It’s time to take your sports fundraising efforts to the next level! If you’re looking to secure funding for your organisation or club, then developing a comprehensive fundraising strategy is a must. A well-thought-out plan not only increases your chances of success but also aligns your efforts across all channels and campaigns to achieve long-term goals.
A sports fundraising strategy is more than just a plan for raising money, it’s a roadmap that outlines how your organisation will generate revenue in the short, medium, and long term. It should be integrated with your overall strategic plan and aligned with your mission and vision.
Don’t let the lack of a clear strategy hold you back. A comprehensive sports fundraising strategy removes the guesswork and improves internal communication, ensuring everyone is working towards the same objectives. It also helps allocate resources, determine effective campaign channels, and identify key funding sources.
Ready to get started? Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you develop a successful sports fundraising strategy. So, let’s dive in and take your fundraising efforts to new heights!
Step 1: Conduct A Situational Analysis
It’s important to have a thorough understanding of your current state before you start developing your sports fundraising strategy. This first stage is essential because it establishes the framework for a winning approach and removes the need for guess work down the track.
Start by performing a SWOT analysis to determine the opportunities, threats, weaknesses, and strengths of your organisation. This will help you grasp your current situation clearly and guide your future decision-making. You may also consider completing a STEEPLE analysis as well, which takes into account all of the possible external influences on your organisation, including social, technical, economic, environmental, political, legal, and ethical considerations. In order to understand the competitive environment in which your organisation operates and its place within it, you may also factor in Porter’s Five Forces Model.
Understanding the strengths, weaknesses, and previous fundraising successes of your organisation is the most crucial data to collect at this point. As you proceed with the creation of your fundraising strategy, this will provide you with the knowledge you need to make informed decisions.
Step 2 - Setting Strategic Objectives
In this step, you’ll determine what your organisation wants to achieve through its fundraising efforts. The core of your fundraising strategy should revolve around your objectives, which should be both specific and measurable. To start, set a monetary goal that outlines how much you want to raise and what exactly the funds will be used for.
Additionally, you can set related goals that support your main fundraising objective. For example, you may want to increase your donor retention rate or the number of major gifts received. When setting your goals, be sure to establish a timeline and determine the resources you’ll need to achieve them.
One way to determine your fundraising goal is by conducting a feasibility study. These studies involve one-on-one interviews with key stakeholders and major donors to get a sense of how realistic your goal is. Another way is to analyse past data and assess how much you’ve raised in the past. Your goal should strike a balance between being realistic and encouraging financial growth.
Step 3 - Resources For Success
For fundraising to be successful, the necessary resources must be available. Your internal team, which consists of your board of directors and staff, will be essential to executing the strategy and achieving objectives. It’s important to make good governance a high priority in order to maintain efficient operations, such as:
– Assigning responsibilities and tasks.
– Opening up and maintaining clear channels of communication.
– Setting up timetables for organising and carrying out tasks.
– Putting in place efficient fundraising software.
– Choose qualified board members who are enthusiastic and eager to actively seek donations.
– Promoting a culture among the team that prioritises fundraising.
– Providing rewards to promote staff involvement in fundraising initiatives.
Step 4 - Donor Prospecting
Effective donor prospecting is a crucial aspect of any successful fundraising strategy. To start, identify the different revenue sources for your organisation, such as individual donors, foundations, and corporations. Carefully evaluate each lead to determine which ones are worth pursuing and what resources you can allocate towards each prospect.
To better understand your donor base, it’s important to create user personas based on their location, age, habits, and behaviours. Utilise all available data to gain a deeper understanding of these personas, and conduct prospect research to identify their likelihood to contribute.
Prospect research involves evaluating the capacity and willingness of potential donors to give to your organisation. This research can include identifying wealth markers, such as real estate ownership or business affiliations, and philanthropic indicators, such as a history of giving to similar organisations.
You can conduct this research on your own or engage the services of a professional to help with the process such as Fundraising Research & Consulting. A thorough research process will help you narrow down prospects and identify the candidates with the highest giving potential and willingness to support your cause.
Failing to dig into your data and make assumptions about your donor base can result in missed opportunities and decreased engagement, so be sure to invest the time and resources into a comprehensive prospect research process.
Step 5: Building A Case For Support
It’s now time to develop a clear and compelling case for support that outlines why your organisation deserves the support of donors. It should communicate the organisation’s vision and financial goals, as well as the means that will be used to achieve them. This document will serve not only as a resource for prospective donors, but also as a tool for staff, board members, and volunteers to reference when representing the organisation.
When creating or updating your case for support, it’s important to keep the following questions in mind:
– Who is your audience? Depending on the initiative, your audience could be prospective major capital campaign donors, donors, volunteers, and staff members, or a combination of these groups. The case for support should be tailored to the motivations of your target audience for supporting your mission.
– What is your goal? The case for support should clearly state the specific fundraising goal, providing the audience with a clear picture of what you are trying to achieve and how their support will make a difference.
– Why does it matter? Explain the significance of your fundraising goal and why it is important for your audience to care about it. For example, if the goal is to purchase equipment for underfunded schools or increase participation, explain how reaching this goal will impact the community positively.
Having a strong case for support is a non-negotiable of any fundraising effort, big or small. By presenting a solid rationale for why you’re asking for funds, you’ll be able to more effectively communicate the importance of your mission and engage your audience in your fundraising efforts.
Step 6: Develop An Action Plan
An action plan outlines the concrete steps your team will follow to achieve your organisation’s fundraising goals. Having everyone on the same page will ensure that your team is better equipped to carry out your fundraising initiatives effectively.
Be sure to clearly mark the date of every fundraising activity your organisation plans to avoid overlap and to better plan donor interactions and communication. Your action plan should include the following details: the staff member, volunteer, or department in charge of each fundraising activity, the estimated cost of each activity, and a goal that determines each activity’s success. The more details you include in your fundraising plan, the more effective it will be in guiding your fundraising strategy.
Step 7: Multichannel Marketing Strategy
Implementing an effective marketing strategy plays a significant role in the success of any fundraising effort. That’s why it’s essential to continuously review and assess your marketing approach, taking advantage of new techniques and platforms that can connect you with a larger pool of supporters. Check out this article on why you need to consider investing in digital!
The manner in which you interact with your supporters matters just as much as the content of your communications when it comes to fundraising. A persuasive marketing message sent at the right time can win over new fans and persuade them to donate. A multichannel marketing approach is essential to reaching a larger audience because it’s important to keep in mind that individual donors have different communication preferences.
Are you leveraging social media platforms? Have you implemented a regular email campaign? Do you develop content in line with your SEO strategy? Check out our complete guide on digital marketing strategy!
It’s necessary to be ready to change course and adjust in the always changing world of fundraising. While it may be tempting to try your hand at everything, not every channel will be suitable for your organisation. Consider the advantages and disadvantages, and evaluate what has worked in the past, what will work in the future.
Diversifying your marketing by leveraging new technologies is essential in today’s world as donor behaviours continue to change. By failing to innovate, you risk missing out on opportunities to connect with donors and increase your fundraising success.
Step 8: Stewardship
Recruiting new supporters is important, but retaining existing donors is fundamental to the long-term success of your organisation. It is more cost-effective and profitable to keep the donors you already have than to constantly search for new ones. Repeat donors are particularly valuable as they tend to give more over time. To enhance your stewardship efforts and improve your donor retention rate, follow these steps:
– Foster connections with current donors. Keep your current supporters engaged by offering various opportunities to get involved, such as volunteering or participating in advocacy campaigns.
– Personalised thank-you. Show your appreciation by thanking donors. This could be on the anniversary of their original donation.
– Genuine gratitude. The size of your thank-you should match the size of the gift. For larger donations, provide more personal and public recognition, such as a handwritten thank-you letter, an invitation to an appreciation event, or a spotlight on the donor wall.
Building strong relationships with your donors will foster loyalty to your organisation. By getting to know each donor, involving them in various ways, and showing appreciation for their contributions, you will increase the likelihood of their continued support.
Step 9: Measure And Evaluate For Continual Improvement
The execution of your fundraising strategy does not mark the conclusion of your campaign. In order to make sure that you are accomplishing your goals and moving forward, it is important to continuously monitor and evaluate your performance. You may discover areas for development and make the required changes to your strategy by utilising data-driven insights. Routinely monitoring and assessing your performance ensures your fundraising efforts remain on track.
Conclusion
Having a well-rounded sports fundraising strategy is crucial to the success of any sports charity, organisation or club. But the process of creating and executing one can be challenging, especially with limited resources. This is where our team can help.
Our team of experts have years of experience in sports fundraising and can help your organisation create a customised strategy that fits your specific needs and goals. We stay up-to-date on the latest trends and technologies in the industry and can help you effectively use them to reach a wider audience. Let us take the guesswork out of fundraising and help you reach new heights in your efforts. For more information on our sport philanthropy strategy services, click here or contact us to learn more about how our we can your organisation.
