By Saad & Shaw                                                                                                  FUNdraising Good Times

Heads up! Now is the time to be proactive in implementing and managing your fundraising plan. You do have a plan, don’t you?

Creating a fundraising plan is the first step toward reaching your fundraising goals. You also have to implement the plan. Checking in on your progress helps ensure you reach your year–end goals. Here are four items to help you stay on target. Usethese as a checklist with your team now, and on a quarterly basis.

First, check to see if your organization knows if it has agreed on an amount that needs to be raised, what the money will be used for, and what the anticipated impact will be. Do you have a case for support and other marketing materials you use to communicate with current and potential donors and funders? If not, it’s time to put your vision into words and images.

Next, assess where you believe the funding will come from. Have you created a list of prospective donors and funders with anticipated giving levels, both high and low? We recommend estimating anticipated giving based on both “anticipated” and “worst” scenarios. You don’t want to project receipt of a gift or grant at a certain level, only to receive funding that is significantly lower than anticipated. The list of prospective donors should be recorded with specific names of who you will talk to and when. You need a pool of prospective donors and funders who you are working with and who you believe can give at levels required to meet your fundraising goals. You also need cultivation and solicitation processes in play to meet your goals. All of this needs to be tracked. You can’t keep it in your head. This means your check-in should include a data assessment: what is being recorded and what reports are being produced?

The third step is to determine where things stand right now. How much has been raised to date? How many proposals or solicitations have been submitted and are awaiting a response? How do you weigh the potential of each resulting in the amount requested? What are you using to make this evaluation? Is funding coming in as projected?

Next, let’s talk about your team. Have you built a team of staff and volunteers with each person responsible for specific tasks? Do you have financial and volunteer commitments from theteam? How is their work progressing? Is everyone following through with their commitments? Is your organization receiving funds as a result of their work? Do you feel the team has the will to do the work required over the balance of the year? What about team members responsible for your awareness and education campaign: are they in motion?

Assessing your work is critical – this allows you to make adjustments. If you are on track, we offer our congratulations. If you are behind, now is the time to get in motion and add contingency plans in case you can’t reach your fundraising goals. You can do it: people are depending on you.

Copyright 2026 – Mel and Pearl Shaw of Saad&Shaw–Comprehensive Fund Development Services, providing fundraising coaching, planning, case for support services, and more. www.saadandshaw.com. Virtual services and consultations always available.