Positioning Nonprofit Programs for Funding Success
After more than two decades of working with nonprofit organizations in various capacities: employee, consultant and volunteer, I’ve seen a clear pattern emerge: nonprofits that consistently struggle financially often have one thing in common, a program or service inefficiency. You have a compelling mission and a passionate team and have been unclear why your organization continues to have an uphill battle when it comes to raising funds. Nonprofit organizations struggling with funding have programs/services that:
Do not fulfill the mission. You promote, implement and attempt to raise funds for programs that do not align with the mission. For example your mission is to provide mentorship and social-emotional support to children aged 7-14 in foster care; however all of your programs and services center around providing job opportunities to economically disadvantaged youth aged 16-20 years.
Outcomes are unclear. The programs and services do not clearly outline what the outcomes will be for people attending the program or receiving services. No one really knows what is the purpose of the program/service and what will happen as a result of the program/service being provided.
Lack of fiscal transparency. You have not clearly identified the true cost of the program/service. Saying you need $100,000; but not providing an itemized budget makes people skeptical about giving. If you are not sharing how much money was raised, how it is being used and what is remaining does not give potential donors confidence.
Fundraising Readiness
Recently, a client wanted a funding strategy in order to implement their program. I get clients like this often. Similar to past clients after analyzing the organization my team and I identified their issue was the program they were attempting to offer to the community. We can develop the best 12-month funding plan for obtaining grants, donations, sponsors and generating income; however when executing the plan the organization will struggle to reach their financial goals because their program did not fulfill the mission and was not fully developed. When clients are ramping up their giving campaign here is a quick assessment to determine if your programs and services are positioned for funding or a hindrance to receiving funds.
NOTE: When using this quick assessment the assumption is you have already developed the program/service using a Nonprofit Program Development Process. This assessment is not a program development process. It is information you are gathering about your program/service after it is fully developed. If your process for developing a program/service is “I want to use this abandoned motel to provide housing to the unhoused.” and if you have not gone through a thorough process to develop this program please contact the CME 2 Strategic Consulting Firm immediately to receive expert assistance.
Cheronda’s Quick Program & Service Assessment Tool
Is the Program/Service Positioned for Funding?
Align with Mission Statement
You should be able to say YES with confidence when you ask yourself “Does this program or service align with the mission statement?”. Get specific with this question. For example if your mission statement is “We provide community to senior citizens to combat isolation and promote a healthy lifestyle.” The questions you will ask are:
Is this program or service for senior citizens? If you cannot say yes you need to change the age demographic, remove the program or change the mission statement. If you can say yes, move on to the next question.
Does this program or service combat isolation OR promote a healthy lifestyle? You should be able to say yes and justify how it will do one or both criteria identified from the mission statement. If you cannot say yes, adjust the program.
Does this program or service provide community? While most programs/services that combat isolation will provide community you can promote a healthy lifestyle without providing community. Community is the core of this mission statement.
This organization should be able to say YES with confidence to all of the questions. An outsider reading about the organization’s program or service should be able to say YES with confidence regarding each of those questions. If you need your programs and/or services assessed to ensure they align with your mission statement CME 2 Strategic Consulting Firm can assist you.
Make it Make Sense
Now that you verified your program/service aligns with the mission statement it’s time to outline the Why, What, Who, When, and Where (5Ws) of the program/service. Being able to easily call off this information is an asset when you are speaking with potential donors. It is also a great tool to equip new employees, board members and volunteers with information to confidently talk about the organization. It further helps donors, employees, board members and volunteers know the important parts of the organization’s programs/services.
Why: Why is this program/service needed. You would have identified the why during the needs assessment step when you developed the program. When we are promoting and fundraising for programs/services organizations that struggle with funding forget to hook people with the why. They often jump straight into we need $50,000 to help senior citizens. BUT WHY?! Your board, staff and volunteers should be able to easily call off your why. For example, I worked with a TRIO program at Northern Illinois University, the Director made sure we all knew the mission statement and the why. We understood and could articulate that theTRIO program provides extra support to college students that have low-to-moderate income, are first-generation college students, and/or have a disability because these students are more likely not to complete a 4-year degree, especially those that met two or more of the requirements. My first-time working in a TRIO program was 2004 and my last time was 2013; it is 2025 and I still remember why this program exists and why it is needed at universities!
What: What is the program/service you will offer? This is beyond a fun trendy name. What do you plan to do specifically? For example, if you are providing scholarships you should be able to answer questions such as: what type of scholarships (college, undergraduate, trade school, etc.), how much you are providing and how many individuals can receive scholarships.
Who: Who is eligible for the program/service? I like to use the word eligible because often nonprofit founders, leaders and employees have big hearts and want to provide services to anyone that comes through their doors. This is how they end up offering programs/services that do not fulfill the mission statement. Creating clear eligibility regarding who you will serve is important.
When: When is the program/service offered? Do you offer the program/service every week? Will you set up 8 week terms, 4 per year? Is this a summer only program? It is important to identify when the program is offered and how often the program is offered. This information will also help drive your fundraising timeline and efforts.
Where: Where are you offering this program? Onsite, offsite, virtually, or hybrid?
After answering the Why, What, Who, When and Where it is time to put it together and better position the organization for funding. If you have worked with me in any capacity you know I love the YMCA. They are an excellent case study of a nonprofit organization done the right way. Let’s break this down using the 5Ws for the YMCA’s swim lesson program.
The YMCA offers independent group swim lessons to children 3 years old - 17 years old (who). There are 7 levels available based on the swimmer's skills ranging from Guppy to Shark (what). Children are evaluated before and after each term to determine their level (what). Swim lessons are offered onsite in the pool at the YMCA through 4-week terms (where and when). Learning to swim is a life skill that can save the swimmer's life and the life of others (why).
Show Them the Money
During the program development process you would have developed a detailed itemized budget for the program. You use this as a tool for transparency and raising funds. It allows you to easily identify specific costs and revenue like the contribution from participant payments. For example, 4-week swim lessons at my local YMCA costs $65 per person per session. However, they do offer scholarships for families that cannot afford $65. You can specifically raise funds to provide swim lessons.
Before knowing your budget your funding campaign stated: We need $65,000 for swim lessons, help us!
After knowing your budget and using the information to position, your funding campaign states: We are raising $65,000 to cover the cost of swim lessons for 1,000 children aged 3-17. Learning to swim is a lifeskill and we do not want income constraints to stop children from being able to save their life or the lives of others.
Using actual numbers establishes transparency, creates trust and increases the opportunity to obtain donations. You should be able to easily provide budgets, Form 990s, financial statements and audited financial reports upon request. I often encourage financial transparency by making documents and information available on websites. There should not be any secrecy about a nonprofit organization’s income and expenses.
The Power of Program Clarity
After reading this blog you should understand that the organizations and community groups you are affiliated with may not have overall funding issues; but a program/service issue. If the nonprofits organizations you are affiliated with as an employee, volunteer or board member have been struggling to meet financial goals, I hope this blog ignited you to take a moment and assess the programs and services. It can be done individually or during a group strategic planning session. Although I provided a quick assessment tool, the program and services assessment process can take weeks as you gather and assess information.
After the assessment if you realize the organization needs more help and a deeper dive into their programs and services the CME 2 Strategic Consulting Firm is here to assist you. In addition to assessing programs and services, we also provide Strategic Planning, Program Development and Program Pilot & Implementation.
Website: https://cme2llc.com/
