Developing Sustainable Fundraising Strategies at a Volunteer-Led Organization

The New York Choral Society (NYChoral) is a vibrant musical community which believes in the power of music to impact lives and enrich the cultural life of New York and beyond through its world-class and creative performances. Since strategic fundraising can pose capacity challenges for volunteer-led organizations, NYChoral engaged a Capstone team to help develop a strategic fundraising plan. To understand how NYChoral’s mission-driven volunteers can contribute to the organization’s fundraising strategy, the team examined best practices for building organizational capacity through multiple fundraising and volunteer frameworks. They conducted an external scan consisting of both competitor and peer organizations to identify patterns in the sector. The team’s final recommendations reflect the best practices identified in the sector and include a plan to leverage existing fundraising structures and capacity while also cultivating new donors.