Experience has shown that many nonprofit organizations lack policies and procedures to guide their operations. Let’s face it – creating and updating them is not always seen as the best use of time when there’s money to raise and project work to be done.

But the staff of an organization with outdated (or no) policies and procedures likely is less effective because they are wasting time doing things over that weren’t done right in the first place. The truth is, sensible policies and procedures can greatly reduce wasted time. So, what’s the difference?

• A policy is a guiding principle. It sets the standard for the organization. These are often approved by the Board of Directors.
• A procedure is how we will do it. They allow us to be consistent and “dot all the i’s and cross all the t’s” when completing a task. Done well, a procedure makes things easier because everyone knows what to do and how to do it.

Proactive fundraisers create procedures to help work flow smoothly, no matter who is doing the task. Some typical things to spell out in procedures include:

• Who approves appeal copy for direct mail and emails? Who sees it for information only and who has final approval authority?
• What are our standards for receipting donations?
• Is everyone who might pick up the phone when a donor calls trained in what to say –and what not to say?
• How do we handle a donor who wants to receive less mail? Do we have multiple options or is it “all or none”?
• If the online giving portal goes down, who do we call? What is the back-up plan?
• Who has access to donor giving records and notes? How do we ensure compliance with confidentiality and the document destruction policies?
• When a donor stops by unexpectedly, who is notified?
• When a donor emails, who handles it? What about letters from donors?

If the specific procedures your fundraising office needs don’t exist, turn it into a team effort. Outline as a group what needs a written procedure and then assign them to the people who can address them best. Set realistic deadlines and allow time for each written procedure to be “reality checked” by another person.

Worth doing? The next time you’re out of the office for any reason, you’ll be confident everyone knows what to do and you’ll have fewer fires to put out when you return.