The highly anticipated Giving USA report has been out for a few weeks. If you haven’t had time to delve into its 350+ pages of “in-depth analysis of findings on total charitable giving, giving by sources, and giving to major recipient categories” from 2022 in between your summer trips, we’ll give you a quick rundown. Besides the suspected impact inflation had on giving (down 10.5%), we also saw:

  • Giving by individuals was down 13.4%, suggesting that the generosity wave seen during the height of COVID-19 no longer overrides household budgets.
  • Giving by corporations declined 4.2%. We will have to keep a watchful eye on how the multimillion-dollar pledges to hot topics like social justice and climate play out…
  • One of the only sectors to see an increase in giving is international affairs, which increased by 2.7% when adjusted for inflation. There was a boost in giving this past year due to the war in Ukraine.
  • Giving to foundations (1.9%) is on the rise, reflecting an increase in donor advised fund utilization and collaborative fundraising.

If you hold a key position in your nonprofit’s development team, you may be wondering (and getting questions from leadership) about how to best navigate these changes and ensure sustainable revenue for the next year. So, how do you know when it’s time to hire a fundraising consultant? We’ve outlined five common situations where partnering with a consultant can help you achieve your fundraising goals.

1. Diversifying revenue
Your organization might have deep expertise in securing large institution grants for technical work, but not have the traditional individual donor appeal. Or, conversely, you may have a strong group of committed individual supporters but lack the technical expertise in securing institutional grants. You may be strong in both with no history or network in corporate fundraising. If any of these situations apply to you, you are not alone. At Global Impact, we recommend that every organization have a diversified fundraising portfolio, but more often than not organizations are strong in one area while relatively light in other areas. Consultants will bring expertise in working with specific donor segments, providing you with invaluable insights into how to translate your message for target audiences and ultimately expand your revenue through sustainable diversification.

2. Leadership and staff transition
Leadership and staff transition impacts private companies and nonprofit organizations alike. Staffing challenges have been further exacerbated by the pandemic and the rise of remote work and, while common, can be disastrous for maintaining a vibrant fundraising program. Hiring consultants who are true partners focused on your long-term goals can help avoid short-term dips in revenue that can result from staff turnover. Outsourced staff can serve as a bridge ensuring that your strategy is executed regardless of transition.

3. Special campaigns or events
True growth comes from large-scale campaigns and initiatives that set your organization in new directions and deepen your hold in existing markets. In order to achieve these goals, organizations often embark on fundraising campaigns to raise significant revenue in relatively short periods of time. Since the funds will be raised quickly, it often doesn’t make sense to hire full-time staff. Bringing on fundraising consultants can help you achieve your goals without a long-term commitment to staff.

4. Developing strategy
You may have the right team in place focused on the right fundraising segments right now – but what about the future? What are your competitors doing? Are they diversifying while you’re staying stagnant? Or are they doubling down in existing areas? How do your current supporters feel? Consultants often serve as strategic partners validating existing strategy and helping plot the course for the future. Consultants can focus on market analyses and surveying your donor base while your core team focuses on what they do best.

5. Funding opportunity
You’ve been invited to apply for a challenge grant or have new funding coming in without proper growth and stewardship plans in place. A challenge opportunity can be game changing for your organization but can quickly burn out staff. Extra hands, especially when those hands are highly trained, can help you navigate through heavy periods with the ability to phase out as the workflow does.

If you find your organization facing any of these situations, we can help. Global Impact has been in business for over 60 years, supporting nonprofits during challenging seasons like the COVID-19 pandemic, recessions and more. We serve as a trusted advisor, intermediary and implementing partner across the private, nonprofit and public sectors. Through these partnerships, we have raised nearly $2 billion for humanitarian causes since our inception. Check out the work we’ve done with Action Against Hunger, The Glo Development Foundation and Islamic Relief USA.

Let our Partner Solutions team handle the details of fundraising so that you can stay focused on your organization’s mission. Get in touch with us today to learn more.