Scroll Top
Powering Nonprofit Success Through Participatory Processes:

Did you know that organizations prioritizing participatory processes and deliberately decreasing barriers see a significant increase in program effectiveness? This Fall, I’m excited to delve into how this framework powers real-world success through our three-part webinar series, Insights for Impact!

On September 18th, Dr. Inderjit Vicky Basra, President and CEO of the Delores Barr Weaver Policy Center, and Jessica Raymond, former Chief of Staff of the YWCA, joined Sharity Global Expert Anne Miskey to offer real-world examples of ways participatory processes elevated their organizations’ mission and impact. Dr. Basra emphasized the importance of including direct and indirect experts in decision-making conversations. She noted, “…layered communication makes the change.” When those in the community who experience the challenges your organization strives to address work alongside those with academic or professional experience in key areas, your organization can begin to affect systemic change. Jessica added, “When we talk about advocating for people and engaging their voices…here is the mic! You sit at this table, you tell me what you need from us, you make the decision…”

Key takeaways from the conversation included:

  • Write equity into your policies and procedures.
  • Avoid “tokenizing” the community you serve. Ensure that if you ask something of your community members, such as asking them to share their stories, you are developing and strengthening a mutually beneficial relationship with them.
  • Identify ways your organization may connect direct experts, those with lived experience, with donors, elected officials, and other community leaders and influencers.
  • Engaging all voices allows you to review and evaluate the impact of your programming with an open mind and heart.
  • Give credit to all the experts helping you execute your mission. Whenever possible, compensate and recognize direct experts, those with lived experiences, for their work on behalf of your organization, just as you would an indirect expert with academic or professional experience. 

Dr. Basra summed up the importance of engaging all voices when she described the success her organization has had with connecting survivor mentors with the recently rescued. “[Survivor’s] concepts around hope look very different because they’re sitting across from somebody, that at some point, was in the same space that they are in…Their survivor-mentor becomes a beacon of hope!” Anne added, “The little ways you can connect your donors in real ways to people” will bring about transformation.

Watch The Full Video Now

A strong infrastructure — internal departments and the overhead spending to back them — are the life’s blood of the business world. A strong infrastructure is just good business, and nonprofits cannot escape this fact. Yet, nonprofits tend to underfund their overhead needs. One need look no further than to nonprofit fundraising departments and programs to see this reality.

A study of more than 220,000 nonprofit organizations found that more than a third of these organizations reported no fundraising costs at all. One in eight reported no management and general expenses, and between 75-85 percent of these organizations incorrectly reported the costs associated with grant pursuits. The main concern of these organizations was the costs involved in building a strong fundraising department or program

So, what can nonprofits really expect to accomplish in fundraising, and how much does a robust fundraising strategy cost? Many nonprofits just think they can fundraise on no budget, or they think they can get fundraisers to work for a very low cost, for free, or (GASP) for a percentage based only on the success of the fundraising efforts.

This is bad planning. Would a business survive without a sales department? No, it would not. We must remember that nonprofits are businesses, and their fundraising departments are their sales departments. Following are some frequently asked questions about the importance of fundraising departments in the nonprofit world:

Q: I need to raise money, but I don’t have a budget for fundraising. What can I accomplish?
A: This one might be hard because while you can fundraise for little money, most of the time these efforts result in “friends and family” donations rather than moving towards a sustainable fundraising program. You can go with little to no money, but the reality is you won’t play in the big leagues.

Q: Can I hire a consultant that gets paid only if the grant is received or on commission?
A: According to the Association of Fundraising Professionals, this is a no-no. AFP believes that individuals serving a nonprofit for compensation must accept the principle that the nonprofit’s purpose and mission, not self-gain, are paramount. The logic is that percentage-based compensation puts self-gain in the driver’s seat, damages donor trust, and creates an incentive for self-dealing to prevail over donors’ best interests. Ultimately, AFP holds that percentage based compensation can encourage abuses, harms the integrity of the voluntary sector, and undermines the very philanthropic values on which the voluntary sector is based. Bottomline: Do not pay fundraising consultants on commission or on a win-by-win basis.

Q: What should I budget for a robust fundraising strategy?
A: While a 15 percent fundraising expense ratio is often cited as the “expected average,” so much more goes into the budgetary formula for a fundraising strategy. These factors include the size of the nonprofit, how old it is, the popularity of its cause, the scope of the nonprofit, and the list goes on. It is not a simple 2+2=Millions equation. Success comes with the development of an analytical model that fits the individual nonprofit’s needs with consideration, transparency, respect, and an engaged board of directors. The result is an investment in growth and a mission accomplished.

Q: How do I manage the expectations of the board, staff, or executive director?
A: This is a Steps:
1. Understand how much you need to raise and what specifically you need the money for.
2. Develop “buckets” that delineate different areas of funding opportunities for donors.
3. identify prospects.
4. Determine how you will cultivate, ask, steward, and develop a budget for all the things you will need to execute, including events, travel, meals, recognition, communication, CRM, staff, consultants, etc.

Remember, it is okay to have a small budget for fundraising, but having no budget will slowly starve the organization. Just like you plan for program growth, you have to plan for your support staff — fundraising and communications team — to grow and thrive as well. Still have more questions, contact Sharity today, and we will answer them.