A Tool to Help Nonprofits Assess Volunteer-Run Fundraising Campaigns

During the past few years, Lisa Cottingham and other staff members at Water Mission noticed that more and more donors wanted to hold their own events to raise money for the organization.

The staff was grateful for the support, but it was a challenge for the clean-water nonprofit to determine how much marketing assistance and other guidance they should give to each effort. After all, the donors were usually fundraising newbies, and staff didn’t have the time to help with each event.

The group had two employees who handled events as well as these volunteer efforts — also called peer-to-peer or third-party or do-it-yourself campaigns. A few marketing employees were able to help, too, says Ms. Cottingham, the group’s then-development director, who left earlier this year. However, nobody was being strategic about determining which events deserved staff time.

“We found that we were just being very reactionary, and, of course, that’s a terrible way to spend your resources,” she notes.

Instead of trying to help every supporter with third-party events or campaigns, the organization decided last summer to build a “decision matrix,” which laid out in columns and rows the kinds of support the organization would provide to outside fundraisers.

Now those with a proven track record of raising significant sums get more assistance than those who are new and unproven.

For instance, a group that previously raised more than $30,000 receives a “relationship manager” who will answer questions and may help brainstorm ideas. They’ll also get help with customized marketing materials.

Even in the short time it’s been in use, the matrix has helped bring order to the organization’s decision making about DIY events and has come in handy when staffers have had to explain their choices to upper-level management, Ms. Cottingham says.

The document is not always rigidly followed and can be changed as needed, she adds: “It’s fluid. We can go back and say, ‘Oh, you know what? We need to tweak this a little bit,’ ” she says.

The organization also developed a similar matrix for its “Walk for Water” events, in which supporters organize walking events to raise money for the organization.

You can download both in one document here.