Unplanned Expenses

Effective stewardship and donor development takes careful planning. A lot of thought should go into your fundraising efforts to ensure donors feel seen, heard, and cared for throughout the year.
But as the saying goes, even the best laid plans can go awry.

Introducing a New Series: Navigating the Unexpected

In this 3-blog series, we’re talking about how to overcome fundraising obstacles that can pop up even in well-executed development programs. These are issues or crises that you can’t anticipate, but you can respond and handle them in a way that protects your organization and donors.

We’ll cover:

• ✅ Leadership transitions

• ✅ Budget shortfalls

• ✅ And in today’s post — unexpected costs

What Happens When the Unexpected Hits?

Occasionally, even careful organizations will have an emergency expense situation or a sudden cost that is unplanned. If your friends and donors are confident you are a good steward of resources, they will also know that this was not the result of poor leadership or bad planning.

Some examples include:

• 🌪️ A sudden storm causes damage not fully covered by your property insurance

• ❄️ Your HVAC needs a critical repair not included in this year’s budget

• 🚐 The agency van transmission blows out unexpectedly

Turning Crisis Into Opportunity

These can be opportunities for donors to step up and meet an urgent need.

Start by:

• 🧾 Carefully outlining what hard costs the organization can absorb

• 🧠 Convening a small group of trusted leaders, donors, and volunteers to think through options

Ask yourself:

• Does anyone have business connections or own a company that might help or donate services?

• Is this a chance to engage annual or smaller givers with a specific ask?

• Can a donor provide a lead or matching gift to inspire others?

Communicate With Clarity and Confidence

Be transparent and open with donors.

Example:

Suppose a replacement used vehicle will cost $20,000.
Your budget only set aside $5,000 for vehicle maintenance.
You ask donors to help fund the remaining $15,000.
Perhaps one donor will give $7,500 if others collectively meet the rest — creating a matching opportunity.

A Word of Caution

⚠️ Emergency fundraising projects should be very few and far between.

Organizations who “cry wolf” with every unplanned expense will quickly exhaust the trust and generosity of their donors. While these are not situations you ever want, they can be opportunities for your supporters to make a real difference in fueling your mission during a pressing need.

Stay tuned! In our next blog of this series, we’ll talk about how to handle budget shortfalls.

Tim Smith