You know what’s sexy? Unrestricted funds!
We fundraisers are all too familiar with restricted funds — a reserve of money that can only be used for specific purposes. Restricted funds provide reassurance to donors that their contributions will be used in a manner they have chosen. With this type of giving, donors can dictate exactly how and where their money is spent. For example, housing to soldiers suffering from PTSD, scholarships for homeless children who are the first in their family to attend college, or even piano lessons for boys from Alabama between the ages of 3 and 6.
On the flip side, unrestricted funds are donations with no designation; no particular ties to where or how they’ll be spent. They’re freely given to the organization to spend where the need is greatest. After all, rent needs to be covered, payroll needs to be paid, and electricity is needed to keep the lights on!
So, how do you strike the right balance? How do you make sure your donors respond to your organization’s more abstract call to action, while also speaking to their need for donation specificity?
We can show show you how!