About 12 years ago when I was first starting with the Little Compton Community Center, the Rhode Island Foundation said they would give us a grant, but only if we promised to work harder on our Annual Appeal.
Far too often small organizations hold the mistaken notion that grants are the key to happiness when really all their fundraising efforts should begin and end with the best possible Annual Appeal.
Annual Appeals are a yearly request to a core group of supporters to make a cash gift (their annual gift) to your organization. The request is usually made by letter, usually around Christmas time and really should be the most important, most reliable source of funding for non-profits. So it deserves and should receive the bulk of your fundraising attention.
In future posts we'll take a look at timing, list building and letter writing all in the hope of boosting the returns of your Annual Appeals.
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