Master Your Fundraising With This Simple Plan

Aug 21

Want to raise more money? Who doesn’t! Whether you’re hiring a new grant writer, launching a monthly giving program, or planning an end-of-year campaign, you want to know how much money to raise and how you’ll raise it.

Our preferred way to set and track goals is to use OKRs. OKRs — Objectives and Key Results— are a method of setting goals and results and communicating and monitoring them in a way that is flexible, creative, and adaptable. Because of how easy OKRs are to adapt, they’re a great tool for scrappy nonprofits who want to set (and meet!) fundraising goals.

What are OKRs?

When you are setting OKRs, the objectives are the desired outcomes that you want, and the key results are the specific ways you’ll get there. Or, to put it another way:

Objectives tell us where we want to go and

Key Results help answer how we will get there.

OKRs help take the big picture dreaming - like hitting those fundraising goals or launching a new program - and break them into bite-sized chunks. As you identify objectives, think big. Do you want to launch a major donor program? Increase grant funding to diversify your revenue? Throw the party of a lifetime? Great! Set those objectives, then start working on how you’ll actually make those dreams a reality.

Your key results are your roadmap to success. They must be measurable qualitatively and quantitatively. At the end of the year, you should be able to look back and answer “yes or no” to the question of if the key result was completed. Unlike lofty goals that can be answered in a myriad of ways, key results are straightforward and easy to measure. Did you submit 10 grant proposals? Throw two events? Easy to track, and easy to monitor.

When we create a fund development plan, we use OKRs. For start-up and small nonprofits, lofty goals and objectives can be more daunting than a clear to-do list that walks you through how you can increase revenue, one step at a time.

Increase Fundraising with Clear Goals

When you don’t have a fundraising plan, your goals may be “I hope we raise some money” and your strategy for getting that money can be a combination of crossed fingers, coffee-fueled deadlines, and lackluster solicitation emails.

When you don’t have clear objectives and key results to work towards, your fundraising program is often the first to fall on the back burner of your ever-growing to-do list. Grant applications sneak up on you. Thank you letters are forgotten. Major donors are ignored until it’s time to ask them for money. Stewardship? What’s that?

Setting qualitative and quantitative goals that are clear and easy to follow can be the difference between a budget that dips into the red every year, and a thriving fundraising program that brings in money all year round.

Here’s an example of what OKRs for a fundraising program could look like:

Objective 1: Major donors ($1,000 + annually) receive ongoing communication and touchpoints that engage them and encourage them to continue to support our work.

Key Result 1: Send an annual impact report with a thank-you note to major funders.
Key Result 2: Secure 1-2 in-person or phone meetings with each donor ever fiscal year to provide updates, engagement, and solicitation opportunities.
Key Result 3: Host quarterly major donor event, i.e. a day of service, site visit, or panel discussion.

Objective 2: Individual fundraising from annual fund donors increased to account for 30% of overall fundraising budget.

Key Result 1: Donor communications calendar with monthly touchpoints, solicitations, and outreach created and adopted by end of Q1.
Key Result 2: Aquire 20 new monthly giving donors with a minimum of $20/month donation.
Key Result 3: EOY appeal retains 85% of donors and upgrades 25% of recurring donors, and nets $25,000.

Objective 3: Increase grant funding to account for 35% of all contributed income

Key Result 1: Average number of grants per month is 10
Key Result 2: 5 new grant funders are added to pipeline each month
Key Result 3: Conduct outreach and hold meetings with program officers at least once per month.

As you can see from these OKRs, they’re a mix of strategic (like major donor stewardship events) and actionable (send an end of year solicitation). You can get as specific, detailed, or creative as you want to — just make sure all your objectives and key results are actually achievable!

Making OKRs Work for You

There are many reasons I like the flexibility of OKRs when it comes to setting and achieving fundraising goals. They increase clarity on what really matters and help individuals and teams focus on the big picture, without losing sight of what it will take to get there. A few tips to set your own OKRS:

Objectives can be ambitious and even a little vague. You don’t have to have all the answers, you just need to know where you’re heading.
Key Results should be measurable. The more qualitative and quantitative results you stove for, the easier it will be to work towards achieving them.
Don’t set too many! Five objectives with three to five key results each are enough for any project.
And finally....your OKRs should be a living, breathing roadmap that helps you achieve success. If you need to change, revise, update, (or even scrap and start again) your OKRs, do it!

Take the next steps with your fundraising planning

If you are ready to start setting and achieving fundraising, grant writing and event planning goals, OKRs can help you create a roadmap for success. And, if you want a little more help creating your OKRs, sign up for our Crash Course for a six-week group coaching class that will help you transform your wildest dreams into an actionable fundraising plan. Using OKRs, of course!

Megan Gopp