How Not To Lose Funding And Alienate Donors
The non-profit sector is an unforgiving one and it’s difficult to support your cause, whilst still bringing in money and keeping donors happy. In fact, judging by the legion of non-profit failures and disasters, it’s easy to make the wrong choices. The good news is that you can learn from the mistakes of others and ensure you avoid the same pitfalls. Here’s our list of everything you must not do when running your non-profit:
1. Don't waste money
There’s nothing donors hate more than the feeling their money is being wasted. Swanky offices, highly paid staff, and expensive media campaigns could all attract the wrong sort of attention.
If you spend a lot of money on something, you must be very sure that you can demonstrate how it will pay for itself - and then some. Otherwise you risk the wrath of your donors.
2. Don't take your donors for granted
Your donors are your lifeblood. They keep your organisation going and without them, you’d go under.
But it’s a common mistake – especially as organisations grow – to take the generosity of donors for granted. Donor engagement can ebb away, as can the gratitude shown to them, but with it will go goodwill. And before you know it you you’re staring at a massive financial shortfall as donors divert there money elsewhere.
3. Don't hurt your reputation
As a non-profit you benefit from an air of respectability, because you exist to help others. People look up to non-profit organisations as paragons of virtue that are above the money-grabbing nature of commercial operations.
But if you cause a scandal - through a financial scandal, for example, or overly-aggressive fundraising – then you burst that bubble of respectability. And that will be bad news for your revenue stream.
4. Don't neglect your volunteers
Your volunteers are there helping your organisation day in, day out. And they need rewarding for their efforts. Not through money, obviously, but through the way you treat them, thank them and look after them.
Fail to do this and you’ll not only chip away at your volunteer base, you’re also likely to lose donors – as it suggests that you’re a less than caring organisation.
5. Don't undersell yourself
You’re operating in a very crowded sector. There are lots of worthy causes out there, often competing for the same revenue, so you need to stand out from the crowd in the eyes of your donors. The people that give you money want to see their money changing the world.
So if you fail to publicise your successes and generate some column inches, then you will quickly see your donors looking for another, higher profile cause – where it’s more obvious their money is going to good use.
