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Over the past few years, non profit consulting firms have noticed many lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, transgender (LGBT) organizations have had somewhat of a regional focus. By not expanding their constituency, these non profit organizations have limited their fundraising results. For example, a few years ago The Trevor Project, a West Hollywood-based non profit devoted to suicide prevention among LGBT youth, was focused primarily on reaching its West Coast constituency. When it began to expand inland and opened a New York City office, the non profit saw awareness of its cause surge. By appealing to donors on a national level, The Trevor Project’s fundraising significantly outperformed previous efforts. The scope of the increase was impressive. In 2009, donor contributions at The Trevor Project reached $737,032. After expanding nationally, contributions jumped to $909,163 in 2010, only one year later. In addition, grant funding increased from $214,500 in 2009 to $282,500 in 2010. During the expansion when other LGBT organizations were downsizing, The Trevor Project experienced no layoffs and actually added new staff positions. The Role of Non Profit Consulting Firms Non profit consulting firms help identify opportunities to grow the donor bases of LGBT organizations. Consultants and the LGBT organization’s staff can work together to identify untapped segments of the donor population. By targeting meaningful new constituents, non profit consulting firms can broaden the donor base and ultimately increase fundraising. After finding new donor targets, non profit consulting firms develop campaigns to reach these constituents. Consultants can work with organizations to advocate for LGBT issues nationally and expand the non profit’s donor acquisition. The goal is to contact an increasing number of potential donors. Using carefully honed messaging, the consultants draw the donors in so they feel connected to the cause and will support it. Online campaigns make it more economical to expand non profit reach to a national level. Today, targeting donors across the country using digital media, direct mail, phone and other fundraising techniques is not as overwhelming as it may have been years ago. Non profit consulting firms can help assemble the most effective mix of fundraising strategies and tactics for LGBT organizations. Is Going National for Every LGBT Organization? Unfortunately, smaller LGBT non profit organizations may not have the budget to fundraise on a national level. Some small non profits also may not be able to enlist the services of non profit consulting firms to help identify additional donor segments. Smaller budgets prohibit larger scale fundraising efforts for many local and regional LGBT organizations. In some cases, national fundraising doesn’t make sense even if budget constraints aren’t at issue. An LGBT non profit organization’s cause may only be focused on an issue affecting the surrounding community, or the services it provides are for local residents. Obviously, connecting with donors nationally just wouldn’t make sense from a messaging or financial standpoint. Founded in 2006, IPM Advancement creates fundraising, membership and advocacy solutions for nonprofit organizations. The company designs programs, strategies and campaigns that effectively integrate Internet, phone and mail communication channels. IPM Advancement consults, creates, segments, produces and manages programs to help clients fulfill their missions. To succeed in the increasingly competitive nonprofit environment, IPM Advancement helps clients leverage every opportunity to reinforce key messages and strengthen their relationship with constituents. The company has produced dependable annual revenue and solid pipelines of future donors for its nonprofit clients.
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