Free kit · Finance and funding
Fundraising Plan Template: free nonprofit fundraising plan template in Word, Excel and PDF
Turn the revenue lines of your budget into a plan the board can check each quarter: where each dollar will come from, who asks for it and by when, and how each donor hears what their gift did. Every form has a filled example for a small youth program, and the calendar carries the IRS rules for acknowledging gifts.
Word, Excel and PDF · 12 pages · For executive directors and board chairs
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What is inside
- Revenue plan by source. Last year, the goal and what is confirmed for each revenue line, with the three assumptions that carry the most money.
- Case for support. The argument for giving in seven parts, from the need to what each gift size pays for.
- Donor and board plan. The individual giving goal built from its parts, the next step for each top prospect, and what each board member will do.
- Stewardship calendar. A month-by-month calendar for thanking, reporting and asking, with acknowledgment and disclosure wording adapted from IRS Publication 1771.
- Quarterly check-in. Each source against its goal and against last year at the same date, with six measures for the board.
How to use it
- With the budget: fill in the revenue plan (Form A) from the board's revenue lines, with last year's actual beside each.
- Before the first ask: write the case for support (Form B) with your program leads.
- Before the year starts: ask each board member, one to one, for their own gift and one more task (Form C), and set the stewardship calendar (Form D).
- All year: acknowledge each gift of $250 or more in writing, and send the disclosure for each payment over $75 that buys something.
- Each quarter: bring the check-in (Form E) to the board, compared with last year at the same date.
Questions
Is the kit free?
Yes. Enter your name, email and organization once, and every kit in the library opens on this browser.
Can I edit it?
Yes. The Word and Excel files are fully editable: replace the example youth program with your own revenue lines, donors and board members, and move the stewardship calendar to your fiscal year and your events.
Does it work in Google Docs?
Yes. Upload the Word file to Google Drive and open it with Google Docs; the tables and ruled lines carry over.
Can I share it inside my organization?
Yes. Copy it, adapt it and share it with your board and staff.
Read the guide
More kits for executive directors
Grant Proposal KitA proposal template with a filled example, a full-cost grant budget and a report template
Nonprofit Budget and Treasurer Report WorkbookBudget, 12-month cash flow and a treasurer report that fills itself
Nonprofit Annual Report TemplateA section-by-section report, an impact page and a one-page financial summary, with a filled example
With a fundraising plan, the spreadsheet is rarely where it goes wrong. The conversations are: asking each board member for a gift and for names, and telling the board that the individual giving line rests on hope. A coach helps the executive director prepare for them and decide what to say plainly.
Six sessions of executive coaching: $300, $400 or $600, set by your organization's yearly operating expenses.
