Fundraising Audit Analysis: Key Information and Segmentation

This essay provides a comprehensive overview of fundraising audits, detailing their purpose and the key information required for effective implementation. It explores the development of SMART objectives, emphasizing their specificity, measurability, attainability, relevance, and time-bound nature. The essay further examines the creation of appropriate strategic directions, including elements like overall strategy, segmentation, targeting, positioning, branding, and the case for support. Additionally, it delves into market segmentation for both individual and organizational donors, outlining the factors that influence segmentation strategies. The essay utilizes examples and provides a clear understanding of the fundraising process and its various components, making it a valuable resource for students studying business development and fundraising.

Running head: FUNDRAISING AUDIT
FUNDRAISING AUDIT
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1FUNDRAISING AUDIT
1. Purpose of fundraising audit
Fundraising audits help to ascertain the internal and external environmental factors that
can affect the fundraising functions of an organization. It helps to understand the current position
of the organization, the ideal position it wants to be in and how it plans to get to that position.
Fundraising audits form the foundation of any fundraising process. It is used to gain the best
possible understanding of the environment where the fundraising endeavour would take place.
The audit is one of the most crucial stages of fundraising. It helps to set the stage more
effectively for the fundraising process. It is a review of all the factors that can affect an
organization’s ability to raise funds.
2. Key information requirement
There are various key information requirements for fundraising audits.
1. Macro factors are very important in terms of the information that can be gathered from them.
The factors include political factors, economic factors, sociocultural factors and technological
factors.
2. Analysis of competitors are important. The activities, size and market position of competitors
are very important information that are required. The information also include industry leaders,
other non-profits for similar causes and non-profits that are of similar size.
3. Other information that are much important are financial performance, competitor objectives
and objectives for the past, present and future.
4. The organization also needs to gather information about the potential collaborators.
5. Another much important information required for fundraising audits concern the market
factors. Market factors consist of the potential donors, donor needs, donor behaviours and donor
motivations.
6. Information about the internal environment of the organization is also a very important
requirement.
3. Developing SMART objectives for fundraising
Objectives need to be formed once the organization has identified the current position
that it is in. It needs to set some realistic objectives that can be achieved effectively in the future.
Some SMART goals can be formed in this case. These are goals that can be achieved on a
realistic sense concerning any fund raising endeavour.
Specific- The objective needs to be specific. This means that specific targets need to be set, like a
specific amount that needs to be collected.

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Measurable- The objectives should be effective enough to be measured. There can be measurable
targets provided that can be achieved on a monthly or weekly basis. The targets can be measured
to reach a certain figure.
Attainable- The target cannot be more than what is attainable, given the prevalent environmental
factors. The sources of the fundraising need to be considered much importantly.
Relevant- The goals and objects of the fundraising need to be relevant. It needs to have a relevant
background and relevant goals that need to be achieved.
Time-bound- The fundraising cannot go on for an indefinite duration of time. It needs to be time-
bound in order to achieve specific targets in a specific period of time. Time acts as the essential
framework for any fundraising process.
4. Developing appropriate strategic direction
The strategic directions form part of the subsequent stage after setting objectives. The
strategies are required to develop the means by which the objectives would be achieved. In
regards to the same it becomes important that the strategic goals are effectively aligned with the
objectives.
There are some important strategic elements that need to be considered for all forms of
strategy formation. These are strategies for overall direction, segmentation, targeting,
positioning, branding and case for support.
The overall strategy would define the strategic direction for all the elements combined.
The segmentation needs to be done on the basis of the target market that needs to be reached.
Targeting should then be done on the basis of segmentations that have been made. Positioning
strategy helps to position the campaign for reaching the most important people. Branding helps
to give the campaign a well associated name. The case for support needs to be a strong and easily
identifiable case, for which awareness needs to be created.
5. Market segmentation for individual and organization
Individual market segmentation is the division of market for a potential individual donor.
It is done on the basis of factors such as gender, income and family life cycle of the individual.
Certain important individual segmentation processes can involve people of middle to higher
income households with a family size of 4 person in average. Organizational segmentation refers
to the factors such as market, branding and targeting that are connected with the organizational
functions. Organizational segmentation can depend on the location and demographics of the
places where the organization operates.

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Bibliography
Garven, S. A., Beck, A. W., & Parsons, L. M. (2018). Are audit-related factors associated with
financial reporting quality in nonprofit organizations?. Auditing: A Journal of Practice &
Theory, 37(1), 49-68.
Meer, J. (2017). Does fundraising create new giving?. Journal of Public Economics, 145, 82-93.