While not a guaranteed roadmap to success, a development plan sets goals that promote growth and create ownership among the whole fundraising team. 

Fundraising plans also prevent the need for crisis fundraising.  They enable you to track your progress and identify problems as they arise.  You will always know where you stand related to where you want to be. 

And, you will be able to proactively set and balance your priorities and avoid competing timelines. 
 
Follow these ten steps to create a development plan for your organization...       
 
1.  Gather information on your past fundraising efforts
 
Based on last year's fundraising and current year-to-date figures, determine how much money you raised from all major categories of income -- individual donors, corporations, foundations, government, etc. 

Ideally, go back two years to analyze your fundraising.  This will give you a better sense of how things fluctuate from year to year. 

 
2.  Analyze your past efforts & fundraising strategies
 
Look at your current fundraising strategies and think about: What has worked well?  What hasn't, and how can you modify these strategies to make them more effective? 

Are there areas you should consider eliminating? Which sources are most reliable? Where is the greatest potential for growth? Where should you devote more time?
 

3.  Evaluate the current climate
 
You should set your goal based on how much you raised in the past as well as other internal and external factors -- not on how much money is needed to balance your budget. 
 

• Internal factors -- What's going on inside your organization that could impact fundraising?  These could be special opportunities that you want to take advantage of, or challenges that could make fundraising more difficult.

• External factors -- What factors outside your organization could impact your fundraising success?  The economy, the relevance of your mission in the current political environment, giving trends among donors... 

 
4.  Recruit your fundraising team
 
The more people you have helping you, the more donors you'll be able to build closer relationships with and the more money you'll raise. 

Decide how best to involve board members, all staff (not just development staff), volunteers (including former board and staff), key donors, organizational allies, and others. 
 

5.  Set your goals
 
Think about two kinds of goals for your fundraising plan -- strategic goals and financial goals.
 
 
6.  Determine your fundraising activities
 
Think about your fundraising activities from these three perspectives -- acquiring new donors, renewing current supporters, and getting donors to increase their support. 

Be sure to vary how you ask -- in person, by phone, letter, email, etc. -- so people aren't always being solicited in the same way.  
 
Also, incorporate donor relations into your plan, not just solicitation strategies.  You don't want to be in touch only when you're asking for money. 

Think about what you can do to build closer relationships with your donors.  There are traditional tactics like newsletters.  But also consider welcome kits for 1st time donors, "thank you" calls, donor surveys, communication preference questionnaires, invitations to volunteer, and no-cost cultivation events.

 
7.  Create a timeline
 
Once you decide what strategies to implement, put them on a timeline.  Some things will only happen at certain times (such as your spring appeal) and others will happen year-round (like calls to donors). 

Be sure to include your donor relations activities on your timeline too.  They have just as much of an impact on how much money you'll raise, but are much more vulnerable to falling off your radar at crunch time.

 
8.  Fill in the details
 
For each strategy that you plan to use, you'll want to think about how much you expect to raise as well as any expenses associated with raising that money. 

How many staff and volunteers to you need to execute your plan?  Who is responsible for which pieces of the plan?  What will be done by whom and by when?  Spell out these details for each fundraising activity you'll be pursuing. 

 
9.  Decide how you will evaluate your progress
 
In fundraising, success is usually measured by how much money is raised.  But, there are other factors that should also be evaluated. 

Consider measuring -- the number of donors who renew their support compared to the year before (your donor retention rate), the number of donors who increase their support or give more than once/year, the number of new donors you acquire, the number of first-time donors who give again and become regular donors (your conversion rate), and other metrics.
 
The impact of your donor relations can also be evaluated. 

You can measure -- the frequency of contact with donors without asking for a gift, the amount of donor-initiated contact with your organization, and how often donors refer others to your organization.

 
10.  Get group ownership of your fundraising plan
 
Lastly, but most importantly -- be sure to include both the board and staff in creating your fundraising plan.  When they participate in the process, they will be much more invested and bought into the plan that you have developed together. 

Lots of information can be gathered in advance to maximize everyone's time.  However, involving everyone in the planning process is critical for building the ownership necessary for the plan to succeed and for your organization to raise the money you need. 

Good luck!