Future-Proof Your Fundraising with Innovative Planning & Forecasting

As fundraisers, we have the privilege of leveraging our thoughts, energy, and passion to advance the causes for which we care so deeply about.

And as rewarding as this might be, it also comes with its fair share of challenges. While the causes we are supporting may well be amazing to us, our job is to convince others not only of their importance, but that they are so critical that it warrants opening their wallets to provide their own financial support.

If that weren’t challenging enough, there are other fundraisers, retailers, and headlines that are all competing for our attention. Couple that with economic uncertainty, and an unprecedented (I know, we hate that word too) election cycle, and our jobs are, quite frankly, getting harder – and industry trends are supporting just that.

With the convergence of these factors, all signs point to the need to re-evaluate how we plan and strategize to stay ahead of disruptors and put programs on a path for real and sustainable growth.

It all starts with innovating the way we plan, strategize, and budget. Investment decisions can no longer be based on how much was invested in specific channels in prior years – but instead, how much we should invest in each channel based on desired outcome not just this year, but in the years that follow.

In other words, how is what we are doing today influencing the path forward for the long-term health of the program?

What dials are we working to turn in the coming year(s) and how will the turning of those dials get us to program goals 3-5 years from now?

Not only does this method of strategic planning keep the program looking forward, but it also helps prioritize and drive a focused roadmap for investments, testing, and new initiatives so that precious time is not spent on tactics and strategies that may not move the needle enough to warrant consideration and resources.

The key is your program’s file health.

Not only does file health give us insight into what trends have played out over the last several years across key audiences, but it can also give us a really good idea of where the program is headed should it remain “status quo” for the next several years.

Understanding this “status quo” view gives us a unique lens into what we can (and must) do to future-proof our programs, as we can then create scenarios that show how turning specific dials (increasing retention, gifts per donor, pipeline, etc.) can influence program trajectory. And when properly leveraged, file health can do just that.

Once we understand what dials are possible to turn, and where we will see the greatest impact for the program, it’s a matter of leveraging targeted initiatives like sustainers, upgrades, mid-level, and omni-channel investments to achieve the desired impact on the program.

These levers become the backbone of a strategic roadmap for the program, and all campaigns across channels then utilize these shared goals to drive program strategy and tactics.

The days of starting your next budget by saving last year’s with a new date and updating quantities are behind us if we really want to see change and stay ahead of the challenges we’re facing as an industry.

Think this sounds lofty? It really isn’t.

This method of long-term planning and strategic focus is at the heart of the Fuse method.

While most organizations have all the data, the task of finding the story within it can be a bit daunting. And using that data to see what is next for the story, and how to influence the outcome, is often not done.

Interested in a forecast model but aren’t quite sure where to start? Reach out directly at djorgensen@fusefundraising.com.

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