In three recent conversations with executive director clients, the topic of re-establishing relationships was discussed. Our community is experiencing a shift in those taking leadership roles within our philanthropic landscape, plus the way people work, meet, and communicate has changed in recent years. So, the need to go back to the basics of researching, identifying, cultivating, and soliciting donors, collaborators, and board member prospects is top of mind to many nonprofit executives.
Because of that, I reached into our files to retrieve a handout that we provided in one of our Good Advice Over Coffee sessions held as part of our 25th anniversary and pulled the advice we provided on building a base of community support for your cause.
This listing is intended to help with the first step of identifying those in your relational universe so that you have updated information for your outreach to re-establish relationships for your mission and build new ones. (This is helpful when planning organizational anniversaries, too.) I hope you find it useful.
Constantly research, identify, cultivate, and solicit donor prospects and allies. How is this done? Consider relationship building for fundraising like friend raising and establish a database of complete contact information that reflects that. Start today to earnestly establish the database of those you know and those who need to know you and your mission. This starts the process of identification and cultivation, then it never stops. Start with influential folks in our community and those already engaged in your good work, like the following:
State senators and representatives for the geographic area you serve and their staff representatives.
Mayors and city council members of the cities you serve; city staff within departments that work in your cause area.
Superintendents of schools and school board members; key administrative staff
County judge, commissioners, and county staff associated with your cause.
All past and present board members of your organization.
Chambers of commerce executive staff and board members; and consider adding leadership from their top fifty company members. (Designated chamber reps are typically companies’ external folks looking to make a community impact.)
CEOs, CFOs of the top 200 employers in your county.
All past and present donors. (Study those lists by donor amount, consistency, and influence).
Every sponsor and prospective sponsor of all events.
Every guest of all events. (It’s recommended to capture this information ahead of every event; we can explain the process and procedure of how this can be done if not already being executed.)
Friends/business acquaintances of your staff, board, and event volunteer leadership, thinking of people who are community leaders, influential, caring – philanthropic folks that they have relationships with that might care about your mission because they care.
Presidents and trust officers of all major banks.
Foundation executive directors and program officers of foundations supporting your cause.
Vendors.
Media relationships.
Service club members, like Rotary and Junior League.
Donors to like-minded organizations who have relationship or experience with your mission.
What relationships to your cause are not listed here? Engage your board and staffing team in this process and make this checklist your own as you re-establish relationships to benefit your important work in our community. Thanks for all you do!