Starting a new year off right is a great way to set the tone for the rest of the year – especially for your nonprofit. This time in a nonprofit's calendar usually includes goal setting, reevaluating strategies and tools, and looking for resources to make the months ahead even better. In this blog, we'll share seven tips to start strong in 2024 and provide several resources to help along the way.
Ready to tackle 2024 – and beyond? Starting strong in the new year is sometimes easier said than done. Without a solid plan in place and great resources to support you, it can be tricky to take advantage of that new-year momentum.
Don’t worry – we have you covered! In this article, we’ll share seven tips for nonprofits to start strong in 2024. Plus, we’ll share impactful resources along the way to help you plan, execute, and raise more for your important mission.
The best way to start stronger is to understand how you finished. Did you set goals for 2023? If so, did you meet, surpass, or fall short of those goals? Review your data from last year to see where you landed.
Donorbox makes it easy to track your fundraising efforts. Sort your donation data by a variety of filters and use our reporting templates to easily pull more detailed data.
Choose from New Donors, Donor Overview, or LYBUNT. Then, set custom parameters to get just the data you need.
Sometimes it isn’t enough to just look at your data. Often, fully understanding how your last year went requires active analysis – which isn’t always simple.
We have free resources to help! Use our SWOT Analysis Template to review your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. For another take on this kind of analysis, download our Rose, Bud, and Thorn Worksheet.
As you evaluate your successes and failures for 2023, don’t forget to think outside of the box to see where your organization really shined. Maybe you didn’t meet your fundraising goals – but did your overall number of contributions go up? Sometimes unexpected metrics can show exciting possibilities for the year to come (and finding them early can help you plan smarter!).
Once you know how far you’ve come, it’s easier to plan for the road ahead. Nonprofit goal-setting is different from setting goals in the for-profit sector for a few reasons –
Whether you’re setting mission-focused or fundraising goals, having the right tools is crucial!
First, check out these five fundraising trends we predict will take off in 2024. Use these to guide and reassess your own goals!
You’ve likely heard the acronym SMART before. It stands for specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. It’s a useful system to create goals that are attainable, impactful, and – most importantly – won’t cause your staff to burn out.
Our free SMART Goal Setting Worksheet will guide you through each step of creating better goals for your organization.
Pro tip: Your 2024 goals should be as data-informed as possible. Use the data you pulled in the first step of this blog to inform your future. A great goal takes the past into account while hoping for reasonable growth moving forward!
For a more successful 2024, consider the tools you’ve been using to raise funds for your cause. What works? What can be improved?
2023 presented nonprofits with some fundraising challenges, and we predict 2024 will bring more. Choosing the best fundraising platform for your organization will help you rise to these challenges and turn them into opportunities to connect with donors in new and exciting ways!
Donorbox offers comprehensive tools to help you raise more for your cause in 2024. Whether you need to revamp your fundraising page, collect more in-person donations, or find a better way to connect with your audience, we have the easy-to-use features you need. Features like –
And more! Check out all of our features here.
Need a strategic way to evaluate your current fundraising setup? Download our Are You Fit to Fundraise? Checklist to score each element of your online donation experience – and identify the areas that need improvement.
Ready to get started with Donorbox? It takes just four easy steps. Read more in this blog or watch this short video!
If your fiscal year ends with the calendar year, that means January brings tons of tasks for your organization, including getting your numbers together for budgeting and reporting.
You’re likely gearing up to file your Form 990, getting ready for your audit, and putting the final touches on your 2024 operating budget. Take your time with this step and make sure the numbers make sense. This will save you trouble later in the year ahead – and make it easier to track your goal progress.
We have a starter Nonprofit Budget Template that you can download and customize for your organization. We’ve prefilled this template with line items nonprofits usually need, but you can easily adjust as needed. For an in-depth look at how to create a nonprofit budget, check out this blog!
Whether this is your first time going through the audit process or you’re a seasoned pro, download our Nonprofit Audit Checklist to prepare and ensure a smooth audit.
Your donors did so much for you in 2023. Now it’s time to think about what you can do for them! This means the following:
Don’t skip this step! It’s crucial to show your donors that you are responsible, accountable, and transparent as they gear up to (hopefully) give again in 2024.
We have resources to help every step of the way. Download our Donor Thank You Letters resource to see a breakdown of the perfect thank-you letter – and a template so you can write one of your own. Plus, check out this blog for more advice.
When you’re ready to start pulling together your annual report, learn how to simplify the process (without losing out on donor engagement) in this webinar with Chad Barger, CFRE.
Donorbox makes it super easy to send year-end receipts to all of your donors. Each receipt shows a summary of their giving – so they don’t have to hunt for individual receipts. Learn more about how to send year-end receipts on Donorbox in this blog. You can customize the receipt message to fully convey your gratitude! Here’s what it looks like for your donors –
If you need to start from scratch, we also have a free Year-End Receipt Template.
Simplify your receipts - sign up!
As you set your goals and rethink your fundraising strategy, remember to center relationships in everything you do. Building better relationships with your donors, sponsors, and community partners will make everything you do in 2024 smoother.
Donorbox donor management tools make building better, lasting relationships with donors much easier. Collect and store a variety of donor data and segment your audience for more targeted outreach. Plus, keep records of all donor communication – both inbound and outbound – so you never reach out too much or too little.
Here’s how easy it is on your end –
Building better connections in 2024 starts with cultivating new donor relationships – and stewarding the ones you already have. We have tons of resources to help!
Check out this blog to familiarize yourself with the donor cultivation cycle. Download our Sample Stewardship Plan and Donor Stewardship Checklist to rethink your strategy.
In episode 93 of The Nonprofit Podcast, we dive into some stewardship strategies to keep your year-end donors from 2023 through 2024. As a bonus, download our Guide to Corporate Sponsorships to learn more about how to make – and leverage – those types of relationships.
Much like you need to set SMART goals from the start, you also need to dedicate yourself to being as consistent as possible. It can take up to 10 weeks of daily practice to effectively form a habit. Keep this in mind as you set your goals and strategies and be patient with yourself if a new habit doesn’t take right away.
Need to revamp your productivity tools for 2024? Check out this blog on the top productivity tools for nonprofits (and some offer discounts!).
2024 may bring some challenges, but it will also bring some incredible opportunities. Starting strong in January will set you up for success all year long.
We hope these seven tips help you begin 2024 determined, empowered, and well-equipped for anything that comes your way. As always, we’re here to help with powerful fundraising tools and resources to help you every step of the way. Sign up today and launch your first campaign in under 15 minutes. Make the most of your new start!
For more fundraising tips and resources, check out the rest of our Nonprofit Blog. Subscribe to our newsletter for a curated list of blogs delivered to your inbox every month.
Lindsey spent years wearing many hats in the nonprofit world. Whether she was helping arts nonprofits with their messaging and content, planning a fundraising gala, writing an NEA grant proposal, or running a membership program with over 400 members, she learned how to navigate – and appreciate! – the fast-paced world of fundraising. Now, she loves sharing those hard-earned lessons with the Donorbox community.
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Lindsey Baker Bower