intercept form of the
equation. You will graph the line through the sets of your data
points.
In your initial post, please complete the following:
1. Click Build a Function to download the graphing tool.
2. Enter the data points in sets of two.
3. Post the slope-intercept form of the equation for your data.
4. Explain how you determined the slope from the two data
points.
5. Post the equation that results from your data in the form of a
function.
6. Looking at the spreadsheet, what does it predict your third
value will be? What does this suggest to you?
When you respond to your classmates, offer your opinion of
what you see in their data. Avoid simple “good jobs” or “I like
it”. Try to offer help or ask questions. If you see mistakes,
please help your classmates out. If you have any questions, then
use this as an opportunity to ask for help. Make sure you ask
your instructor for help as well.
Unit 2 Discussion: Topic and Variables
This unit’s discussion board will start a project that we will
come back to each week. So make sure you communicate well
with your instructor and select a topic that will work.
For the project you will select a topic and gather information.
Using a spreadsheet to help you, you will use algebra to analyze
that information and make some predictions.
A good start will be very beneficial. The topic you select is
extremely open ended and can apply to real life. Pick something
within your major or just pick something you enjoy.
You need to pick two variables that are related to one another
and collect data about each of them. Say to yourself “As _____
goes up/down, then it will cause ______ to go up/down.”
However, there are some essential rules for your variables:

14. · Pick something that is measurable! Students run into problems
when they pick something like “low, medium, and high.” Avoid
choosing something like hours of sleep vs. happiness. There is
no way to measure happiness.
· You need to measure the variables. There are multiple ways
you can collect your data: you can perform an experiment
yourself, or you can find data on the Internet. Collecting the
data yourself means you need to have all instruments necessary.
Measuring water pressure coming out of a pipe means you need
something to measure that pressure.
· You should not have intervals. A data point cannot be a range
of GPAs from 1.6 to 3.8. Your data must have single values.
· The variables must be related. Say that we tested 37 students
and the average score was an 86. Do you think that testing 41
students would have an effect on the average score? It isn’t
likely that one would affect the other..
Here are some good examples of variables that may be related:
· How is the amount of time spent exercising related to weight
loss?
· How is the number of years spent in school related to salary?
· How is the speed limit related to the number of highway
fatalities?
For this initial post:
· State your topic.
· Define what your variables are and how you expect they will
affect one another.
· Show your data in an x-y table format. Make sure the data
follows the rules above.
Example:
My topic will be to compare hours spent studying to math test
scores. My guess is that the more I study the better grade I will
get.
Hours studying
Score
5
92

15. 4
85
1.5
61
Make sure you ask your instructor early if you have any
questions. It is very much to your advantage to ensure your
topic is strong early to avoid needing to change it later.
If you searched for your data points, then cite your sources.
Also make sure your sources are reasonable. Make sure the
websites you select are impartial to avoid skewed data.
You may find that you want to use more than one source for
your data. Here are links to some web sites that include
collections of data:
· The Centers for Disease Control
· The National Institute of Health
· The Bureau of Labor Statistics
· International data on Internet use
· The National Restaurant Association
· Statistics on industrial robots from Statista
· The FBI
Be prepared that you may start your research with one topic in
mind but as you search you may end up finding a new topic.
This is perfectly fine and even encouraged.
In your responses to your classmates, answer the following
questions:
· Do you agree that the selected factors are related? Why or why
not?
· Do these variables suggest to you any other factors that might
also be related? Suggest at least one additional idea of a
variable that could have an influence on the situation. (These
will be helpful to your classmates if they have any difficulty
finding data on one of the selected variables.)
_____________________________________________________

16. __________________________
Hello Class,
My topic this week will be gas prices averages in Virginia over
the past 4 months. Below is what I have so far;
Nov 29th - $1.90
Dec 29th - $1.82
Jan 29th - $1.68
Feb 29th - $1.53
Tray
Reply
Re: Topic and Variables
by Nathan - Tuesday, 1 March 2016, 8:42 AM
This can be headed in the right direction and I like the idea,
however, one problem we run into is that your "input" variable
is not numeric :( Dates work bad. There is a way we can
redefine it though. What I may do is call November 0. That
would make December 1, and so on. Does that make sense? If
you chnage it this way then make sure to keep referring back to
it in that sense and converting back. We have to make the
assumption that each month is the same and give or take 30 that
is true but will definitely need to be addressed in your
interpretations. If you make those changes then this will work
well :) Great work!
Nathan