Nonprofit Development Plan Template

Why Development Plans Fail (and What to Do Instead)

Most nonprofit development plans fail for one of two reasons: they’re too ambitious to execute with available staff capacity, or they’re disconnected from the data that should drive revenue forecasting.

An ambitious plan that assumes a 40% increase in individual giving when last year’s retention rate was 45% isn’t a plan — it’s a hope document. And a plan that sets goals without knowing the current baseline (what is the average gift by segment? what is the renewal rate for lapsed donors? how many grants are currently in the pipeline?) will produce targets that bear no relationship to what is actually achievable.

A functioning development plan starts with data. Before setting a single revenue goal, you need to know:

• What was your total revenue last year, by source?
• What is your current donor retention rate, overall and by giving tier?
• How many donors upgraded their giving last year versus how many downgraded or lapsed?
• What is the status of your current grant pipeline?
• How much staff time is available for development work?

The template in this guide is structured around those inputs. Fill in the baseline sections first, then set goals. The goals should be aggressive but defensible — meaning you can explain, line by line, how you expect to achieve them.

Section 1: Revenue by Source — Baseline and Target

Template: Revenue by Source

Revenue Source	Last Year Actual	This Year Goal	Change	Notes / Assumptions
Individual gifts — first-time donors	$______	$______	____%
Individual gifts — retained donors	$______	$______	____%
Individual gifts — lapsed (reactivated)	$______	$______	____%
Major gifts ($1,000+)	$______	$______	____%
Recurring/monthly donors (annualized)	$______	$______	____%
Foundation grants — existing funders	$______	$______	____%
Foundation grants — new funders	$______	$______	____%
Government grants	$______	$______	____%
Corporate/workplace giving	$______	$______	____%
Special events (net revenue)	$______	$______	____%
Earned revenue	$______	$______	____%
Other	$______	$______	____%
Total	$______	$______	____%

Notes instructions: For each source where you’re projecting growth, document the assumption behind the growth. “Foundation grants — new funders: +$50,000” requires an explanation: “Based on two active applications to [Funder A] ($25K) and [Funder B] ($30K) with 80% likelihood each.” If you can’t document the assumption, the number is aspirational, not a plan.