As we all know, fundraising takes time! It often takes a long time to get results, but it also takes a lot of work and a variety of tasks to accomplish. In this short and practical article, find out how to best manage your time for better results with peace of mind!
1. Organize
Fundraising requires a lot of information of different types: information on prospects, on donors, on projects, even on communication. The indispensable tool is the database. Whether it is an Excel document or a CRM, your efficiency depends on your organizational skills. So avoid wasting time looking for information that you could get in less than a minute!
2. Dedicate time to prospection
As all fundraisers know, prospecting is a time-consuming yet absolutely essential task to ensure that you always have a list of potential donors at hand. Instead of dedicating entire days to prospecting when you’re looking for funding for a new initiative, dedicate yourself to this task on a regular basis. With one hour a day, you will already accomplish a lot and avoid the rush of finding new sources of funding at the last minute!
3. Prioritize
Not all leads are relevant to your organization. Learn to prioritize prospects that are most likely to succeed and identify the most interesting funding sources for your activities. Ideally, most of this work will have been done when preparing your fundraising strategy.
4. Have a to do list
A basic and yet so useful: the to-do list. It will allow you to prioritize your tasks by taking into account the different deadlines, whether it’s sending funding requests, answering calls for projects or submitting a report.
5. Be realistic in planning
In fundraising, urgency often comes from poor planning on the project or fundraising side. It takes an average of one year to get a response to an institutional fundraising request. Make sure that project start dates are realistic and take into account the time needed to raise funds.
6. Plan ahead
Find a simple way to quickly get an overview of the deadlines for submission of requests or reports. Very often, the database will allow you to track this. There are also many project management tools available for free online. In any case, plan ahead for the time you need.
7. Delegate
Fundraisers sometimes tend to work alone, especially when the team is small. However, 2 or 3 people are not too many to carry out fundraising activities. Distribute the tasks as consistently as possible, especially with the communications and project team. Sometimes taking a little time to explain how to build a good report will save you time. And for all the time-consuming tasks, consider enlisting the help of a volunteer. Many are looking for fundraising experience!
8. Learn to say “no”
As we see on a regular basis, fundraising priorities can be turned upside down by management thinking they have identified a new opportunity, without necessarily considering the relevance or availability of internal resources. When an idea or initiative does not seem essential or a priority according to your fundraising strategy, say “no”!
9. Work with partners that you trust
It is important to work with trusted partners, especially when it comes to field partners. Avoid wasting time chasing information and waiting weeks for a response to an email. Your partners must be able to be responsive and serious in following up on activities.
10. Be kind to yourself
Fundraising remains a particularly demanding and arduous activity that requires a lot of patience. Connect with other fundraisers and talk about the challenges you face! You’ll see that they are the same for everyone and that, no, you are not bad at your job!
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