NCDS Fundraising Process

Funding Your Program
Funding your program or project requires four critical activities. Skipping, or “short-changing” any one of these can prevent a successful outcome.

The first two steps may be accomplished without professional help, but the last two steps should almost always be conducted by professionals with the experience and knowledge to ensure your success.

Identify the Need
Identify the need or opportunity your project, when funded, will address or solve:

• How will your project impact the community?
• Who else, besides the organization’s staff, wants this to happen?
• Are there other organizations with similar missions? Are you duplicating efforts of others?
• Can you make the case that your organization or project is the best choice to solve the need or capitalize on an opportunity?

Develop a Plan
Develop plans, timetables, and budgets for your project or program:

• Determine how much it will cost, and be prepared to explain or defend the cost.
• Determine how long it will take to implement or build.
• Assign responsibility and accountability for implementing the program.
• Once the money is raised, how will it be spent?
• Secure provisional endorsement of the proposed program from your governing board or executive committee.

Conduct a Feasibility Analysis
Test the community’s support for the program or project by conducting a feasibility analysis. A professionally managed feasibility analysis will allow you to:

• Learn the perceived value of your organization and the proposed program
• Assess the strength and influence of your volunteer leaders.
• Identify potential new leaders and funding sources.
• Determine an attainable campaign goal.
• Discover what changes your program needs and how it can be best positioned to secure maximum financial support.

Conduct the Campaign
Conduct a campaign to fund the program. NCDS has conducted over 400 successful campaigns, implementing its ProCall® process and methodology, which can be described in three key phases.

• Phase 1: Refine the program according to what was learned during the feasibility study; create the “campaign organization”; identify and evaluate investor prospects.
  
  
• Phase 2: Enlist a small group of key campaign leaders; solicit the top 25 prospects with strategic help from volunteer leadership and with customized, return on investment based investment proposals as produced by the Economic Strategy Center.
  
  
• Phase 3: The “public” phase, using a professional solicitor to conduct face-to-face solicitations of the remaining prospects, with minor volunteer participation.