Why agile fundraising?<\/h2>\n
Before we dive into the how-to, let\u2019s talk about why implementing agile fundraising can be a career-defining opportunity\u2014your moment to shine as a leader.<\/p>\n
It demonstrates the skills nonprofit boards and senior leaders value most:<\/strong><\/p>\n Remember, agile fundraising is not meant to overwhelm you. It\u2019s simply an enhancement to your existing planning processes, helping you reduce last-minute scrambles, validate your direction, and improve your strategy in small bites.<\/p>\n It provides a structure for regular evaluation and adjustments as you go. You can start small by documenting your time savings, workflow improvements, and campaign metrics to discover what works for your team and what doesn\u2019t.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n Most change initiatives fail because they try to do too much too fast. Agile fundraising focuses on your reality\u2014your team, your resources, and your timeline. It works because you build success incrementally, proving your team\u2019s value at each step.<\/p>\n Start by reviewing campaign performance for some recent campaigns to establish baseline metrics. Volunteer to lead a small campaign or project where you can demonstrate agile fundraising principles.\u00a0<\/p>\n Select something that\u2019s:<\/strong><\/p>\n A few examples include:<\/strong><\/p>\n Pro tip:<\/strong> Present your pilot as risk mitigation: \u201cInstead of betting everything on annual campaigns, we\u2019ll test approaches in small batches and scale what works!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n This is where you start building your leadership reputation. Instead of simply following instructions, you\u2019re now making data-driven decisions that improve outcomes.<\/p>\n Based on the success of your pilot:<\/strong><\/p>\n Apply your learnings to a larger campaign:<\/strong><\/p>\n Need to brush up on the terminology (e.g., \u201csprint planning\u201d)? Check out our introduction to agile fundraising for definitions and examples!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Breaking down work is the foundation of getting things done in agile fundraising. It transforms a big, overwhelming project into a clear, manageable sequence of tasks your team can act on.\u00a0<\/p>\n This process, often called grooming<\/em>, scoping<\/em>, or shaping<\/em>, helps nonprofit teams take a goal (like \u201crun our fall appeal\u201d or \u201claunch a recurring giving program\u201d) and convert it into a list of discrete, actionable deliverables. By doing this, your team can estimate how long each task will take, assign ownership, and begin working in a focused, coordinated way.<\/p>\n From there, you break down<\/em> those components into smaller chunks of work, or \u201ctickets.\u201d Each ticket should represent a single task or deliverable, like \u201cpull list of LYBUNTs,\u201d or \u201csecure a quote for the appeal letter.\u201d<\/p>\n Example:<\/strong> Imagine your team is planning your year-end fundraising campaign<\/em>. Instead of treating the entire campaign as one giant to-do, you\u2019d break it into smaller deliverables:<\/p>\n Some tickets may take 30 minutes; others, like list building or content writing, may span multiple hours or require collaboration with other colleagues. Once broken down and estimated, these tasks are added to your board or placed in the backlog, ready for execution.<\/p>\n Breaking down work also fosters a culture of accountability, shared ownership, and trust. Everyone knows what to do, how big the task is, and what success looks like. For nonprofits juggling limited time and resources, this clarity can be the difference between a chaotic scramble and a high-performing, well-executed campaign.<\/p>\n A visual management tool, also known as a Kanban board, is crucial for operating as an agile team. You can use whatever format works for you: a digital board, a spreadsheet, paper sticky notes, or a whiteboard. Set up columns for each stage of project planning and execution, and individual cards or tickets for each unit of work that has to be created.\u00a0<\/p>\n Example 1: Create a board with 3 columns<\/strong><\/p>\n Make individual work items like \u201cwrite email 1\u201d and \u201cdesign email 1\u201d and \u201ccreate a list for email 1\u201d, and \u201csend email 1\u201d. Move the tickets across the board from left to right as they advance through the process. Estimate the time to complete each task and track the expected hours to complete each ticket vs. the actual time it takes. The more you track, the better you will get at estimating tasks.\u00a0<\/p>\n Example 2: Create a board with the stages of production<\/strong><\/p>\n In this example, your individual tickets would be a bit more general, like \u201cEmail 1,\u201d which would pass across the board through each stage of content, design, and deployment.\u00a0<\/p>\n There is no empirically right or wrong way to set up your board; you have to make it work for your team\u2019s capacity and level of collaboration required among various colleagues and partners. The concept is to pass work items across the stages of development until they are complete. It is to be kept in the open, to show the status of work items at a glance, and continued progress moving tickets across the board to \u201cdone.\u201d<\/p>\n Sprint planning is the cornerstone of a well-run agile fundraising team. It\u2019s the moment when your team pauses, aligns, and commits to what you\u2019ll accomplish in the next sprint. Rather than diving straight into execution, sprint planning gives you time to clarify priorities, break down work, assign ownership, and ensure everyone starts with confidence and clarity.<\/p>\n In a traditional nonprofit setting, planning often happens in annual calendars or monthly meetings. Sprint planning shifts this approach to a nimble model that adapts to real donor behavior, campaign needs, and team capacity.<\/p>\n\n
Getting agile: Your 90-Day roadmap<\/h2>\n
Days 1-30: Foundation and first success<\/h3>\n
1. Choose your pilot campaign<\/h4>\n
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2. Apply your learnings at scale<\/h4>\n
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![\"agile](\"https:\/\/uploads.donorperfect.com\/images\/sites\/2\/agile-fundraising-blogs-2-callout.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n3. Break down the work<\/strong><\/h4>\n
![\"example](\"https:\/\/uploads.donorperfect.com\/images\/sites\/2\/agile-fundraising-blogs-2-kanban.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n4. Create your agile workspace<\/h4>\n
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Days 31-60: Scale and systematize<\/h3>\n