- Practice the 60-30-10 Rule: Spend 60% of your time fundraising, 30% furthering the mission of your organization and 10% on administrative tasks.
- Consult with an attorney about the specific do’s and don’ts of running a nonprofit organization.
- Follow the advice you receive from the attorney.
- Consult with an accountant about best practices for nonprofits.
- Follow the advice you receive from the accountant.
- Maintain good records.
- File tax returns in a timely manner.
- Keep copies of your organizing documents and maintain copies of your board meeting minutes in your corporate notebook.
- Review your by-laws on a regular basis and amend and modify your by-laws as needed.
- Never let anyone in your organization outwork you.
- Set yearly, monthly, weekly and daily goals.
- Review your goals regularly and link them to your daily tasks.
- Make and use lists.
- Identify the single most important task you must perform each day to grow your organization. Make this the first task you complete each day.
- Plan and prepare for meetings with board members.
- Conduct board meetings as outlined in your bylaws.
- Begin and end your board meetings on time.
- Send your board members a meeting agenda prior to each board meeting.
- Follow the meeting agenda and then adjourn the meeting.
- Record the minutes of each meeting.
- Send board members a copy of the meeting minutes within 72 hours of the meeting.
- Gather feedback from board members about ways to make board meetings more efficient and productive.
- Select board members who are passionate about your mission.
- Select board members and hire people who are smarter than you are.
- Select board members who work well with others.
- Select board members with management and or fundraising experience.
- Educate board members on their duties and responsibilities.
- Educate board members, employee and volunteers on what they can to do to help grow your organization.
- Delegate tasks to your board members.
- Listen carefully to your board members.
- Quickly resolve conflicts with and between board members.
- Help your board members, employees and volunteers plan and prepare a presentation for potential donors/supporters/sponsors.
- Provide each of your board members, employees and volunteers with business cards and other marketing materials.
- Compile a list of everyone you know that might be interested in working for, volunteering with, donating to or providing expertise to your organization.
- Ask your board members, employees and volunteers to compile a list of everyone he/she knows that might be interested in working for, volunteering with, donating to or providing expertise to your organization.
- Contact every person on each of the above lists.
- Lavish your board members with praise and gratitude.
- Hire people who are smarter than you are.
- Trust the people you hire to do what you hired them to do.
- Do not hire anybody (ie. family members and friends) you can’t fire.
- Educate board members, employees and volunteers on their duties and responsibilities.
- Carefully cultivate a culture of caring for everyone who works for or on behalf of your organization.
- Quickly resolve conflicts with and between your employees/volunteers.
- Respect your employees/volunteers time. Plan and prepare for meetings with them.
- Listen carefully to what your employees/volunteers are saying.
- Gather feedback from employees/volunteers about ways to improve your work environment.
- Provide each of your employees/volunteers with business cards and other marketing materials.
- Lavish your employees and volunteers with praise and gratitude.
- Call at least one donor each day and say “thank you.”
- Develop a strong response to the question, “Why should I donate to your organization?”
- Follow the Golden Rule. Treat your donors/supporters/sponsors the way you would want to be treated.
- Listen carefully to what your donors/supporters/sponsors are saying.
- Listen carefully to what people who decline your request for donations are saying.
- Gather feedback from donors/supporters/sponsors about how to improve your relationship.
- Educate your donors/supporters/sponsors on every aspect of your organization.
- Develop a strategy for retaining donors/sponsors/supporters.
- Educate donors/sponsors/supporters on how they can help grow your organization.
- Make it easy for people to donate time and money to your organization.
- Quickly resolve conflicts with your donors/supporters/sponsors.
- Carefully plan and prepare for presentations to potential donors/supporters/sponsors.
- Treat everyone you meet as a potential donor/supporter/sponsor.
- Commit to growing an organization that is worthy of every donation you receive.
- Prepare a Marketing/Fundraising Plan.
- Prepare a Marketing/Fundraising Budget.
- Whenever you come across a fundraising letter or direct mail piece that catches your eye, save it. You can use them as inspiration when creating your promotional materials.
- Follow the Rule of Five. Commit to doing at least 5 things each day to promote your organization.
- Follow up on every lead you receive on the same day you receive it.
- Remind yourself that fundraising requires commitment.
- Recognize that fundraising is the means, not the goal.
- Don’t be bashful about announcing your achievements as your organization grows.
- Hire a professional to design a business card that reflects the image of your organization.
- Keep business cards on you at all times.
- Give away at least one business card each day.
- Have a professional brochure created that includes a donation request and other ways people can help.
- Hire a professional to develop a website that makes it clear what you do and how people can help.
- Write articles for local newspapers or magazine and Internet sites.
- Adopt the Three-Foot Rule: Talk to anyone and everyone you meet that comes within three feet of you about your organization.
- Develop strategic partnerships with other nonprofits.
- Get free publicity by sponsoring a poll or conducting a survey that relates to your organization.
- Allow donors to make donations via credit and debit cards.
- Take a class in marketing.
- Offer something free to people who donate to your organization.
- Create a camera-ready news or feature story about your organization and send it to your local media.
- Follow the Rule of Seven: If you want people to take action and support your organization, you must connect with them at least seven times within an 18-month period.
- Maintain a list of everyone who interacts with your organization in any way and develop a strategy to stay connected.
- Send a handwritten thank-you note to at least one person who works for—or on behalf of —your organization each day.
- Network with other people who start or run nonprofits or for-profit organizations.
- Let the key people in your community know what you do and what you need.
- Make certain that your organization is listed on all appropriate directories.
- Accept full responsibility for what happens within your organization.
- Learn from your failures and mistakes.
- Do not try to do everything yourself and ask for help before you need it.
- Trust your common sense.
- Listen carefully to what your champions are saying.
- Listen carefully to what your critics are saying.
- Keep your mind open to new ideas and when necessary be willing to change your mind.
- Accept that you don’t know everything and that you are not always right.
- Identify your strengths and learn to maximize them.
- Identify your weaknesses and learn ways to overcome them.
- Make a commitment to being a lifelong learner.
- Improve your public speaking skills by joining a local Toastmasters group.