Don't be fooled by the size of your organization. A marketing and fund development plan is essential whether you are a one-person shop or the International Red Cross. In your marketing plan, the most critical thing to remember is that marketing is communications. Your plan should not only determine with whom the organization needs to communicate, but, more importantly, what the organization needs from those communications. Once you've answered those questions, the textbook steps of targeting, etc. will fall right into place.
Many small nonprofits live from grant to grant, or from golf tournament to golf tournament.
They hope that the administrative portion of enough grants will provide ongoing cash flow. They pray it doesn't rain on the day of their big event. Of course not. Yet non-profits continue to think of grants and events as the best way to ensure cash flow. To ensure that the organization can fulfill its obligation to the community, you must focus efforts on sustainable cash flow.