Why Most Non-profits Need a Fundraising Consultant

The overwhelming majority of those organizations will never raise more than $250,000

According to the most recent data at the National Center for Charitable Statistics website, of the 1,581,445 registered nonprofit organizations in the USA, only 14% report revenue of $250,000 or more. That means 1,365,408 nonprofit organizations, or 86% of all registered nonprofits report revenue of less than $250,000. The overwhelming majority of those organizations will never raise more than $250,000. Why?

Most nonprofits eventually get to a point when the tasks they face in fundraising exceed the talents or available staff time

The Nonprofit Fundraising Study from The Science of Philanthropy Initiative examines the knowledge of scientific research methods of nonprofit staff members and their abilities to evaluate the scientific rigor of a research study examining the effectiveness of fundraising strategies.

Key findings include only 29% of organizations routinely evaluate their methods of fundraising, 48% occasionally do, and 23% never do and 46% of organizations do not consult scientific studies when designing their fundraising campaigns. Only 20% of organizations have utilized scientific research methods in the past year to examine the effectiveness of their fundraising strategies. Less than half of all organizations have staff who have formally studied this subject and who are able to evaluate the scientific rigor of fundraising studies.

Paralyzed by the prospect of making the investment or taking the risk of adding qualified staff members, most get stuck in this state of limbo and unrealized potential for months, often times years and sometimes indefinitely. Therefore, they join the ranks of the 86% of registered nonprofits with revenues of less than $250,000.

However, hiring qualified people for development is not feasible for many nonprofits

The cost of adding staff for development purposes can be cost-prohibitive for many organizations. And the organizations who have the resources to invest in full time development find it next to impossible to find good people. There is a lack of experienced, credentialed fundraisers with a proven track record of success. The talent pool is quite shallow. And those fundraisers who are credentialed and have a proven track record of success are difficult to recruit. They are generally well-paid and love the organization for which they work.

The challenge to find, recruit and hire qualified development professionals is widespread

A national study known as UnderDeveloped reveals “…many nonprofit organizations are stuck in a vicious cycle that threatens their ability to raise the resources they need to succeed.  A joint project of CompassPoint and the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund, this first-ever study found high levels of turnover and lengthy vacancies in development director positions throughout the sector, as well as deeper organizational issues, including the absence of basic fundraising systems and a lack of shared responsibility for fund development among key board and staff leaders at many organizations.” Key findings from the study include an extremely high turnover rate in the field of development directors, organizations aren’t finding enough qualified candidates for development director jobs and one in four nonprofits have no fundraising plan in place.

Faced with either the lack resources to fund new staff positions or the inability to find qualified people to fill development positions if they have the resources, what are nonprofits supposed to do?

Like many other business models, outsourcing is a solution. An ever-growing number of nonprofits are turning to experienced fundraising consultants to address their long and short-term fundraising needs and to achieve their funding goals. For organizations who cannot hire development staff, experienced fundraising consultants have the ability to create strategic plans and systems that will benefit the organization, and therefore those they serve, for years to come.

Nonprofits are notoriously slow at creating and implementing strategic plans of any kind, and this is especially true when it comes to strategic planning for development. Consultants can help facilitate that planning and preparation to raise funds and also define the case for charitable support.

It all comes down to planning (it always does)

A well-developed, strategic, long-range plan that lays out a vision for the future of the organization and indicates why it is important to the community it serves and the constituency it represents is critical for that organization’s fundraising success. Donors are inspired and compelled to partner with organizations who can clearly communicate the dreams and the plans they have for serving their constituents. Savvy prospective donors can easily sniff out those organizations who do not have a plan for achieving their vision. Why support an organization when it may not be here in five years? These realties are the reason nonprofits should hire a fundraising consultant to assist in the process of planning, visioning, and strategic decision making.

For many nonprofits stuck in a state of limbo and unrealized potential, hiring a consultant makes strategic as well as pragmatic sense.

To learn how Accelerating Philanthropy can help your organization create a comprehensive strategic plan for fundraising, including effective annual fund and major gift programs, please visit our website.