How to do a

Fund Development Audit Analyzing your organization through your fundraiser eyes

Gayle L. Gifford, ACFRE

Topics

Audit overview Components Data collection Analysis What’s next?

Workshop rules:

This is a taste, not the whole meal

Ask Share

When to do an audit?

 “… basic assumptions and norms about how the organization operated …had to be challenged and changed ….

“In a number of cases … the organization had been failing tomeet its fundraising targets for several years … it was now assumed that the target would not be met and that it was acceptable not to meet it.

“Such assumptions were unacceptable.”

Adrian Sargeant and Jen Shang

Putting charitable giving in perspective

$73.9 billion$298.4 billion

$15 billion

$10 billion

Private Contributions

Individuals Private Foundations Businesses Grant making public

charitiesBequests

From Giving USA 2012

The leaky bucket:

What to do to keep the bucket full: Keep the givers and

gifts you have Replace what you lose Grow givers and gifts

What is a whole organization fund development audit?

Comprehensive assessment of your organization and your fundraising program with a goal of strategic improvement.

From “Great Fundraising”

“In our view, what makes a fundraising leader truly great is how they go about answering [this] question:

“How might all these existing systems be

transformed systematically such that great fundraising may be created?”

How do I do it?

Prepare yourself

Think strategically

Intent focused

Systems perspective Intelligent opportunism Thinking in time Hypothesis driven

Know your industry

Fundraising Your cause Your marketplace What makes

organizations great

Where to start

1. External Scan Benchmark Review data Talk to people

2. Internal Scan Review data Talk to people Prepare a SWOT

Benchmarking

Fundraising Profile of Peer Organizations Ask Compare 990s Compare Annual

Reports Review the field

Reviewing a 990Front Page

Annual Report

National Center for Charitable Statistics

Get an outside perspective

People to interview Donors Prospects Peer organizations Trendsetters Institutional funders Clients Board members Program staff _________________

Know your market

Giving universe Wealth/scarcity of institutional

funders “Competition” _____________________

For example

RI households by income for zips 02818 and 02906

Know thyselfTrend data Donor longevity Long term value of a donor (by

solicitation source) Donor profile Donor acquisition and attrition

– New and returning donors– Donors who have dropped out and not

returned– New donors

Increases or decreases in giving Income by solicitation sources Giver counts by gift range Donation totals by gift range Average gift trends Geography or other demographics Other ______________________

What else to analyze

Mission & Program Case for Support Culture of Philanthropy & Leadership Constituents Fundraising Program Stewardship Program Brand Identity & Communications Fund Development Capacity & Infrastructure Legal & Regulatory

Pull it all together into an analysis Executive Summary Mission Profile of Fund Development Summary giving Profile Comparison with Peers Assets- Opportunities- Missing Pieces- Work

Arounds/Concerns by SWOT element Detailed data Findings from external research

The audit only matters if it guides your fundraising plan

Develop opportunities Strengthen weaknesses Mothball or abandon

unpromising directions Do more research Lobby for needed

investments

Questions?

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Call me at 401-331-2272

Gayle@ceffect.com