Books / The First 90 Days of a Nonprofit Development Director
The First 90 Days of a Nonprofit Development Director
by Steve Kennedy
Thank. Ask. Grow.
A new development director's first ninety days, one week at a time, for an organization's first or only fundraiser. Clean the donor records, thank every donor well, build the case and the asks, and bring the board a development plan it can adopt on Day 90. Each week has a short story from an invented nonprofit facing the same problem you are, the work in plain steps with the reason behind each one, the mistakes people make, and five things to have done by Friday.
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Thirteen weeks
Thank · Days 1 to 28
- Week 1The First Thank-You
- Week 2Cleaning the Data
- Week 3Knowing Your Donors
- Week 4Thanking Well
Ask · Days 29 to 63
- Week 5The Case for Support
- Week 6Major Gifts
- Week 7Grants and Funders
- Week 8Corporate Gifts and Sponsorships
- Week 9Events That Raise Money
Grow · Days 64 to 90
- Week 10The Year-End Appeal
- Week 11Monthly Donors and Online Giving
- Week 12The Board and Fundraising
- Week 13Day 90: The Development Plan
A sample: how Week 1 begins
Week 1: The First Thank-You. The story.
Simone Hart's first morning at Wheelhouse started with the mail.
There were eleven envelopes in the tray behind the front counter: two bills, a catalog, a property tax notice for the landlord that had come to the wrong address, and seven that looked like gifts. Simone sat down at the small desk Jordan had cleared for her in the back room, between the parts shelves and Nadia's two monitors, and opened the seven first.
A check for $50 from a retired schoolteacher who had given every December for four years. A check for $25 with a note in pencil: "For the bikes. Thank you for fixing mine." A check for $500 from a couple she had never heard of. Four smaller gifts, from people who had come to the spring bike swap.
What comes with the book
- The 90-day checklist: every "Before Friday" list in one file.
- A printable 13-week calendar.
- Thank-you letter and card templates, with the acknowledgment wording.
- Data entry rules for donor records.
- Donor segment worksheet.
- Board thank-you call script.
- Case for support worksheet.
- Story permission form, with a parent or guardian section.
- Gift agreement template.
- Recognition policy sample.
- Event net worksheet (Excel).
- Development plan template.
- Download every file from the book's bonus page; the link is in Appendix D.
- Works on paper, in a spreadsheet or in any system you use now. Each week ends with a short note on where All In One Nonprofit does that week's work.
- General guidance, not legal, tax or accounting advice.
Free on an annual plan
Organizations on a paid annual plan of All In One Nonprofit get every book in the series free, inside the platform. The book's offer: the code FIRST90 takes 20 percent off the first year of an annual plan. See the plans at https://www.allinonenonprofit.com/pricing/.
About the author
Steve Kennedy is the founder of All In One Nonprofit. He has served volunteer-run organizations for decades, as a director, as president and as the person everyone called when the tools were too technical. More about Steve
The whole series
Six books, for the founder, the board, the executive director, the treasurer, the development director and the consultant: https://www.allinonenonprofit.com/books/