Step 1: Build Your Fundraising Strategy (With Your Board)

Overview

The first step to building your fundraising system is to identify your organization’s ideal funding audience and create a fundraising strategy that clearly outlines how you will raise money from them.

But this is important…

To ensure your board members support and actively participate in fundraising, you must build this strategy with them.

When your board is involved in creating the strategy:

• They are more likely to give
• They are more willing to introduce prospects from their network
• They naturally support recruiting your fundraising team
• They participate in creating materials and executing fundraising

This is how you move from having a passive board… to an engaged one.

1: Collect Ideas from Your Board and Team

Now, you want to involve your board and team in shaping the strategy.

Ask them to share:

• The types of individuals, businesses, and organizations they believe would support your mission
• How they think the organization can approach these potential supporters
• The role they would like to play in the fundraising process

To do this:

• Use the Fundraising Planning Form (Google Form template provided below)
• Send it to your board and team using the email template provided

Important Instructions:

• Click the three dots at the top right corner of the Google Form template
  Select “Make a copy”
• Rename it with your organization’s name
• Then copy the link to your version

Do not edit the original template. Only edit your copy.

Also, make sure you fill out the form yourself.

2: Turn Ideas into a Fundraising Strategy Plan

Once responses come in, your next step is to organize those ideas into a clear and structured fundraising strategy plan.

Use the Fundraising Strategy Plan Creation Manual provided below to guide you.

This will help you:

• Identify your ideal funding audience
• Define your approach to reaching them
• Structure how your organization will raise funds moving forward

After creating the plan:

• Use the email template provided to send it to your board and contributors
• Invite them to review the plan
• Schedule a meeting (or align it with your next board meeting) to discuss and adopt it

3: Review and Adopt the Strategy with Your Board

In your meeting, walk your board through the strategy step by step.

• Review each section together
• Ask for feedback
• Make adjustments where needed

Continue this process until the entire plan is agreed upon.

At the end:

• Move a motion to adopt the plan as a working document for the organization
• Once adopted, the board is now aligned and committed to executing it with you.

This is where things begin to shift.

From here, you can:

• Secure board commitment to giving
• Get alignment on recruiting your fundraising team
• Begin planning the creation of your fundraising materials and execution

Use the Fundraising Strategy Review Facilitation Guide below to lead this session effectively.

4: Follow-Up and Activate Your Board

After the meeting, your job is to maintain momentum.

Send a follow-up email to:

• Confirm what was agreed
• Outline responsibilities
• Clarify next steps

Then:

• Begin scheduling follow-up conversations with board members
• Start planning execution together

This is how you move from planning… to action.

Use the Follow-Up Email Templates provided below.

Final Note

This step is not just about creating a plan.

It’s about creating alignment, ownership, and direction.

If done properly, your board will no longer sit on the sidelines.
They will begin to move with you.