Setting Realistic Goals for Nonprofit Projects

"We need to increase our fundraising goal by 30% this year." Sound familiar? If you've ever felt your stomach drop at words like these, you're not alone. Unrealistic fundraising goals are the elephant in the room that many of us are afraid to address. But today, I'm going to say it: Sometimes, our goals are set up for failure, not success. Controversial take: Blindly accepting unrealistic goals isn't dedication—it's a disservice to your organization and your donors. Here's why: It leads to donor fatigue. Constantly pushing for more can exhaust your supporter base. It encourages short-term thinking. You might hit the goal this year, but at what cost to long-term relationships? It demoralizes staff. Nothing burns out a fundraising team faster than constantly missing impossible targets. It can damage your reputation. Falling short year after year doesn't inspire confidence in donors or grantmakers. But here's the real problem: Many of us don't know how to push back effectively. So, how do we address this? Data is your friend. Use past performance, industry benchmarks, and economic indicators to inform realistic projections. Educate your board. Many unrealistic goals stem from a lack of understanding about the fundraising process. Propose a range. Instead of a single number, suggest a conservative goal and a stretch goal. Focus on long-term growth. Shift the conversation from year-over-year jumps to sustainable, steady growth. Highlight non-monetary goals. Donor retention, first-time donor acquisition, and major gift pipeline development are crucial metrics too. It's our job as fundraising professionals to set our organizations up for success, not just nod our heads. How do you handle pressure from unrealistic goals? Let's work together to create a culture of ACHIEVABLE ambition in our field. P.S. Are you on a board of a nonprofit? Plz share your perspective.

I was reviewing a strategic plan. Beautiful document. Impressive graphics. Detailed implementation timeline. One problem: it was just telling them to do more of what they were already doing. No rethinking. No refinement. No clarity on what would actually move the needle. Just a prettier way of saying, “Keep doing everything.” Strategic plans get built in all kinds of ways — sometimes by the executive director, sometimes by a consultant. But the mistake is when they simply reflect what staff and board already believe should be done. That’s how we end up with long to-do lists — disconnected from real community needs and the leverage points that drive real change. If you're a nonprofit leader, here’s the truth: Your strategic plan could be different. It could be grounded in the most important community needs. It could challenge you to stop doing things that don’t make sense. It could focus your team and resources on the few things that will change everything. When we don’t focus on leverage points, we waste resources, burn out staff, and fall short for the people we’re here to serve. Here’s the process we use: 1. Start with people, not just statistics. Don’t just gather data — gather voices. Sit with the people most affected. Hear what’s working, what’s not, and what’s missing. 2. Define the key leverage points for change. Ask why this problem exists. What are the root causes? Where can pressure on the system actually shift the outcome? 3. Gather ideas from the community on how to address those leverage points. Don’t just diagnose — co-design solutions. The people closest to the problem often know what will actually work. 4. Examine your current programs. Which ones address the real leverage points? Which ones don’t? Be honest. It’s okay to let some things go. 5. Develop strategies that live in your zone of genius. You can’t solve everything. But you can do your part powerfully when strategy aligns with your strengths. 6. Break the 5-year vision into annual goals, quarterly rocks, and assigned actions. Don’t skimp on implementation. Getting this right takes a step-by-step plan with real resources and person-hours. And to do it well, the ED can’t carry it all alone. This is how we helped Santa Clara County redesign its jail reentry strategy — leading to an 11% reduction in recidivism among our target population during the first years of implementation. It’s also the process we used with Cradle Cincinnati, strengthening the work they’re doing to eliminate infant mortality by clarifying the key leverage points for change and further developing community-rooted strategies to address them. Because real transformation doesn’t come from doing more. It comes from doing what matters most, and doing it well. Is your plan a to-do list, or a roadmap to real transformation?

We need to talk about the illusion of the "big swing" in nonprofit impact. I've worked with 200+ nonprofits, most of whom are trying to grow or scale their impact. Somebody has to take on the gross inequities that keep piling up, right? But context matters. Many of these nonprofits are already overextended, showing symptoms like chronic staff burnout, cash flow stress, and a scared board. These are warning signs of the nonprofit death spiral: Undercapitalization → stress → turnover → impact instability → decreased community support → rinse and repeat. Without intervention, the entire structure eventually collapses. When I ask *why* the goal is growth, I often get blank stares followed by "because it's supposed to be?" and/or "because that's what donors want." It’s an invisible script on autopilot. Ironically, this toxic “should” spreads promising nonprofits too thin – and foils them from generating the impact traction needed to earn transformative community support. This mindset has robbed us of the long-term change many nonprofits could have made with a more sustainable approach from the get-go. The greatest irony of all: this is driven by flawed concepts of donor motivation. People aren’t inherently impressed or motivated by the size of a problem or solution. In fact, we psychologically disassociate from large numbers and ambitious goals. Why? Our brains can’t process that scale into personal relevance. We act when we believe it will move the needle on a problem we can wrap our minds around. Sheer size freezes us in our emotional tracks, and stops us from seeing ourselves in the solution.  The “average” American nonprofit serves local needs with a budget of $500K - $1M. If this is you… you’re not actually operating at a significant scale, and your donors know it – and they’re *still* giving to you. Most donors don’t need to see an ambitious growth plan before helping improve community outcomes. The call is coming from inside the house. We are selling donors an irrelevant growth illusion (of our own making!) that creates very real tensions that, if left unchecked, can lead to organizational collapse. Resist the invisible script of the growth imperative. Instead, do less – but do it better, sooner, with more evaluation and iteration. This shift contradicts every “should” we’ve internalized. But that’s how you play the long game. If you’re fine with burning out before accomplishing anything meaningful, by all means, keep saddling your under-resourced nonprofit with inappropriate growth goals. If you want to be here and drive meaningful change in 5, 10, or 15 years – practice patience and discipline. Align expectations and timelines to reality and sanity. Live within your means. Move targets modestly when you’re confident you can sustain it. Add new complexity after solidifying existing strategies. Don’t get distracted by shiny objects. Stay the course. It’s not sexy, or fast – but it’s what the people you serve deserve.