A nonprofit fundraising plan template for a small team

A nonprofit fundraising plan template lays out four things on one page: the dollar goal, the gift sources you’ll ask, who owns each task, and the dates gifts and follow-ups are due. Most small nonprofits start the year with a goal and a spreadsheet that drifts out of date by February. This template gives a development director or executive director a plan the board can approve in one meeting, and a staff of one or two can actually run.

Fill it in this week, before the next board meeting or the next appeal goes out.

Key Takeaways
– A nonprofit fundraising plan template needs four parts: the goal, the gift sources, the task owner, and the date, not a long narrative.
– Split the annual goal across your actual sources (individual gifts, a monthly giving program, a year-end appeal, grants, and events) instead of one lump number.
– Every task on the plan needs one name next to it. A task with no owner is a task nobody does.
– Pledges and partial gifts belong on the plan with a follow-up date, not just the final total.
– Review the plan each quarter against what actually came in, and adjust the remaining quarters instead of waiting for next year.

What a nonprofit fundraising plan template should include

A fundraising plan template is not a strategy memo. It is a working document with five columns: the gift source, the dollar goal for that source, the task that gets you there, the owner, and the due date. Keep it to one page. If a plan takes longer than a board meeting to read, nobody will update it.

One-page nonprofit fundraising plan
1. Annual goal: $__, split across sources below.
2. Gift source: individual gifts, monthly giving, year-end appeal, grants, or events.
3. Goal per source: $____ for each.
4. Key task: the one thing that has to happen (build the ask list, launch the appeal, submit the grant).
5. Owner: one name, not “the committee.”
6. Due date: the date the task is done, not the date you hope to think about it.

Set one fundraising goal and a realistic timeline

Start with last year’s total raised, then add a number you can defend to your board: typically 10 to 20 percent, not a number that sounds good. Break the annual goal into quarters so a slow quarter shows up in March, not December. If you want outside benchmarks for how nonprofits similar to yours are growing and retaining donors, the Fundraising Effectiveness Project tracks national giving and retention trends every year. A goal with no timeline is a wish.

List the fundraising sources you can actually ask this year

Most small nonprofits raise money from some mix of individual gifts, a monthly giving program, a year-end appeal, grants, and a small event. Put a dollar goal next to each source instead of one number for “fundraising.” If online giving is part of your mix, M+R’s annual Benchmarks report tracks response and growth rates across the nonprofit sector each year. Check it before you set that line’s goal. A monthly giving program that adds 10 new recurring donors is a line on the plan with its own goal and its own task, not a hope folded into the annual total.

Grants take the most staff hours to write and report on, and they often pay the least per hour of work. Individual gifts and monthly giving take less staff time per dollar once the list exists, but only after the list is built.

Assign an owner to every task, not just every goal

A goal belongs to the organization. A task belongs to one person. “Build the fall appeal mailing list” needs one name next to it and one due date, even when three people help. FundHero’s Teams feature assigns tasks and reminders to one login each, so the plan says who is doing the work, not just what the work is.

Build the calendar your team will actually follow

Lay the plan against the calendar your organization already runs on: the fiscal year, board meetings, and your state’s giving days. Put the appeal launch date, the thank-you deadline, and the report-to-the-board date on the same page as the goal. If your organization owes an annual Form 990, put that date on the plan too. The IRS lists who must file and when. A donor stewardship plan for how you follow up after each gift belongs next to the ask, not after it.

Track pledges and gifts so nothing slips through

A pledge with no follow-up date is a maybe, not a gift. Log every pledge with the amount and the date the donor plans to give, and set a reminder before that date. FundHero’s Smart Groups can pull every outstanding pledge and every unacknowledged gift onto one list, so you’re working through a short queue on Monday morning instead of digging through an inbox to remember what’s owed.

When the quarter ends, pull a report of what actually came in against the plan’s goal per source, and adjust the next quarter’s task list instead of waiting until next year to notice a gap.

FAQ

What is a nonprofit fundraising plan template?
A nonprofit fundraising plan template is a one-page document that lists your annual fundraising goal, the gift sources you’ll ask (individual gifts, monthly giving, grants, events), the key task for each source, who owns it, and the date it’s due.

How much should a small nonprofit plan to raise in a year?
Start with what you actually raised last year and set this year’s goal from that number, usually 10 to 20 percent higher, broken out by source. A goal that isn’t tied to last year’s real total is a guess, not a plan.

What should be in a nonprofit fundraising plan?
Four things, at minimum: the dollar goal per gift source, the key task for each source, one owner per task, and a due date. Add the calendar dates your organization already runs on, like board meetings and giving days.

How often should a nonprofit update its fundraising plan?
Review it every quarter against what actually came in. A plan written in January and never reopened is a document, not a plan.

Do we need a fundraising plan if we’re an all-volunteer nonprofit?
Yes, if you have more than one source of gifts. The plan is what keeps a volunteer board from each assuming someone else is writing the year-end appeal.

Can we use this template for a one-time campaign instead of the whole year?
Yes. Use the same five columns (gift source, goal, task, owner, date) scoped to the campaign’s timeline instead of the fiscal year.

Put the plan to work

A nonprofit fundraising plan template only works once it has real numbers in it: last year’s total, this year’s goal per source, one owner per task, and a due date on each. Fill in the one-page version above before your next board meeting, then revisit it each quarter against what actually came in.

If your team is still tracking pledges and follow-ups across spreadsheets and email, FundHero keeps the plan, the donor list, and the follow-up tasks in one place. Start a free trial, no payment info required, or see pricing to find the plan that fits a team your size.