Planning & Decision-Making

Fundraising

To successfully fundraise for your project, begin planning your fundraising at the same time you start planning your project.

What are some of the ways you can do that?

Involve potential donors early

Make sure you involve potentially significant donors early and often. This kind of involvement gives you the best chance of increasing their enthusiasm and sense support for the project. Some potential donors will find the idea of green building substantially more engaging than the idea of conventional construction. Find out who these donors are, and keep them involved and informed.

Create a fundraising committee

Early on, create a fundraising committee made up of volunteers (from both your leadership team as well as your institution as a whole) and staff (from both your clergy and development department, if any). Keep this committee informed about your project's planning and timetables as they develop so that it can simultaneously create agendas and timetables for fundraising.

This committee will have many tasks throughout the course of your project. Please visit our Fundraising Green Dollars section for a fuller discussion.

Make a compelling "case" for green building

Although it may seem at first that incorporating green elements into your project might only make your fundraising more difficult--requiring you, for instance, to overcome donor skepticism or resistance -- we've worked with religious organizations who've told us that they experienced greater fundraising success because of donor enthusiasm for green building.

So right from the start it is vital to make the "case" for green building, from its theological alignment with your organization's mission, to the sound financial stewardship it represents, to your organization's contribution to a healthier environment for your community and the world.