how politics impacts NFP fundingOutside your Not-for-Profit’s (NFPs) own efforts at traditional fundraising, there are important forces that affect the amount of donations that your NFP is able to raise as well as the funding that it is able to secure from grants and other public and private sources. One of the forces that is often overlooked, but has the potential to significantly curtail your ability to raise funds, is politics.

If the cause that your NFP champions is a popular one, your NFP might actually benefit from increased government funding, but even this isn’t a sure bet. Recent Federal Budgets have been unpopular. For example, the budgets of the recent former Premier of Queensland, Campbell Newman, were known for cutting services as well as funding to many groups, even popular NFP organisations.

Even when government funding seems to be secured for your NFP, it pays to remain cautious and not rely on these funds indefinitely when preparing your NFPs’ budget and setting goals, as this source of funds is not only dependent upon whom is in office at the moment. Many times funding is only granted for a short time, or as a ploy in a specific politician’s public relations campaign.

The communities that NFPs serve in Australia encompass a diverse range of needs. Most NFPs struggle to obtain adequate amounts of funding so that they have the ability to continue to offer the many service projects that the individuals in these communities have come to depend upon.

Advocacy can sometimes turn the tide when NFPs seek continued or increased public funding from the government. But, the seemingly fickle and capricious nature of politics and government funding is just another reason why it is so important for NFPs to be continually on the lookout for ways to diversify their sources of income as well as the approaches that they take when seeking donations and running their fundraising campaigns.

If your NFP relies in whole or in part on government funds, you can help your NFP become more resilient to the ever changing political winds with the following four strategies.

  • Encourage individuals from your NFP’s pool of volunteers, donors and the community that you serve to act as advocates and use their voices to encourage politicians to increase funding for your organisation in their budgets.
  • Look for ways to publicise the work that your NFP does for its service community to gain popularity and support as well as increase the pool of potential donors and volunteers to your cause.
  • Help your NFP to diversify its fundraising efforts. If your NFP still relies on traditional fundraising drives, such as galas, auctions, direct mail campaigns or email campaigns, encourage your NFP to literally “cast a wider net” and adopt some non-traditional approaches to fund raising sources.
  • Online campaigns and ads on the various popular social media networks are gaining in popularity so try to broaden your NFPs reach by adopting these new tools. Remember to encourage your NFP to seek ways that they can capitalise on special events and holiday where the public is more inclined to give to charities.

Competition for funding is likely to remain fierce between NFPs for the foreseeable future. The key to assisting your NFP to achieving a more stable financial footing for the long term is to embrace a diversified approach to funding.