Nonprofit Leaders: Secure enough flexible gen-ops revenue to invest in the infrastructure your Strategic Plan calls for . . .
I love reading through my client’s strategic plans! It’s an incredible way to learn about their missions and how lives are changing as a result. But, something also cracks me up…
It’s typically that last Strategic Initiative #6.
Oh, right…we should add something about having the MONEY to do all the things in our Strategic Plan!
Here it is: Initiative #6: Raise More Philanthropy Dollars….often followed by vague action items like…
…Find more major donors
…Diversify revenue
…Have the board host in-home events
…Grow social media presence
Now, I’m glad the need to raise more money made it in the plan. But, too often that’s kinda where it stops.
To be honest, most of my clients reach out to me because they can’t actually do what’s in their strategic plans because they don’t have enough money.
👉 And, when I say money…I mean flexible gen-operating dollars.
If you have “Raise More Money” in your strategic plan, you should ask yourself these questions before you create the accompanying budget so that you can achieve all these new amazing initiatives:
? What TYPE of Money do we need to build the infrastructure our org requires?
SPOILER: It’s always unrestricted, non-project-based, gen-ops dollars. Full stop.
? Does our current leadership and team know HOW to raise that type of money?
SPOILER: You won’t raise this type of money through events, appeals, or grant-applications
? If not, what SKILLS do they need to learn to do so?
SPOILER: Too many fundraisers aren’t equipped with the skills to translate the orgs’ assets into a donor-POV so they can attract major donors and lead them through investment-level conversations.
? And, what RESOURCES do they need to make sure they can?
SPOILER: If your fundraisers are stuck behind their desks doing Canva graphics, cleaning databases, or writing e-mails, they need more resources!
Last thing I’ll say about this. You can secure enough flexible gen-ops revenue to invest in the infrastructure your Strategic Plan calls for. You need to invest in learning how to do it. This won’t happen as a result of traditional transaction-based fundraising activities. The success lies in the business behind the fundraising that sets your development team up for success.
When my clients do this, they scale beyond what they imagined.
How about you? Are you set up for success? You can apply here to work with me in 2026.
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.
