Picture this scenario: your nonprofit has mapped out a series of upcoming fundraising activities. Perhaps you’re planning a mix of casual virtual fundraisers and commitment-heavy events, like galas or silent auctions. But no matter how good your fundraisers sound or how dedicated your supporters are, there’s one problem: your annual budget is already at its limit.

This is a familiar hurdle for many nonprofits that want to scale their impact without overextending their internal resources or overwhelming their current audiences. Thankfully, there’s a solution to this: hosting a joint fundraiser with another mission-aligned organization!

By joining forces with another organization, your nonprofit can enjoy several key benefits:

  • Expanding your reach by accessing a broader audience of potential supporters who are already engaged with your partner’s work
  • Pooling financial resources to share the high overhead costs of securing venues, launching marketing campaigns, and using fundraising software
  • Building community goodwill by actively demonstrating to donors that organizations can put aside competition and collaborate for the greater good

This guide will walk you through the essential components of executing a successful collaborative campaign. From selecting the ideal partner to navigating the finer points of logistics and sharing the workload, you will learn how to collaborate to maximize your campaign’s impact on your community.

Finding the right partner for your joint fundraiser

Finding the right collaborator is the single most important variable in a shared campaign. When your partnership is well-matched, you minimize friction during the planning phases and ensure that your donor base and theirs feel entirely comfortable supporting the combined initiative.
Here are a few criteria to consider when evaluating your potential partners:

  • Complementary missions: Partnering with an organization that shares your overarching vision but serves a slightly different demographic ensures you avoid competing for the exact same donor dollars. For example, an urban literacy council might partner with a regional children’s hospital to fund reading nooks in waiting rooms, enabling both to reach distinct yet aligned audiences.
  • Audience overlap: Analyze your nonprofit’s donor database and discuss any overlap with your partner to confirm there is enough mutual benefit without risking donor fatigue among your most loyal contributors.
  • Capacity and size: Verify that you and the potential collaborator possess the internal staff bandwidth and resources to contribute equally to the workload, ensuring a true partnership.

During this phase of brainstorming possible collaborators, you should also conduct thorough research into every organization’s reputation. Take a look at each potential partner’s public standing and financial transparency, and ensure that both are in good standing. Conducting this research helps you vet your pool of potential partners and protect your own brand identity.

Setting clear goals and objectives

Just as you would write a case for support to entice your donors to contribute or volunteer, you should also create a similar case for your potential collaborator. This document should establish the joint fundraiser’s goals and objectives and define your shared targets to ensure you’re aligned.

To make your goals as actionable as possible, leverage the SMART goal framework:

  • Specific: State exactly what you want to accomplish with your joint fundraising campaign. For instance, a homeless shelter and a university research center may partner to mobilize their donor bases to advocate for a new affordable housing bill.
  • Measurable: Target exact figures or outcomes that you can easily track. For example, you might aim to gain 50 new recurring donors through your joint fundraiser, rather than raising general awareness.
  • Achievable: Set realistic expectations based on historical data gathered from both organizations’ past independent campaigns. For instance, if both nonprofits have raised around $60,000 from similar campaigns in the past, raising $75,000 each might be realistic when pooling both organizations’ resources.
  • Relevant: Ensure the fundraiser directly supports both your core operational mission and your partner’s. The campaign should resonate strongly with the newly combined donor base.
  • Time-bound: Attach a time component to your goal to hold your team accountable. You may aim to complete your campaign over a set time period and, for longer campaigns, implement key benchmarks along the way.

Share this document with the other organization, and feel free to adjust it as you discuss this joint fundraiser. Remember that you’re collaborating with them, so consider their unique workflows and priorities as well. By establishing a unified direction, you’ll set a strong foundation for your campaign and prevent misaligned expectations down the road.

Planning and logistics for joint fundraisers

Once you finalize your goals and objectives, it’s time to plan and manage the logistics for your joint fundraiser.
While the exact logistics will depend on the type of campaign you’re hosting, hone your focus on these aspects:

  • Budget: Agree to a shared budget for your joint fundraiser. Map out key costs, and research vendors and venues that will align with your joint capacity.
  • Marketing strategy: Outline a cohesive promotional strategy that leverages the audiences of both nonprofits. Discuss with your collaborator which marketing channels to use, such as social media, email newsletter, and direct mail, and which team members are responsible for content creation. Additionally, establish unified messaging that clearly conveys the shared impact of your partnership.
  • Calendar: Develop a joint fundraising calendar to ensure everyone is aware of key dates associated with your campaign. Clearly lay out any deadlines, as well as suggested schedules for donor communications.

Designate one primary decision-maker from your nonprofit and your partner organization for day-of-event logistics coordination. That way, you have a point person who can quickly resolve any last-minute issues.

Sharing the workload for your joint fundraiser

To prevent team burnout, you need to share the workload with your collaborator as equally as possible. Additionally, a balanced division of labor also maximizes operational efficiency while respecting the daily workflow demands of both nonprofits.
Here are some tips that can help you with team management:

  • Divide tasks by expertise. Map out the strengths of each staff roster and assign duties that align with their existing capabilities, such as letting one organization handle corporate sponsorships while the other manages digital marketing.
  • Assign dedicated liaisons. Appoint one primary point person from each organization to manage executive and other internal communications and to eliminate redundant email chains.
  • Use a unified digital communication channel. By having a dedicated communication channel, you can keep event-related discussions in one place, rather than being scattered across email inboxes.

If you’re hosting an on-site fundraiser, consider recruiting volunteers. You and your collaborator can brainstorm on ways to attract volunteers. For example, you may promote the opportunity on social media or tap into both organizations’ existing volunteer networks.

Moreover, if you do decide to have volunteers, be sure to use volunteer management software. Bloomerang’s volunteer management software guide recommends choosing a solution with features for volunteer profiles, recruitment, scheduling, communication, engagement, tracking, and reporting to streamline all aspects of volunteer management.

Combining forces through a shared campaign allows your organization to stretch limited resources and achieve a significantly larger impact within your community. After your joint fundraiser, meet with your partner organization to recap the campaign and discuss its strengths and weaknesses. That way, you can improve your approach for next time and strengthen your relationship with your collaborator.