Summary

Due to the splintering of a local church, we found that our largest donor was now unable to provide support to our nonprofit. We`re a halfway house for paroled convicts with a stated mission to help them get back on their feet and show them the Love of Christ. Due to the Christian mission of our nonprofit, our support by local churches is a natural fit, but because of our non-denominational approach, few mainstream churches provide consistent support. Even though we`re reforming these individuals, we`ve found that religious organizations want to influence how the funds are used or be involved in the organization.

The Background

When a large donor stops funding a nonprofit, the organization has a few options. It can go into a state of crisis, or it can become more resourceful about finding new sources of funding. This is one example of an organization that was able to continue its work in the community by reaching beyond their regular pool of donors.

The Solution

We approached many less affluent individuals in the community who had a pattern of giving but had never given to us. Since many of them were already familiar with our work, it made our initial approach easier because we already had credibility and a real level of trust to begin the relationship.

Lessons Learned

We entered this search looking for one donor to replace the one we lost. We wound up with several local donors who were able to help us recover the shortfall in our budget. Next time, instead of focusing on just the big donors, we should have talked to more donors who, while they may have less to give, can still help us. Also, by working to reach these particular donors, we were able to better understand their motivations and make them involved in our process.