Chapter 15: Budgeting and Evaluation in Fundraising
Budgeting and evaluating fundraising are two key practices for operating a strong nonprofit organization. By taking the time to learn and develop strong fundraising budgets that are built on good fundamental practices, concepts, and tools, a nonprofit can maximize its fundraising capacity and improve overall fundraising results in significant ways. This chapter focuses on a few key elements of these processes to empower the fundraiser to not only understand but also to implement ideas and processes at their nonprofit organization. Tools, resources, and the latest information on how to budget, evaluate, and operate a fundraising budget are all included. Sample reports bring the concepts to life in ways that can be used in the nonprofit workplace and with leadership, boards and even the government.
By reading and studying this chapter and then using the included discussion questions and exercises, nonprofit executives can understand and implement the outlined budget and evaluation concepts to the betterment of their organizations. Serious fundraising executives will leave this chapter prepared to participate, advocate for and ultimately budget and evaluate their fundraising performance.
Erik J. Daubert
Erik J. Daubert holds the lifetime credential of Advanced Certified Fund Raising Executive (ACFRE) from the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP). He is Immediate Past Chair of the AFP Research Council and Past Chair of the Growth in Giving Initiative, the Fundraising Effectiveness Project, and the ACFRE Certification Board. A faculty member with The Fund Raising School, Erik has also served as an Affiliated Scholar with the Center on Nonprofits and Philanthropy at the Urban Institute in Washington, D.C., and taught at several universities.
Erik J. Daubert discusses Chapter 15 with TFRS Director Bill Stanczykiewicz.