Creating a Fund Development Program for Long-Term Sustainability

August 5, 2025

With the recent changes to the federal funding landscape (please see our policy brief, “Funding Freezes: Understanding How Supreme Court Decisions and Congressional Actions are Reshaping Nonprofit Funding”), nonprofit health and human service providers must decrease their reliance on these grant dollars for short-term survival and long-term sustainability. The first step in revenue diversification is creating a fund development plan and fostering a culture of philanthropy throughout your organization. 

Atrómitos Principal Kate McNulty, MA, CHC, used her decades of government and corporate fundraising and grants management experience to create user-friendly tools and templates (included below) for nonprofits looking to develop fund development plans. She also conducted a “how-to” webinar (with the recording and slides included below) that outlines the ten critical elements necessary to enhance your organization’s fundraising capacity:

1. Construct a fund development plan with multiple revenue streams
2. Align fundraising efforts with your mission and avoid scope creep or project drift.
3. Establish a culture of philanthropy where everyone associated with the organization supports fundraising initiatives.
4. Communicate expectations for personal giving and solicitation with board members.
5. Build a comprehensive donor relationship management system
6. Create a strong governance structure with clear conflict of interest policies
7. Assess fundraising competencies of existing staff
8. Invest in donor databases and grant management system technology
9. Develop realistic fund development budgets with direct operational expenses and shared administrative costs
10. Ensure ongoing fundraising evaluation by using key performance indicators

About Kate: Kate knows the day-to-day challenges associated with fundraising and has decades of experience in fund development and grants management in the government, health, and human services sectors.

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