Five Tips for Kickstarting a Stalled Nonprofit Fundraising Campaign

Fundraising will always be a challenge; there's no escaping that fact. Even in the best of economic times, people don't want to part with their money if they see no immediate benefit for themselves. If your nonprofit business is struggling through a dry period, there are five key points you should focus your attention on to get you through it.

First, never forget your individual donors. They're still plentiful, usually loyal, and still top the list of financial contributors for any nonprofit organization. To make this advice meaningful in your life, survey your current individual donor list and see if there's a pattern in the demographic. When you find the common denominator, you can use that information to reach out and appeal with a message they understand.

When you've gone through and contacted your list of individual donors, then you can turn your attention to corporations. Although it often doesn't feel like it, corporate giving actually increased in the past year, so don't be afraid to contact them. The trick is usually how to contact them: in most cases it's best to let history work for you and determine which companies have given to causes like yours, particularly those within your own community. However, with corporations in particular, it's important to stress what benefits they'll receive for choosing your nonprofit organization over others.

After exhausting both the individual and corporate options, it's time to enter the world of joint ventures-often called a partnership. This is a deviation from the old-fashioned belief that a nonprofit organization had to work by itself and be the only business that reaped a benefit from a fundraiser. If you collaborate with another nonprofit that has goals similar or complementary to yours, you both might equally benefit from co-hosting a fundraising event.

Also, look into your organization's website. Does it have a way for contributors to donate online, such as through Paypal? In today's digital era, your website won't be considered professional (or even credible) if you don't have this in place. While you're at it, you may want to give some thought to creating an online marketing campaign to raise funds, as spontaneous contributions tend to occur more often online than through snail mail.

Lastly, although it may sound trite, you really do have to believe in the cause you're fundraising for or you just won't succeed. If you aren't deeply committed to the cause, it will show in your efforts and your would-be contributors will pick up on it. Do what you need to in order to keep the cause "real" to you, and use that as both your focus and motivation. When others see that you truly believe in what you're doing, they'll feel safer leaving their money in your hands.