Chapter 2: Understanding Your Community
Start by understanding who is already in your orbit.
Before you launch any fundraising effort, take time to understand who is already in your orbit — and who could be. In a small town, this exercise is less about database analysis and more about sitting down with your board and key volunteers and thinking through the community, household by household and business by business.
Start with three lists:
- Current supporters — Everyone who has given money, time, or in-kind donations in the past three years. Include even small, one-time gifts.
- Potential supporters — People who have a connection to your mission but haven't been asked, or who are new to town, or who have the capacity to give but haven't been cultivated.
- Community influencers — People whose endorsement carries weight: the mayor, the school principal, the pastor, the business owner everyone respects, the retired teacher who knows everyone's name.
Every community, no matter how small, has assets that can be leveraged for fundraising. A simple asset inventory can include:
- physical spaces
- local businesses
- institutions
- local media
- skilled individuals
- natural or cultural assets
These can create free or low-cost event venues, sponsorships, in-kind donations, volunteer networks, shared audiences, free publicity, pro bono services, event themes, tourism tie-ins, grant narratives.
In a small town, organizations aren't silos — they're overlapping circles. Churches, schools, civic organizations, and local government can connect nonprofits to volunteers, meeting space, shared audiences, public endorsements, and community resources.