Managing Prospect Pipelines and Forecasting Fundraising Returns, In and Out of Campaigns

This presentation will address how to:

• Focus on key prospect characteristics and data elements to track and report
• Discuss the best ways to report numbers, as well as the meaning behind the numbers
• Analyze the level of forecast “accuracy” – and learn why too much might not be a good thing
• Review ways to apply forecasting to goal setting and even campaign priority setting
• Assess ways to present aggregated information to fundraisers and other stakeholders in meaningful ways

Effective prospect management programs use metrics to drive data-based decision making. One of the key metrics for every fundraising program is the bottom line: How much money will we raise?  This presentation will review ways to forecast revenue at various stages of the donor pipeline, both during and between campaigns. Processes and reports that utilize forecast data will also be reviewed. Ways to ensure that the appropriate information is captured, updated and applied will be discussed.