Posted by Fundraising Pro on May 6, 2009
July 1 is less than four months away. For most nonprofit fundraising organizations, that’s the start of a new fiscal year. Now is the time to get going on the budget process so your group can meet the goals set for its fundraising mission.
If your nonprofit fundraising group is like most, putting a budget together can be challenging. We’re going to share with you eight tips from the NonProfit Times that we hope you’ll find helpful. Here are the first four. The other four will be in our next post.
- Figure out who’s leading the budgeting process. Is it the finance manager? The executive director? The board treasurer? Or is there a leadership vacuum? If so, step up, please. The process will be more successful when there’s a leader in place.
- Develop a timeline. Work backwards from the date of the board meeting where the budget will be approved. Will board members need to look at the proposed budget at more than one meeting? How much time will managers need to create their budgets? Is there a strategic planning process that will (or should!) dovetail with budgeting?
- Get agreement on the timeline from managers and anyone else who’ll be part of the process of creating or approving it. Then give a copy to everyone involved.
- Decide on an approach. Will next year be similar enough to this year that you can just increase expenses and revenue by 3% or so? Or will you be better off budgeting from scratch?
These should help get you started. More next time. To boost your nonprofit’s bottom line, consider selling the SAMARITAN CARD, a valuable shopping discount card that gives back and reminds your donors year-round of their support for you and your cause. It virtually sells itself!
Posted by Thomas Freiling on May 4, 2009
Welcome to our new blog for www.SamaritanFundraising.com. We are excited about it and looking forward to visiting with you here about ideas, tips, and hints for Christian fundraising and church fundraising opportunities during these challenging times.
With the country in the worst recession since the Great Depression, area churches are feeling the effects in different ways, from cutting back on expenses to trying to offer help and comfort to those in need.
At difficult times, many people turn to churches for spiritual support and guidance as well as physical sustenance and assistance. The good news here is that many more people may be coming through the doors of your church – some perhaps for the first time in years. And for many this may be the first time in their lives that they are turning to God and trusting in faith to help them during this time of need.
One of the lessons we can offer even those experiencing challenging financial constraints is that in giving they shall receive. Giving can be very empowering for those going through difficult times. It can boost their feelings about themselves and the world around them. These feelings of well-being are of utmost importance to people who need to put their best food forward now whether to look for work or just be a source of love and support for their friends, family and neighbors.
We believe that this is a very exciting time for those committed to Christian ideals and Christian fund-raising. We have an opportunity like never before to reach out to people and make a difference, not only in helping them directly but in helping them experience the joy that comes with helping others, too. Please stay tuned as we explore how you can generate more fundraising income for your church, school, or event. Thank you and God bless you.
Posted by Thomas Freiling on April 27, 2009
Thanks for visiting our new blog. We will be starting to post to our blog on Monday May 4th. We look forward to keeping you informed and entertained.
Feel free to leave a comment with suggestions for blog post topics by clicking the comment link below.
See you Monday!
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