Exceed Your 2023 Philanthropy Goals

In the fundraising world, December always is a busy time. After all, nonprofits typically raise about one-fifth of their revenue this last month of the year.

But don’t discount how important the first six weeks of each new year are for you and your team. It’s a crucial time for reflection, planning, and setting up the infrastructure that will determine where you'll finish against your fundraising goals.



Here are a few tips about establishing key philanthropic goals and work plans for the year—and more importantly, how to make sure you’re rightly equipped to realize them:

1. Make sure your leadership team and the organization's key stakeholders are on the same page.

I cannot stress enough the importance of organizational alignment in goal setting and, ultimately, in implementing your plans throughout the year. 

This starts with your leadership team, board, and other key stakeholders in charge of your organization’s oversight. Together, you must all know and understand what you expect to accomplish this year. 

2. Organizational alignment isn't limited to leadership.

Your entire team needs to understand and own the organization’s goals, recognizing how their assigned responsibilities will help achieve collective success. That means breaking down silos that exist between departments and communicating transparently across the whole organization. 

When everyone understands what they need to do and why, your chances of success increase, too. Nearly a decade ago, McKinsey said that bringing together meaningful purpose, practical strategies, and goals across teams and departments makes an organization’s aspirations more credible—and more likely to be achieved. 

3. Have a plan but remain agile.