Sarah Swanson
With 20 years experience in the non-profit sector, Sarah helps organizations, schools, and community groups maximize their fundraising potential. Sarah’s areas of expertise include:
Corporate Partnerships & Sponsorships
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is all the buzz and companies of all sizes want to capitalize on their community investments and know they are making a difference while gaining recognition and offering their employees engagement opportunities.
Together we can build a program that attracts corporate support and keeps companies engaged for the long-term while offering them the impact, recognition, and employee engagement opportunities they seek.
Areas I can support:
- Event Sponsorships & Benefits
- Volunteer Programs
- In-Kind Donation Programs
- Impact Reporting
Fundraising Event Planning, Analysis & Development
Fundraising Events – from galas to runs/walks – can be excellent opportunities to raise money and engage your donors. However, if not implemented correctly they can end up costing an organization too much time in planning and not raising enough net revenue.
With more than 20 years of event planning experience, I can help your organization build new events or maximize revenue of current events.
Areas I can support:
- Event Planning: In-person, Hybrid, Virtual
- Assess areas to improve a current event
- Build strong budgets – both expense and revenue
- Identify in-kind support to increase net revenue
- Build sponsorship packages that attract corporate support
- Develop realistic goals for new events
- Assess the long-term viability of growing or starting an event
Systems Development & Fundraising Plans
Fundraising success can be significantly impacted by having the right systems in place and a well designed annual plan. Having strong systems and plans can help motivate employees and keep them focused on what needs to be done, while also helping identify where new strategies can be leveraged or implemented.
Areas I can support:
- Create tracking systems to better forecast revenue and expenses
- Develop grants management systems that creates a streamlined program allowing for maximum submissions
- Create procedures for a robust moves management system (including prospecting, cultivation, stewardship, and solicitation)
- Develop annual fundraising plans that provide the roadmap for success with achievable and measurable goals
Interim Leadership
When your development department loses its leader the transition can be disruptive to the whole organization and especially the development team. Bringing in an interim leader can help guide your employees through the transition, while keeping fundraising at the forefront to ensure you continue towards your annual revenue goals.
I can provide your team with a collaborative leadership style that will move your fundraising initiatives forward on-time and on-budget, thus allowing the organization to focus on hiring their new leader.
During my two interim leadership roles, I have been successful at helping the organization exceed its annual revenue goals, keep its development team fully intact, and also close a major capital campaign. I also provided full training to the new leader once they were hired.
New Strategy Implementation
As development professionals, we are always seeking to increase our revenue potential. Whether it’s adding a new event to the schedule or a trying a texting campaign for the first time, it can be intimidating trying to decide if the return on investment will be worth it.
Let me help you fully vet new ideas or provide you with the tools you need to be successful at implementing a new fundraising strategy. I can also review your current fundraising plans and help you understand where you might enhance current strategies to increase revenue potential without having to recreate the wheel.
Campaign Management
What is a campaign manager? A campaign manager is your partner in the successful implementation of a capital campaign. A campaign manager will set-up your tracking systems, forecasting documents, grants management system, and provide weekly and monthly reports to leadership and solicitors. A campaign manager will conduct prospect research, prepare briefs, schedule meetings, and train solicitors. A campaign manager will ensure your campaign stays on track and provide the support your development team needs to continue their current responsibilities while working on this additional initiative.
If you are ready to begin a capital campaign, but don’t have the resources to hire additional staff, a contracted campaign manager can be the perfect solution.
Swanson Fundraising 