Grant money. Just saying the words probably makes your heart skip a beat and brings a spark to your eyes. Let's say it again. Grant money. That's fun.
But at Turnbull Marketing Group, two other words make our heart skip a beat and bring sparkles to our eyes: individual donations. That's right. Individual donations.
Grant money can bring in some big dollars, and matching grants are a great motivator for donors. Grants also come with a lot of strings, reports, and man hours. And they're finicky. When a grant gets cut, you lose a lot of money.
We've all heard that it's important to diversify your portfolio to minimize risk. The same holds true for your "fundraising portfolio." Individual donations are great way to do this. It's much less likely that thousands of people will suddenly stop giving to you than it is that a foundation will find it's time to "refocus their vision."
Individual donations spread out your income base and give you a wide, strong foundation. They also help you share your mission with the widest audience possible. Even better, there are SO MANY more individuals than there are foundations. (Duh.)
A recent report from Triangle Gives Back emphasizes this point.
Collectively, individuals out-pace organizations in total giving. This is true in the Triangle as it is nationwide...
The report, which focuses on North Carolina, shows that the nonprofits in the Triangle received upwards of $947 million in individual contributions compared to just $317 million from foundations in 2005. That's a ratio of nearly 3:1. (Hold tight math majors -- we know this is a rough estimate.)
With a ratio like that, I'd think it's worth spending 3 hours on your donors to every 1 hour you spend on grant seeking. That being said, too many nonprofit leaders still spend their time running after grant money when they should be cultivating one on one relationships with their donors. Are you one of them?
Here are a few quick questions to ask yourself:
- How many times a year do we contact our donors?
- How often do we ask our donors for money?
- How many times do we say thank you for the individual donations we receive?
- How many hours do we spend writing grants?
- When was the last time we picked up the phone to call our donors and thank them?
I can't emphasize enough how important it is to focus on your organization's individual donations and the people who give from their limited time and income to keep you going.
Do you need help creating a strong donor-centered fundraising program? Turnbull Marketing Group can help. Contact us to get started. We promise it's a lot less time consuming than grant writing and a lot more fun.
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