If you love new beginnings, hate long cumbersome plans, and you need a kick in the butt to get moving, this post is for you.

First, the kick in the butt. Does your approach to fundraising have integrity? Ouch.

Consider this. If a donor with business savvy were to look at your 2016 budget, would it be clear that your funding priorities reflect a commitment to deliver the highest quality programming AND build an organization that can improve upon and sustain it?

Making sure your organizations budget provides adequate resources for fundraising is where integrity lies. Otherwise, you’re not walking your talk.

You’re telling the world that your organization is doing all this great stuff to change lives. You’re making it clear there’s still much to be done, and appealing to them to join you in making it happen.

Yet it’s impossible to do this without building a fundraising infrastructure. You’re spinning your wheels. It’s a bandaid.

The reality is that fundraising is a program as vital as your other “programs.” One can’t function properly without the other.

That’s where the 90-day challenge comes in. Strategic plans, fundraising plans, strategies….it’s enough to send one into total denial.

But we both know that you’re smart. You can do this.

I believe that executive directors and board members are operating below their potential when it comes to creating big ideas and funding them.

You don’t need to have your hand held with loads of tactics fed to you to make this happen. As a matter of fact, this can be immobilizing and the very thing that prevents you from taking action.

Why? Because you’re not using your brain, creativity, and personal resources. That’s all you need. Online training and learning opportunities in your community are available if you’re motivated.

Here’s an idea that I’m doing in my own business that’s truly energizing me.

Your secret 90-day challenge.

Goals set annually may not feel relevant in 12 months. Or 12 months seems so far away that you figure you can always start tomorrow.

Ninety days, on the other hand, is about “holding me accountable” to my long range goals, but in smaller chunks, so I actually see an end in sight. That’s why it’s secret. It’s all about me.

From my experience and from nonprofits I’ve worked with, 90 days seems to be the range where ambition and planning actually fall reasonably close together.

Looking ninety days out, you have a good idea of what you can actually get done in that time frame, so your capacity estimations are about right and yet you can make some very substantial progress towards a big goal.

It leads to moving faster without compromising strategy – being more agile. Having goals and visions for three or five years down the line is valuable, but it’s often not very helpful to try and plan out concrete steps—there’s just too much that has to get done which feels overwhelming and leads to inaction.

Find the area that is most pressing for your organization and chunk it down to a 90 day goal. (I have ideas listed below).

Then come up with steps that are organized into 2 week sprints. Get something done and have a success. It’s exhilarating and you’ll build momentum.

Assuming your strategies for raising money include direct mail, major gifts, and possibly grants, this is the infrastructure that you must have to grow quality programs and sustain them.

Competencies and technology

Do you have these up and running in your nonprofit? If any of them are too expensive or overwhelming, chunk them even more. Improving upon what you have is what capacity building is all about.

Then get busy working with a board ally and a possible major donor or foundation to raise the money you need to move forward.

• Cloud-based donor management system (database) that is clean and high functioning. You CANNOT fundraising without a modern fundraising database.
• Email service (Mail Chimp or Constant Contact) for newsletters – at least quarterly, monthly best.
• A staff person, outsourced individual, or volunteer to own these systems. Mailmerging direct mail, sending thank you notes, and keeping it all  running smoothly.
• An ED and board to own, oversee and participate in acquiring, developing relationships with, and stewarding donors.
• A budget that prioritizes fundraising as a legitimate and vital budget item.

Once you begin this process, new opportunities will pop up, and you can look at those in 90 days and reassess whether they’re heading in the right direction or not.

This approach takes the pressure off and has the added bonus of relieving guilt. You’re taking action and leading your organization into the future.

Does 90 days resonate as a do-able timeframe?