A comprehensive guide to nonprofit development (free template!)

We talk a lot about how to bring in donations and mobilize nonprofit supporters, but there’s another way that many organizations approach fundraising and community engagement. It’s called nonprofit development.

In this guide, we’ll explore the various facets of nonprofit development and discuss its connection to various organizational strategies. We’ll also share a development plan template for nonprofits to implement right away.

What is nonprofit development?

Nonprofit development encompasses all of the strategy, planning, and implementation involved in building relationships, nurturing connections, and creating sustainable communities of support around an organization.

Changemakers often use nonprofit fundraising and development interchangeably, but they’re subtly different. While fundraising focuses on securing financial support, nonprofit development consists of a wider range of activities centered around organizational growth, including fundraising.

How does nonprofit development work, exactly?

Nonprofit development is all about relationship building. Nonprofit professionals who work within their development team focus on attracting donors and other sources of funding as well as engaging, retaining, and diversifying them.

Fundraising, marketing, donor engagement events, grant writing, major donor solicitation, and donor retention campaigns all fall under nonprofit development and are typically encompassed within a development plan. A development plan will typically be led by a development director who oversees the goal setting, strategy, and analysis that helps nonprofits capture attention and drive donations. 

Advancement vs. development vs. fundraising

It’s easy to see why there’s some confusion about what nonprofit development is and isn’t, especially when you compare it to related terms like advancement and fundraising. While all three have a similar goal, their functions are distinct, particularly in a larger organization with more staff.

Think of advancement as the highest and most wide-reaching of the three. Within the nonprofit sector, it refers to the organization’s overall plan to promote its mission, secure funding, and reach its goals. Similar to creating a strategic plan or nonprofit business development plan, advancement aims to ensure the overall success and sustainability of the nonprofit.

Beneath advancement, we have nonprofit development. Development strategies align with broader advancement goals and inform fundraising activities like event planning, grant writing, and annual giving programs.

Lastly, fundraising refers to the steps taken to engage donors to secure financial contributions. Fundraising activities are designed around your donor profiles and goals, following the research and advice provided by advancement and development officers.

Pursuing a career in nonprofit development?

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Why is nonprofit development essential?

While a small nonprofit may not have the resources to employ multiple (if any!) staff dedicated solely to reaching its fundraising goals, nonprofit development can be a helpful framework for understanding what makes for successful fundraising for the long term.

Any time spent on nonprofit development will make your future fundraising and marketing campaigns more targeted, engaging, and effective. You’ll work on building stronger connections with not just potential donors and existing supporters but also other stakeholders—like would-be board members, executive directors, volunteers, and grant-making institutions.

It’s tempting to skip straight into planning fundraising events or brainstorming creative ideas for your year-end giving campaign, but nonprofit development is a crucial step to maximizing your resources. 

Benefits and challenges of nonprofit development

Nonprofit development is essential yet it requires a lot of time, research, and dedication. It also provides a deeper knowledge and appreciation of your organization, its values and mission, and the community you seek to build around it.

As you approach the world of nonprofit development, these are the top opportunities and challenges to consider.

Benefits of embracing nonprofit development

✅ Greater understanding of your community: Discover valuable insights into how to better connect with your audience, enabling you to craft more meaningful fundraising campaigns with more significant ROI.

✅ Strong relationships with major donors and partners: Investing in relationship building now means having valuable connections for the future. Use your growing network to secure sponsorships, major gifts, foundation support, and in-kind donations.

✅ More varied and consistent sources of funds: Nonprofits that invest in their development strategy will ultimately have a more comprehensive range of funding sources, so their future impact is not reliant on one-off events or campaigns. These organizations benefit from recurring donations, corporate partnerships, and multiple grants to keep them going.

✅ A team united behind your organization’s mission and goals: Nonprofit development doesn’t just help you attract and retain donors, but it can also bring your team members together. Staff with a thorough understanding of their organization’s goals and impact are more aligned and can make smarter decisions.

Common roadblocks for nonprofit development 

❌ Lack of resources: The research and effort involved in creating and executing a nonprofit development plan can be time-intensive—and expensive. Be sure to call on your board of directors for support.

❌ Donor fatigue: We’d all like to be the center of our donors’ worlds, but they may be supporting several nonprofits—so engaging them can be tricky. Avoid donor fatigue by keeping any outreach relevant, personalized, and easily digestible.

❌ Limited fundraising opportunities: Without a strategic plan and long-term vision, your organization can miss out on more diverse and sustainable fundraising practices. Relying on ad hoc events and campaigns to raise money will only take you so far.

❌ Using the wrong tools: Teams juggling multiple platforms and clunky communication tools are at a disadvantage when delivering engaging donor communications—and reaching their goals. 

How to make the most of nonprofit development planning

We know that nonprofit development is essential, but how do you ensure that you invest your time and resources wisely? Follow these six steps to make the most of your nonprofit development process. 

Step 1: Start with your mission 🌏

Your mission, vision, and values should guide your nonprofit development efforts. What’s at the heart of your organization will determine your approach to donors, frequency of communication, and messaging, enabling you to create a more effective, meaningful giving experience.

✅ To do list: Always consider your mission statement as you build your development strategy, and again as you plan individual fundraising activities. Ensure alignment with your strategic plan and nonprofit budget, using your mission and values as guides to best serve both your goals and your audience.

Step 2: Nurture relationships 😀

Every single one of your donors was new to your nonprofit at some point. Take the time now to start building new relationships and nurturing existing ones to strengthen your community and deepen supporter’s involvement and commitment.

✅ To do list: Develop a moves management process that maps out each stage of the donor journey so you can create meaningful, personalized interactions with your supporters. 

Step 3: Craft personalized communications 💬

Nonprofit development is about building relationships, and the best way to achieve success is with highly personalized interactions with your donors, partners, and broader network.

✅ To do list: Research your ideal donor profiles to learn who they are, their giving habits, and communication preferences. Use these metrics to build a marketing plan and communication strategy to effectively target your community members—whether by SMS or direct mail campaigns.

Step 4: Explore different fundraising strategies 🎁

If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll get the same results. Put your donor research to use and implement new fundraising strategies that better suit your community’s interests, capacity, and needs.

✅ To do list: Plan a fundraising calendar filled with events, campaigns, and grant opportunities for the year. Be sure to include initiatives like year-end giving or major donor campaigns to introduce stability and variety to your fundraising efforts.

Step 5: Use the right tools 🧰

Attempting to tackle nonprofit development without the right tools is an uphill task. Invest in the right technology to simplify your outreach and improve the donor experience, too.

✅ To do list: Take the time to research various nonprofit software and find the best tools for your organization’s goals—and budget.  

Step 6: Create a solid nonprofit development plan 🔭

Building strong relationships with donors and engaging your audience requires a solid foundation. That’s where your nonprofit development plan comes in. 

✅ To do list: Like an annual fundraising plan, your nonprofit development plan, consists of your initiatives to engage with donors and raise more funds throughout the upcoming year. It details your fundraising activities, timeline, resource requirements, and success metrics. 

Download your free nonprofit development plan template

Creating your nonprofit development plan from scratch can feel daunting. Luckily, we’ve done the research and put together a free development plan template for nonprofits that you can start using right away.

The sample nonprofit development plan features all the sections you need to create a strong plan that helps you organize your fundraising activities and track the expected cost and outcomes.

Freebie alert!

Download the nonprofit development plan template ->

Drive your nonprofit development forward with Givebutter

Nonprofit development is an invaluable framework for organizations seeking sustainable growth and long-lasting success. With so many tasks that fall under the banner of nonprofit development, using a centralized platform can save busy changemakers a whole lot of time and effort.

Givebutter offers an all-in-one fundraising and donor engagement solution with modern, easy-to-use features for nonprofits of all sizes. Now you can manage your donation pages, fundraising campaigns, and event ticketing in the same place as your email and texting tools—plus a built-in CRM with advanced donor profiles. 

See for yourself how one powerful platform can simplify your fundraising, marketing, and donor engagement. Create your free Givebuter account today and start making giving easy, free, and fun for everyone.