Newsletter - January 2025

Happy New Year!? Not sure where January went, but after the rollercoaster that was 2024, I was glad for a break. It looks like 2025 has more rocky terrain in store for us, and many of our clients are already seeing the impact of the new administration's executive orders. While we have no easy answers (and, alas, no functioning time machine to shift election results), we are focused on strategies to support nonprofits facing revenue challenges and immediate funding gaps. For a good up-to-date overview on EOs and their impact, I've been referring to the National Council of Nonprofit's Chart of Executive Orders. Please reach out if you'd like to discuss your situation to see how we may be able to help.

While I know year-end seems like eons ago, and it’s tempting to say “done and dusted” with your fundraising campaign, I hope you’ll take some time out to sketch elements of your 2025 year-end strategy while your last campaign is still fresh. In my January blog post, I have some tips and best practices to look at your 2024 year-end performance now, to help you plan for next year-end.

Hang in there & stay focused on making impacts where you can,

Nadine Gabai-Botero, MA, CFRE
President

Assess Your Year-End Result

Once mid-January has passed, most nonprofits have wrapped up their year-end campaigns and received the majority of year-end commitments. To get a clear and accurate picture of how you did, it’s essential to review year-over-year (YoY) data to get valuable context, benchmarks, and insights to inform your future campaigns. Remember, success isn’t just about the dollars raised! You can explore these indicators further here.

Client Spotlight

Focus has just started a new project with Guttmacher, a leading research and policy organization dedicated to advancing sexual and reproductive health and rights. Through our engagement, we'll provide in-depth prospect research to help identify potential major donors and family foundations to support their mission. We are proud to contribute to the meaningful work of empowering individuals and safeguarding reproductive health and rights.

The Sentencing Project-Development Director

We recently worked with The Sentencing Project to help them successfully identify and hire a new Development Director.

With our expertise in nonprofit staffing and strategic hiring, we focused the recruitment process to ensure they found the right fit for their team. If your organization is looking for assistance with hiring development professionals or in interim fundraising staffing for key roles, we’d be happy to help.  Reach out here to share details on your hiring/staffing needs.

Fundraising Plan and Calendar Template from CauseVox

I'm excited to share that CauseVox, a recognized leader in fundraising solutions, featured my January blog post in their recent newsletter. As a peer in the nonprofit consulting sector, we’re excited to partner with them to bring innovative development strategies to nonprofits. Consider signing up for their newsletter to stay on top of fundraising tools and best practices. We love their Fundraising Plan and Calendar Template, which is a terrific resource to streamline your strategies and ensure a successful year ahead.

15 Years In Focus

Focus Fundraising This year, Focus Fundraising is celebrating 15 years of collaborating with nonprofits!  We've partnered with incredible organizations over the past decade and a half, delivering innovative strategies and guiding nonprofits through fundraising solutions to fuel their impact. Stay tuned over the next few months as we highlight our journey so far, share client successes, and detail some of our exciting plans for the future!
Tagged , , , , , .