Progression Tracker
Do You Need a Funding Plan?
Introduction to the Six Steps
Step 1: Establish Priorities
Step 2: Assess Capacity
Step 3: Set Fundraising Goals
- Creating a budget
- Calculating a fundraising goal
Step 6: Write & Implement Plan
Final Quiz
Sample Finance Plans
List of Case Studies
References & Additional Resources
Step 3 (continued). Calculating an Annual Fundraising Goal
To establish an overall fundraising goal, there are two simple methods:
- Create an expense budget and use the amount of your total expenses (plus a modest surplus) as your fundraising goal.
- Start with last year's income. Add a modest amount to allow for realistic increases in fundraising. Subtract any amount from unusual sources that you don't expect to be repeated this year (e.g. a bequest).
If you already have some expected income and simply want to calculate how much additional fundraising you will need to do, use the following formula:
- Add up all of the program expenses (both direct and indirect) from your budget, taking into account any cost reduction methods you may have employed.
- Next, calculate the guaranteed revenue for the next year. Guaranteed revenue is income that has already been secured for the upcoming fiscal year. This revenue could include multi-year grant money, interest income from an endowment, or earned income from renting a portion of your property.
- You can now calculate your fundraising goal by subtracting your guaranteed revenue from the total of your program expenses:
Additional fundraising goal = expenses (plus 5%-10% surplus) - guaranteed revenue
Below is an example of a calculation of an additional fundraising goal.
Example formula for calculating your fundraising goal.
The example shows a worksheet for a sample watershed group showing costs and expenses totaling $279,650, a 5% surplus of $13,983, and expected revenue of $275,500. The answer is calculated using $279,650 (expenses) plus $13,983 (5% surplus) minus $275,500 (revenue) for a fundraising goal of $18,133.
Calculation Worksheet | |
Costs & Expenses | |
---|---|
Salaries | $109,275 |
Taxes & Fringe Benefits | 27,550 |
Consultants | 16,500 |
Workshops/Trainings | 14,000 |
Printing | 14,750 |
Staff Travel | 5,000 |
River Festival | 31,750 |
Telecommunications | 10,500 |
Postage & Shipping | 10,500 |
Materials & Supplies | 13,125 |
Occupancy | 13,000 |
Insurance | 4,500 |
Donor Recognition | 2,200 |
In-kind Expenses | 7,000 |
Total Expenses | $279,650 |
5% Surplus | $13,983 |
Revenue & Support | |
Foundations | $75,000 |
River Festival | $55,000 |
Corporate Giving/Sponsorships | $40,000 |
Individual & Workplace Giving | $40,000 |
Government Contracts | $34,000 |
Fees for Service | 10,000 |
Board Contributions | 10,000 |
Sale of Materials | 5,500 |
Interest Income | 1,000 |
In-kind Donations | 5,000 |
Total Revenue | $275,500 |
Fundraising Goals | $18,133 |
Citation: See Resources, Works Cited #8