Fixing Nonprofit Fundraising at the Root of the Issues

Nonprofit GrowthDevelopment
Written By Sherry Quam Taylor
Image of an iceberg representing how nonprofits have to fix problems at the root in order to attract donors that will give gen-ops funding and fulfill strategic plans.

A phrase I hear often? “We finished our Strategic Plan, but now we need the money to actually do what’s in the plan.”  

Read: We need gen-ops dollars for stronger infrastructure. 

[Insert] That iceberg visual where there are only certain things you can see with a host of underlying issues….

 

When we’re NOT doing the things that ATTRACT investment level donors who WOULD give gen-ops funding, we have lots of these ‘above the waterline of the iceberg’ symptoms…and these keep us from funding our Strategic Plan.

 

Symptoms we can see above water:

🧊Tight cash flow because of mostly restricted donations

🧊Reserve is too small to be helpful

🧊Hard to ever justify the overhead spend or salary raises

🧊Everyone wearing too many hats (or not enough staff)

🧊Drained by time-consuming fundraising events & appeals

🧊This leads to an underutilized Board

🧊As a result, you’re leaving money on the table

But, these don’t get solved by a better X, Y, or Z fundraising thing!

To solve these issues, you’ve got to fix what’s under the water - the part of the iceberg we can’t see. The three biggest?

✔️Irrational Frugality - It’s blocking your ability to raise more money

✔️Creating Fundraising (not Financing) Plans (btw: only 1 fully funds your work)

✔️Reactive Relationships - Not doing the things that attract investment-level donors

 

My nonprofit CEOs and Boards who fix the problems at the root?

 

🔥 They regularly add 7-figures of revenue. 🔥

 

This is what I want for you for 2026.

 

If you’re ready to make this iceberg change once and for all, you can apply to work with me here.

Whenever you’re ready, here are THREE things you can do next:

👣 Follow me on LinkedIn where I share insider info daily — the same lessons I teach my clients about attracting larger gen-ops dollars and diversifying revenue.

🍎 Grab FREE Guides + White Papers — download robust resources you can use to push against the sector’s misconceptions, equip your board, and shift your team into High-ROI fundraising.

📈 Work with me to diversify revenue & secure the gen-ops gifts you need to grow. If you’re a business-minded nonprofit CEO with big growth plans but need to make charitable revenue from investment-level donors a bigger part of your budget, you can apply to work with me here.

Sherry Quam Taylor

Sherry Quam Taylor works with business-minded Nonprofit CEOs whose Strategic Plans require expansive budgets and larger amounts of general-operating revenue for growth. To become investment-level ready, Sherry helps leaders see their revenue potential and helps them see what may be blocking donors from giving in this way. Sherry’s clients know how to attract larger donors by solving the funding challenges at the root of the issue.

As a result of learning her methodology, Sherry’s clients become sustainable, diversify revenue, and know how to add significant amounts gen-ops revenue to their budgets. But mostly, their development departments and board have transformed into high-ROI revenue generators – aligning their hours with relational dollars and set free from the limitations of transactional fundraising.

Sherry attributes the success of her business to her passion for modeling radical confidence to the future CEOs in her house - her two college-aged daughters.

https://www.QuamTaylor.com
Next

What Makes a Great Nonprofit Development Director?