Nonprofit Fundraising Desk

Start here: how this workspace runs

Donors

Everyone who gives or might give, with their total giving and the next planned contact.

Campaigns

Each appeal or event, with its goal and how much has actually been received.

Gifts

Every gift and pledge, who gave it and which campaign it counts toward.

Follow-ups

Thank-you calls, visits and asks that keep each relationship moving.

Pledges

Promises to give over time. Open pledges show what is still owed and when the next payment is due.

What lives where

The week in development

Your rhythm

Privacy

Giving amounts and contact details are marked confidential. Share the workspace with staff and board members who need it, and never export a donor list for anyone outside the office.

Who does what

The director of development owns campaign goals and the major-gift list. Gift officers steward their own donors and keep follow-ups current. The person who processes gifts records, matches and thanks. The events coordinator logs every guest who gives at an event as a donor, so nobody is thanked twice or missed.

Making it yours

Rename campaigns, gift types and acknowledgment letters to match your organization, then delete the sample rows once your own are in. Any cell can be edited in place, cards drag between columns, and every total updates on its own.

Development at a glance. Charts read the live tables, so they move as gifts are recorded.

Pledges past due

Follow-ups overdue

Contacts planned this week

How to read the numbers

Pledge payments due

Gifts waiting for a thank-you

Recurring donors

Every gift, the same five steps

Tax receipts

In the United States, any single gift of $250 or more needs a written acknowledgment that names the amount and says whether the donor received anything in return. Put that sentence in every letter so you never have to think about it. Donors who give through the year get one year-end receipt in January listing every gift.

Tribute gifts

When a gift is made in honor or memory of someone, write the person's name in In honor or memory of. Send the donor their thank-you and send a card to the family or the honoree. Never mention the amount on the family's card.

Recurring donors

Monthly and quarterly donors are your steadiest income. When a card is declined, set Recurring gift to Card declined and call or email within a week; most lapsed monthly gifts are simply expired cards. Thank recurring donors once a year with a note about what their year of giving did, not with twelve letters.

Weekly check

Example

A check for $1,000 arrives from a donor who pledged $4,000 over a year. The gift processor records it as a pledge payment linked to her pledge, marks it received, chooses the director's note, and the director signs it that afternoon. The pledge now shows $3,000 still owed and the next payment due in three months.

The rule of seven

Plan about seven touches a year for each major and mid-level donor, and only one or two of them are asks. The rest are thank-yous, updates, invitations and small personal notes. Put each one in Follow-ups with a due date and the steward who owns it.

Levels

The Giving level on each donor works itself out from lifetime giving.

Thank-you calls

Call within a week of a first gift. Board members are great at this: a two-minute call that says only thank you, with no ask, is the single best thing you can do to bring a donor back.

Lapsed donors

A donor is lapsed when they have not given in about 14 months. Before you ask again, send something about what their last gift did. Ask what they care about now; some have moved, some have changed causes, and some were waiting to be asked.

Respect their wishes

Use Prefers on the donor. Some want mail, some email, some a phone call, and some want no solicitations at all. Honor it every time; a donor who asked for no calls and gets one is a donor you lose.

Your week

Example

A business gave $2,000 to last winter's drive and has not given since. The steward sends a short email with a photo of the families the drive served, then calls a week later to invite the owner to the harvest supper. The owner comes, meets a family, and gives $3,000 to the spring appeal.

Set the goal

Start with what you need to fund and what you raised last time. A good goal is a stretch, not a wish: last year's total plus 10 to 20 percent for an annual appeal. For a capital project, secure about half of the goal in large gifts and pledges before you announce it publicly.

Build the gift chart

Write down how many gifts of each size you need. A common shape: the top gift is about a tenth of the goal, the next two together are another tenth, and about 80 percent of the money comes from the top 20 percent of donors. Match real names from Donors to each line before the campaign goes live.

Timeline

Watch the numbers

Each campaign shows Received so far, what is still pledged, Given and pledged, open pledges, and the percent of goal. Pledges count toward the goal when they are signed, but your budget should count only what is received.

Matching gifts and challenges

A business that agrees to match gifts up to a set amount gives donors a reason to give now. Record the business's promise as a pledge on the campaign, and its payment as a matching gift when it arrives.

After the campaign

Example

The youth center roof needs $60,000. The director secures a $25,000 foundation pledge and a $10,000 business pledge in the quiet phase, then goes public. Six weeks later the campaign shows $41,500 given and pledged, and a giving day challenge closes the gap.