According to the 2025 National State of the Nonprofit Sector Survey, 36% of respondents ended 2024 with an operating deficit, the highest percentage the organization has seen over the past ten years of surveying nonprofit professionals. To make matters worse, 85% of surveyed professionals expect demand for services to increase in 2025, making it crucial for them to raise more funds than ever before.
A solid, dependable fundraising strategy will set your nonprofit up for success and ensure you can continue serving your community. Making even small tweaks to your approach can make all the difference and maximize the funds you can raise. To improve your strategy, we’ll walk through several fundraising red flags and how you can fix them before launching new campaigns.
1. Vague Campaign Goal
Clear goals align your team and push your initiatives forward. If you’re unsure how much money you need, what you’re raising it for, and how you will collect donations, your campaign will lack direction, and it will be difficult to rally support.
How to Fix This Red Flag
- Brainstorm with your team. Gather the key team members involved in your upcoming campaign to get everyone on the same page. Work together to determine the purpose of your campaign and how you will achieve it.
- Clarify your intended impact. Ultimately, your campaign will help you raise money to serve your beneficiaries in a certain way. Nail down the exact impact you’d like to accomplish with clear metrics attached to it.
- Use the SMART goal framework. Take the elements you’ve discussed with your team and transform them into SMART goals, which are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. For example, an animal shelter may aim to “raise $30,000 in the next six months via a peer-to-peer fundraising campaign to expand our facility and house 1,000+ new rescues.”
2. Weak Case for Support
Upon reading your campaign communications, donors should immediately understand why your efforts are important and feel an emotional connection to your cause. If they don’t, that’s a sign you may need to revamp your case for support.
How to Fix This Red Flag
- Use bold language. A compelling case for support induces a sense of urgency. Using words like “now” and “today” puts donors on high alert and drives action for your cause.
- Center the donor. Donors should feel like the heroes of your campaign. Instead of saying something like, “Through this campaign, we’ll help animals in need,” opt for statements that put donors at the forefront of your impact. You might say, “Your donations go directly toward animals in need, giving them the chance to find their forever homes.”
- Incorporate storytelling. Stories create emotional appeal and help donors visualize their impact. In the case of an animal shelter, you may tell the story of a dog, Sally, whose rescue, rehabilitation, and adoption costs were covered by donors’ contributions.
3. Confusing Donation Process
A confusing or clunky donation process can deter even the most dedicated donors and prevent them from contributing to your campaign. Streamlining donation collection will not only help your current campaign but also maximize the amount you can raise from all future fundraising efforts.
How to Fix This Red Flag
- Order information logically. Your donation form should flow naturally from one section to the next. As Qgiv by Bloomerang’s donation page guide suggests, “Ask for personal information like name and address first so your donors can introduce themselves. Then, move on to the nitty gritty details like shipping options and payment processing.”
- Simplify your form. The shorter your donation form is, the more likely donors will stick around to complete it; it’s that simple. Only ask for necessary information, such as donors’ names, contact information, and payment details.
- Reduce repetition. Donors shouldn’t have to fill out the same information multiple times. For example, if their shipping and billing addresses are the same, they should have the option to click a checkbox that autofills the information for the second field.
4. Generic Communications
Donors want to feel like you’re speaking directly to their needs and interests. Otherwise, they’ll ignore your messages and may not consider contributing to your campaign.
How to Fix This Red Flag
- Create donor segments. Use your constituent relationship management platform (CRM) to place donors in relevant groups based on their demographics, giving capacity, and history with your organization. Bloomerang’s nonprofit CRM guide recommends creating segments for new donors, long-time donors, major donors, and corporate donors, just to name a few.
- Tailor messages to different audiences. Then, personalize your outreach to each segment. For example, you may add more details about your organization’s background in your appeal for new donors, whereas communications with long-term, major donors may focus more on thanking them for their continued support and referencing their past donations.
- Keep donor data updated. As donors grow and change, your nonprofit must stay current with how their support evolves. For instance, a one-time donor may opt into recurring giving, changing how you categorize them within your segments. Keep an eye on your donor data and regularly reach out to donors for updated demographic and contact information to ensure you can continue to reach them appropriately.
5. No Follow-Up Plan
Your campaign shouldn’t end when the last donation rolls in. You must keep the momentum going and show appreciation for donors’ contributions so they know how valuable their support is to your team and mission. Following up with donors not only wraps up your campaign but is also a crucial part of donor stewardship and retention, as thanking donors and keeping them updated builds stronger relationships.
How to Fix This Red Flag
- Send immediate thank-you emails. Donors should know you received and appreciated their donations as soon as possible, ideally within 24 hours of their gifts. Achieve this quick turnaround by automating donation receipts that thank donors for their support and reference their specific gift details so they can keep accurate records.
- Follow up with personalized messages. Next, send more thoughtful thank-you notes that speak to donors’ contributions and relationships with your organization. Again, use your segments to customize your appreciation strategy. You may send small and mid-level donors a detailed thank-you email, while major donors receive a personal phone call or a handwritten donor thank-you letter.
- Update donors on their impact. Circle back to the impact you promised donors would make in your case for support and reveal the actual difference they made after your campaign. Share data about your campaign’s results and what they will allow you to accomplish. For example, you may explain how, thanks to donors’ overwhelming generosity, you exceeded your initial fundraising goal of $30,000 and can help even more animals in need.
Use this guide as a checklist when planning your next campaign. By proactively avoiding these issues instead of rectifying them when they occur, you can save your team time and energy that they can dedicate to your mission.
