Are you tired of being behind the 8 ball all the time, struggling to get caught up, and never really raising the money you need?

There’s one simple reason:

Lack of planning. 

Your fundraising program CAN run like a well-oiled machine. The new reality for fundraising requires you to be focused and prepared for success. And the way you get there is to have a PLAN for fundraising.

From Sandy Rees, CFRE

Your Nonprofit Fundraising Mentor and Coach, and Chief Encouragement Officer

Imagine for a moment…

It’s Monday morning and you walk happily into your office. Your desk is clean and organized. There’s no stack of stuff waiting to be filed, no overflowing inbox and no scraps of paper with notes all over the place. You sit in your chair and review your to-do list. It’s short with just a few things on it. After checking email, you begin your day, going about the business of raising money and building donor relationships. At 5:00, you shut off your computer, put a few things away, and head for home, thinking about the time you’ll now spend with your family. After a relaxing dinner and some quality time with your family, you sleep soundly, waking up refreshed and ready to head back to the office to do it again.

Just let that seep in for a moment. Sound like a dream?

I hate knowing that this is probably not your reality. In fact, your world is probably vastly different from this. You probably rush from one thing to another during the day, putting out “fires” and trying to just get a couple of things done before you pack it all up and take it home with you to work on in the evening.

More than likely, you are:

• Feeling overwhelmed or frustrated
• Tired of putting out fires all day long instead of working on your to-do list
• Working at a hectic pace, getting things done at the last minute
• Mailing grant proposals overnight to get them there on time
• Staying up way too late before an event getting things ready, yet not feeling confident that you’re ready
• Tired of taking work home and still not getting caught up
• Doing everything you know to do and just not raising enough money to meet budget

 I can tell you why you’re struggling. It’s quite simple actually. You have no plan.

That’s right, a lack of planning is causing the frenzy that you live in. The good news is that we can change that.

How do I know?

I’ve been there. I was the one who was always struggling to get things done. I took work home every night and still never could get caught up. I was squeezing calls and emails in everywhere and still there weren’t enough hours in my day. There finally came a point when I said “ENOUGH.” I wanted my life back! Or at least some balance. My children were growing up in front of me and I was missing it because I was working too much!

That was the day I decided things were going to be different.

I started learning about planning and when I couldn’t find the tools I wanted, I created my own. I found a way to get a handle on everything and when I did, my fundraising results skyrocketed! It wasn’t necessarily easy and it took some time, but I did it.

Now I want to share with you exactly what I did to turn things around.

Here’s the tool that I have used to raise big bucks for good causes.

If you’re responsible for raising money for a nonprofit organization and you’re tired of trying everything you know and still not raising enough money, I’m so glad you’re here.  I want you to see this.

I know for some nonprofits, the last year or so has been tough. The economic downturn has wreaked havoc on many good nonprofit organizations, and it’s a shame. Programs have been cut back or eliminated,  staff have been let go, and worse.

It’s a shame because it doesn’t have to be that way.

Most of the organizations that I have seen struggling don’t have the pieces in place to guarantee their success, including a fundraising plan. That’s why I’ve created the Simple Success Fundraising Plan - to show you, in an easy, step-by-step format, how to create a plan that will help you reach your fundraising goals. Now I’ve put my Simple Success Fundraising Plan into a do-it-yourself study kit that you can use and refer back to time after time. 

I’m a BIG believer in making things easy. In fact, one of the most common comments I get when I teach this concept in person is that I make things very easy to understand and give practical information. I’m known for my step-by-step approach to fundraising. And I want to share it with you so that you can grow your ability to raise funds.

As part of this do-it-yourself kit, I’ll walk you through each of the major components of my Simple Success Fundraising Plan starting with your organization’s strategic goals and your fundraising goals. I’ll give you my personal formula for developing goals that I guarantee you can reach! Next, we’ll talk through every component of the plan including the reasons why someone would give to you, the strategies you’ll want to implement, and more.

“If you don’t know where you’re going, then any road will get you there.”

 A fundraising plan gives you a roadmap for achieving your goals. It’s a way to make decisions and choose priorities. It’s a tool for measuring performance. And it’s a system for allocating precious resources like time and money.

One of the most common mistakes I’ve seen, particularly in small nonprofits, is that the plan is vague and in someone’s head. Folks, this is NOT a plan! It’s a dream (or a hallucination!).

A written plan will help you communicate your vision and goals to get others on board. This is particularly helpful in getting help from your Board of Directors.

“Failing to plan is planning to fail.”

 Maybe you’re like others I’ve helped who didn’t have a fundraising plan because they didn’t know where to start. This workshop will provide you with a template and step-by-step guidance to put your own, personalized fundraising plan together.

Here are some reasons why you need a fundraising plan:

• Set priorities and focus areas. Without clear priorities, how will you know where to spend your time?
• Shift from being reactive to being proactive. We’ve all spent time dealing with the ‘crisis-du-jour’ and it’s not fun.
• Set and achieve goals. It’s hard to reach a goal when you don’t even know what it is.
• Reduce your stress. I promise you that when you know what the plan is and you can see it in writing in front of you, you’ll feel much better!

Here are some of the worksheets you’ll get:

• Fundraising Self Assessment
• Case Statement Template
• Fundraising Strategy & Goal Worksheet
• Marketing Strategy Checklist
• Summary Calendar Template
• Grant Tracking Sheet
• Fundraising Budget Tracking Sheet
• Fundraising Monthly Evaluation Checklist
• and many more!

Here’s what you’ll create using this do-it-yourself kit:

• Specific fundraising goals for your organization
• List of your top fundraising strategies for the year
• List of your top marketing strategies for the year
• Simple case for support
• Customized monthly checklist for yourself to stay on track
• Work plans for each strategy

I can remember the first year that I created and used some of these tools – it was very exciting!  I was thrilled each time a large gift came in, so much so that I usually did laps around the office to celebrate! I’d love for you to have the same experience!

Why should you listen to me?

Over the years, I’ve taught LOTS of classes on creating a fundraising plan.  Heck, I’ve written and implemented lots of plans myself that have reaped big benefits, including helping me keep my sanity!  I know that having a well-thought out, written plan will shift you from being reactive to being proactive.  A good plan can keep you out of dealing with the crisis-du-jour and help you focus on your long-term strategies.

One of the highlights of my fundraising career was working at the local food bank, where I tripled the amount of money raised in 5 short years, and grew the donor base from 1,200 people to 8,500 people in that same time!  You better believe I had a detailed plan to make that happen!

“Sandy, I just wanted you to know how much you inspired me.  I want to see this foundation do great things and your Fundraising Plan class really gave me direction.  I feel now I know what I need to do – or at least where I can start. Thank you so much!”
Holly Shull, Board Member, Lana’s Love Foundation
Chattanooga, TN

Ready to get yours?

The price for this unique planning package $147.

You could easily pay more than this for a seminar that gives you only half of the information you’ll get from me.

My mentor thinks I’m nuts to offer this much content at such a low price, but I want to make it affordable for as many nonprofits as possible to attend.  I want to personally have a huge impact on the success of lots of nonprofit organizations this year, and this is one way I can do that.

I hope you’ll take this opportunity to invest in yourself by ordering this book.  It could be the best thing you do all year! 

ps. Not able to order online?  No problem.  Give me a call toll free at 1-888-220-0264 and I’ll be glad to place your order over the phone.