Fundraising comes with quite a bit of jargon. For those who are new or just building their development shops, terms are not always clear and confusion abounds. Even for seasoned fundraisers, definitions can feel fuzzy and it’s easy to mix things up.
In the spirit of starting off the year by getting back to basics, I want to share my definitions for some of the most common elements of fundraising work. While the parameters can vary based on the size of your organization (e.g. major gifts), it’s helpful to have a set idea of what these terms mean in practice. In your work, it’s also good to have your stakeholders on board with shared definitions so that you’re approaching your work plans from the same starting point.
Campaign is a term you hear often and it’s used in different ways, because it is an organized effort to raise money. Sometimes it describes recurring fundraising work, such as year-end campaigns or annual campaigns (fundraising that takes place throughout the year). It also describes more defined and time-bound activities, such as capital campaigns. Capital campaigns are structured and have specific goals and milestones, and are often supported by consultants and volunteers. Traditionally, these campaigns raise funds for physical entities and large-scale initiatives, but they can be for any specific organizational need.
Annual Giving refers to the repeated, yearly activity of requesting funds from the same constituency, largely supported by your direct-mail program. Funds received are typically unrestricted and support general operating expenses.
Direct Mail is both the solicitation of gifts and the sharing of organizational information via large mailings to your supporters. There are different components of direct mail—appeal letters and newsletters are two of the most common pieces—and it is often the backbone of annual giving.
Digital Fundraising refers to a range of fundraising activities online—everything from a basic online donation form to complex virtual events. It also encompasses fundraising on social media and crowdfunding. I covered this topic in detail in an earlier blog post.
A Major Gift is a gift of significant size for your organization. For someplace very large, like a university, it could be a gift at or above $50,000. For a small community-based organization, it could be $1,000. There are many ways to define this category of gift, but one easy method is to average your top ten gifts, excluding any major outliers such as bequests or extraordinary one time gifts. Deciding what is significant helps you manage your time and resources when you’re considering donor outreach.
Pipeline, sometimes also called a “prospect pipeline,” refers to the formal plans and processes that you put in place to move donors along in their relationship with your organization. It starts when someone is a prospect—meaning that they haven’t yet given but are a good candidate to do so—and continues as you work to nurture and deepen their commitment to your organization
The Donor Journey or Lifecycle describes your supporters’ moves through your pipeline, as well as how you shape their experiences. Documentation of this process is sometimes called “moves management,” which tracks your cultivation processes.
Acknowledgement refers to an acknowledgement of receipt of a gift. It can include an automated email, thank you note, or call. Acknowledgements are the first step in stewarding a donor and should always occur as close to the gift date as possible.
Stewardship refers to two different things from a fundraising perspective, both of which are of paramount importance. First, stewardship is an organization’s responsibility to supporters in terms of how they use and account for gifts. It also describes the processes by which an organization deepens its relationship with its donors, and the communication to nurture that connection.
These are some of the most common basic fundraising terms, but I know that these definitions just scratch the surface. Are there any key concepts that I left out? Please let me know!