Donors Old and New, Pt. 2

In my last post I talked about finding donors (remember how important they are?) through making use of pre-existing connections and making new ones. Once you have cultivated a long, beautiful list of individuals and organizations who are willing to support the nonprofit, you need to figure out when to ask them for donations.

There are several instances that I have run across when a nonprofit would want to ask for donations...

... for an endowment, day-to-day operating costs, and special projects or events. As an intern at F.A.R.M. Cafe, I wrote a press release for their 2015 Endowment Campaign (click here to view the article). This was initiated through the Watauga Community Foundation. As of December 2015, over $15,000 invested for the sustainable future of F.A.R.M. Cafe and community projects in Watauga County.

Nonprofits at times need to designate donations for a specific cause.

One designation is to cover day-to-day operating costs. F.A.R.M. Cafe hosts one big fundraiser a year to raise funds for operating the cafe year-round. A lot of advertising and public relations goes into preparing for this event since it is for such an essential reason.

The Children's Playhouse is currently preparing for its annual Build Fest event which will require donations specified for it specifically. This is when the nonprofit will ask last year's donors as well seek to find new ones.

Before I began working with The Children's Playhouse and F.A.R.M. Cafe, I had no idea how much fundraising was required for a successful nonprofit. Donations are needed year-round, so donor relations is an important and constant effort.

Stay tuned for my next post! Warmly,

Colette

#sustainable #donors #community