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Weekly UpdatesIf you're working for a nonprofit that hasn't recently undertaken an agency-wide cost-cutting program, you're clearly in a minority. Periodic cost-cutting is simply good management practice. Cost-cutting when money is tight is absolutely essential. And, in the midst of an economic meltdown, it's inevitable.
The question, of course, is whether your efforts to cut costs will make for a leaner, meaner, and more productive organization--or damage staff morale and undermine rather than enhance your capacity to raise the funds you need to pursue your mission.
For starters, do not resort to a percentage across-the-board staff cut of the sort that's so popular when government agencies and corporations seek to lower their costs. In a great many such situations the cost in lost productivity among those who remain is equal to or greater than the amount of money saved by the layoffs.
Now, let's take for granted the usual sort of no-brainer cost-cutting measures, such as putting a lid on expense accounts and keeping tighter control of the office supplies. That sort of thing might or might not make sense for your organization. In any case, though, you've got lots of other places to turn for general cost-cutting recommendations of that sort. Here, instead, are four cost-cutting measures that pertain specifically to fundraising.
1. Take a careful look at your organization chart.
Think about whether your organization needs to be flatter. For example, if your organization's staff is small (say, fewer than 30 people fundraising and marketing), it's possible you could function as well or better if you substituted a single vice president for fundraising and marketing for the three people now jockeying among themselves to set your course in both areas: directors of fundraising and marketing, and vice presidents to oversee them both.
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A consolidation along these lines might bring added benefits by reducing compartmentalization and forcing resource-sharing and coordination of efforts. With a smaller staff, of course, a change of that sort makes no sense, and with a larger one, it may well be impractical. But it's never a mistake to think about these things.
2. Make sure your fundraisers are actually raising money.
Be sure your major gift officers and legacy fundraisers are spending most of their time with donors or prospects, not flogging paperwork in the office. If necessary, cut the paperwork requirements.
Many fundraisers have a pronounced aversion to actually raising money--and this represents a big cost. Some don't to like meeting with donors in the first place. Others enjoy the connections but manage to find excuses for not ever asking for money.
You might be able to save the funds necessary to hire additional major gift and legacy fundraisers if you can find ways to ensure that your current staff is as productive as possible. No doubt, a move of this sort will be met by groans and complaints. But when times are tough, we've all got to pull our weight.
3. Gang print your materials.
As you're well aware, printing in larger quantities brings economies of scale. The difference per piece between printing 10,000 brochures and 50,000 is substantial, and it's a lot more so when the difference is between 10,000 and 100,000 or 500,000.
Obviously, you're not going to save money merely by increasing the quantities of your print runs. However, there are at least three ways you might be able to do so: a) by ordering standard materials such as envelopes for a six- or 12-month period rather than a single mailing; b) by finding ways to print at one time several components of different mailing projects; and c) collaborating with other, non-competing nonprofits in your area to print together items of similar specifications.
The charge for a "plate change"--a different layout or design using the same ink color or colors on the same size and shape of paper--can be negligible compared to the cost of printing the two items separately. By combining printed materials into a single print run, you can often save substantially.
4. Clean your mailing list.
When you receive a piece of mail, where do your eyes first alight? Careful now. If you're like the overwhelming majority of people, what you notice first is your name and address. And if there's an error in addressing you, the chances are that much greater that you'll toss the mail aside.
Yet the state of "list hygiene" in the nonprofit sector is, on the whole, deplorable. Misspelled names, undeliverable addresses, missing zip codes, and dead people abound on many so-called donor lists. The owners of these lists are losing money two ways: by wasting printing and postage costs on mail that goes nowhere but the trash, and by discouraging or insulting donors.
An intensive effort to clean your mailing list can significantly reduce the costs of mailing invitations to events, newsletters, and appeals. In the United States, the United States Postal Service maintains address changes that can be integrated into your mailing list through software that's widely available through service bureaus all over the country. It's always worthwhile updating your list on at least an annual basis--if not with every large mailing you send. If, instead, your list is relatively small, it's worth the time to edit it, line by line, to correct obvious errors.
This article is excerpted with permission from Fundraising "When Money Is Tight: A Strategic and Practical Guide to Surviving Tough Times and Thriving in the Future," by Mal Warwick. Copyright [C] 2009 by Mal Warwick.
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