Do you feel like there’s a cap on how much your nonprofit’s able to raise? Does your development staff report feeling stretched thin? Do you ever have to drop certain fundraising opportunities to devote time and resources to others?
If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, then chances are that your nonprofit has hit its max fundraising capacity. When this happens, nonprofits need to scale up by reassessing their processes, finding new strategies, and investing additional resources where needed.
In this guide, we’ll explore key strategies for sustainably increasing your nonprofit’s fundraising capacity.
Establish streamlined fundraising processes.
The simplest, most cost-efficient way to increase your fundraising capacity is to remove inefficiencies. By reducing manual processes, consolidating task lists, and limiting the need for ad hoc solutions, you can create streamlined workflows that enable your team to get more done in less time.
A few ways your nonprofit might streamline its day-to-day work include:
- Creating established frameworks to limit how often employees have to invent new processes and workflows, reducing indecision and ensuring the most optimal path is always chosen.
- Reducing the number of needed approvals to help employees operate more independently and get completed work confirmed, rather than being held up by meetings and approval from multiple leaders.
- Automating where possible to reduce administrative burdens, such as manually entering data or personalizing each donor message individually.
AI Usage in Nonprofit Workplaces
When it comes to maximizing productivity, many workplaces—including nonprofits—have turned to AI. EverTrue’s guide to AI fundraising discusses the three main types of AI and how each can help your nonprofit’s team:
- Predictive AI can help speed up your analytics processes. With these tools, your fundraising team can quickly spot changes in donor behavior, identify major giving prospects, and set strategic fundraising goals.
- Generative AI can create first drafts of your content instantly. However, be cautious about using AI outputs word-for-word. Edit all content before sharing it externally, use a tested process for refining AI prompts, and ensure you add any necessary final touches to make your content authentic to your nonprofit.
- Agentic AI is designed to operate as an independent assistant, completing tasks like summarizing meeting notes, coordinating schedules, syncing data, and more. To make strong use of these tools, provide them with specific directions to automate what would otherwise be time-consuming administrative work.
Even if your nonprofit takes a more cautious approach to AI, you should still have an AI use policy in place. In workplaces where employees feel overburdened, it’s common for them to use AI independently in their work. This is called Dark AI, and it can result in subpar work or even potentially put sensitive data at risk.
As many nonprofits are used to trying to do more with limited time and budgets, there’s a good chance Dark AI could be occurring at your organization. Get ahead of this and start creating more streamlined fundraising processes by assessing the potential of AI and rolling out usage guidelines.
Invest in new technology, staff, and resources.
Often, increasing fundraising capacity simply requires more resources. In particular, your nonprofit may need to invest in new fundraising software, hire more staff, or pay for access to new resources.
For nonprofits on a tight budget, this might be easier said than done. To convince your board that new resources are worth the investment, follow these steps:
- Determine exactly what you need. If you tell your board that you need to make a new investment, they will need details. For example, if you need a new major gift officer to get your major gift program off the ground, they will likely ask how many people you intend to hire, if anyone already at your nonprofit can fulfill this role, and how long the position would last. Knowing the answers to these questions up front will help you create a more structured plan for implementing your new staff or tools and strengthen your pitch to your board.
- Research your options. Board members will likely ask about alternatives, and having the information ready will make your pitch stronger. Additionally, during the research process, you might find strategies you hadn’t previously considered that could help your nonprofit without increasing spending. For instance, you might discover a cheaper software alternative or decide to outsource a position rather than hire new internal staff.
- Create a budget. While your new resources should eventually pay for themselves, you still need to establish how you will fund upfront payments and upkeep fees. For example, you might decide to switch from a limited free fundraising platform to a paid solution and reduce funding allocated to paid ads to maintain your overhead budget.
Explore new revenue channels.
Relying on only a few fundraising channels can limit your funding potential, as well as put your nonprofit at risk in the event that revenue falters. Improve your nonprofit’s stability and bring in new funding by exploring these revenue streams:
- Grants. Grants from foundations and government entities can provide stable funding during times of uncertainty. Create a grant pipeline to ensure your nonprofit is routinely researching new opportunities, adhering to deadlines, and maintaining positive relationships with grantmakers.
- Donor-advised funds, crypto, and stock donations. FreeWill’s DAFs report highlights that DAFs have become the most common non-cash gift. If your nonprofit is not already set up to receive donations from DAFS or gifts of crypto and stock, explore processing tools that let you accept these grants and immediately convert crypto and stock donations into cash.
- Endowments. While they will not earn immediate returns, endowments provide predictable funding through investment dividends. To start an endowment, ask your major donors whether they would like to create a legacy at your nonprofit and if there are any programs they would like to see last far into the future. Your nonprofit’s board can also designate funds for investing, creating a quasi-investment that isn’t restricted by donors and can be dissolved with board approval if needed.
All of these revenue channels take time to get started, but they can ultimately provide extra revenue to support the rest of your fundraising efforts. For example, if you have an endowment or grant funding a specific initiative, you can reallocate your annual fund to support other initiatives.
Expanding your fundraising capacity requires making an investment in your nonprofit that will set you up for long-term success. Be ready to spend time and money now to free up time and make more money later. Set up your investment to succeed by doing your research, creating an implementation plan, and working with your board for the betterment of your nonprofit.
About the Author
Hannah Davis
Hannah Davis is the Senior Manager of Growth Marketing at EverTrue. She works with nonprofit advancement teams to help fundraisers connect with more donors in meaningful ways. Before joining EverTrue, Hannah worked in higher education advancement at the University of Connecticut Foundation, leading annual giving communications and donor engagement efforts. Her experience in fundraising fuels her passion for helping nonprofits modernize their outreach while staying donor-centric.
