The Foraker Group

Posted Under: Sustainability

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According to Giving USA, individuals – through both annual contributions and bequests – account for over 80 percent of all charitable giving in the United States. This percentage has had little variation over many decades. Individual giving can become a sustainable income source when approached strategically. An organization needs systems in place to manage donor relationships. It’s also critical that all board members fully participate in fundraising.

Relationship-based individual giving done well is a reliable source of revenue. People give money to an organization because they have passion for the mission and they believe the organization is using their gifts to accomplish that mission.

Many nonprofits find this process challenging. Raising money from individuals takes time and a commitment to build the right relationships. It is never a good idea for a board to fund a professional development (fundraising) position that “pays for itself in XX number of years.” The board needs to continue to fund and monitor this effort, often for years, before seeing tangible results.

Give us some examples of how you manage donor relationships.

–Dennis

Dennis McMillian, is President of The Foraker Group, a capacity building organization based in Alaska, and the author of Focus on Sustainability: A Nonprofit’s Journey.