DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM AND ORGANIZATIONAL ASSESSMENTS
To maximize mission and impact, your development office must be functioning efficiently and effectively. This type of evaluation, whether an assessment of the whole organization or focused on the development program, is one of moss+ross’ core services.
During an organizational assessment, our experienced staff will look closely at your strategic plan, program effectiveness, board policies and processes, personnel, volunteer leadership and involvement, fundraising, and financial operations. In a development program assessment, we will examine internal operations, external programs, office procedures measured against best practices, and personnel related to fundraising. The resulting recommendations are customized to capitalize on your organization’s strengths and provide guidance in areas that need attention to enhance your fundraising success.
ANNUAL AND MEMBERSHIP CAMPAIGNS
Annual giving is the lifeline of any nonprofit organization. moss+ross can help you take a constructive look at your annual solicitation plan to ensure you have a solid strategy in place. Researching donors and prospects, incorporating customized solicitation approaches, segmenting donor groups, sending the right message to the right person at the right time, and stewarding donors in meaningful ways will maximize this important revenue stream.
For some organizations, membership can be the first contact with a prospective donor. Membership campaigns differ from annual campaigns, and moss+ross can help you think through appropriate member benefits and maximize efficiencies between the two.
RESEARCH AND DATA SERVICES
Important components of any development program are strategic identification of additional giving potential within your current donor pool, active management of new or possible prospects, and reliable tracking of constituent activity and preferences. moss+ross provides a suite of research services suited to your organization’s needs and budget. Our experienced research professionals know how to hone in on relevant information – it is not as easy as just doing an internet search.
We can work with you to find the information you need: giving histories, interests, company and foundation affiliations, and other items of interest available through public resources. We offer customized individual donor research for specific causes or campaign board review, and also offer electronic screening of your constituent database. Mining your database will help you identify new major gift prospects, determine the right target asks, and improve the quality of your internal database. We also offer expertise in tools for constituent and gift data management, including database assessments to gauge capacity for improvement, guidance for the best ways to use what you currently have in place, or help with navigating the vetting process for a new solution.
CLIENT CASE STUDY: ASSESSMENT
A UNC foundation asked moss+ross to conduct a Development Assessment as the organization approached the midpoint of a large campaign. Our thorough process examined perception and awareness of mission and programs; leadership, including strengths and weaknesses related to fundraising; fundraising programs and practices, including donor engagement and an in-depth analysis of funding sources; and staffing considerations, as they relate to fundraising. The end result was an organizational structure more tightly aligned with fundraising goals, and a more efficient reporting system that leveraged existing data.
CLIENT CASE STUDY: DATA RESEARCH
An independent school in Durham had questions about the capacity of its donor constituency to support an upcoming fundraising campaign. moss+ross worked with the client to prepare the data from its fundraising database for wealth screening and conducted the screening. moss+ross helped the client determine how to use the screening results – information from public sources such as philanthropic giving, political contributions, real estate holdings, and other factors – in context of its other data to better understand the donor base. Mining the database helped the client identify gift prospects, determine the right target asks, and improve the quality of its donor database.