Fundraising Planning - A Vital Key to Nonprofit Success
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* Setting priorities, strategies, and goals: New opportunities present themselves all the time, if you are open to receiving them. But which opportunities should you pursue? When you have a clear mission and a plan, the answer becomes clear. By following the plan, you know where your efforts are most needed at any given time, and you can turn down distractions that don't further your defined goals.

* Increasing board involvement: I always hear nonprofit staff complaining about either their un-involved board members or board members who meddle too much without knowing what they're doing, and yet they don't create opportunities for the board to be constructively involved. Asking your board to be a part of the development planning process will both motivate them and educate them at the same time.

* Integrating fund development with other program activities & plans: If you're lucky enough to have staff who work on fund development full-time, you're also risking a disconnect between program people and fundraisers. The result is an annual event that's held the same week as the busiest part of the program staff's season. Written plans that are shared by all staff help to avoid such conflicts and encourage a working team environment.

* Most productive use of team's time: The bottom line is that by being organized, and having clarity as to what is expected of every team member, all your activities will be more efficient.

So what's holding you back? Put your team together and start planning for success today!

About The Author Ken Goldstein is a grant writer and consultant working and living in Silicon Valley. Since 1989 he has been an executive director, a board member, volunteer, and consultant to nonprofits. His education includes a BA in Politics from UC Santa Cruz and a Master of Public Policy and Administration from CSU Sacramento. Goldstein Consulting can be found at http://www.goldsteinconsulting.com. Ken is also the author of "Introduction to Fund Development Planning" - Please see http://www.fundraisingplanbook.com for more information. (c) 2006 by Ken Goldstein, all rights reserved. You may re-print or re-post this article only complete and un-edited, and including the author information, active web links, and copyright notice.

Fundraising Planning - A Vital Key to Nonprofit Success
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Additional Resources

category - Grants for Nonprofits

United States Department of Housing and Urban Development: Sustainable Communities Regional Planning Grant Program
The Sustainable Communities Regional Planning Grant Program aims to improve regional planning efforts that integrate housing, transportation, economic development, and environmental infrastructure investment decisions, in order to increase the country's capacity to incorporate livability, sustainability and social equity into land use plans and zoning.

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US Agency for International Development Announces Funding for Food and Nutrition Technical Assistance
The US Agency for International Development: Bureau of Global Health has recently announced a funding opportunity amounting to $200,000,000 in order to support the Food and Nutrition Technical Assistance (FANTA III) project.

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National Aeronautics and Space Administration: Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Sciences
NASA has recently established the Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Sciences (ROSES) program for the year 2011, which encourages interested institutions to submit proposals that involve ground-based research and technology investigations that seek to comprehend naturally occurring phenomena, both in the Earth and in space.

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Economic Studies Ancillary to Completed or Ongoing Health Care Delivery and Financing Pilots, Demonstrations, and Other Experiments
NIH has recently established a program entitled Economic Studies Ancillary to Completed or Ongoing Health Care Delivery and Financing Pilots, Demonstrations, and Other Experiments.

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