Do you have money today?

When is the best time to ask? For the Pinoy Fundraiser, it's usually something like, NOW! 8-)

Admit it or not, a non-profit always needs money. For a humanitarian organization, for example, one of their primary mandate would probably be disaster relief. And we all know that disaster strikes at the most inopportune time. A non-profit like this always needs to be ready. It cannot ask money when a disaster strikes. They need to be ready everytime. They need to stockpile food stuffs, medicines, clothing, drinking water, etc. They cannot have it tomorrow, they need it today.

This is one reason why asking for support needs to be an on-going effort. You do not want to be caught flat-footed when a disaster strikes. Appealing for support needs to go out when an opportunity happens. This can also be done intentionally, on a schedule.

Some non-profits, ask for money annually. These non-profits embark on a campaign that will allow them to raise funding to support their work for a year. This is called an "annual campaign." For others, it could be quarterly or monthly.

But then, a good non-profit should be able to have a reasonable surplus that would get them through in emergencies. There are extreme cases when you ask your supporters to stop giving money specially when you set a goal for the amount that will be raised. I read of a humanitarian organization that responded to the tsunami in Indonesia, and when they reached their target amount, they asked people to stop giving and instead redirect their donations to other causes that are helping the tsunami victims. That was a risky thing to do for a non-profit but they wanted to be transparent. they wanted to let people know that this is what they will be doing, no more, no less.

More to come tomorrow.