How a small international nonprofit turned a crisis response into its strongest fundraising month, with a simple appeal plan 

CLIENT	A small international relief and development nonprofit
ENGAGEMENT	Fundraising strategy and coaching
FOCUS	Emergency appeal, donor messaging, and foundation outreach
OUTCOME	About half of the organization’s annual budget raised in a single month

~50% of the annual budget raised in one month

~1,000 people served through the relief effort

The Challenge 

This organization is small: a couple of leaders wearing many hats, with a handful of dedicated partners on the ground. Its ongoing programs were solid, but like most small teams, it fundraised in the gaps between everything else. 

Then a major disaster struck a region where the organization already works. Its first instinct was the one most small organizations have: wait to see how big the need is, and figure out the full response plan before asking anyone for help. In a crisis, that pause is expensive. 

Three things stood in the way: 

• Uncertainty about when and how to ask: The team wasn’t sure what a fitting appeal looked like for an organization its size. 

• No ready-made plan: With program work already demanding, there was little time to invent an email approach under pressure. 

• A thin donor pipeline: Beyond a core group of supporters, there were few funder relationships to call on. 

Our Approach 

We work with the team as a fundraising partner: setting strategy, coaching leaders, and giving them simple tools they can use immediately. In this case, the guidance was practical and fast: 

1. Ask early: A small organization isn’t the Red Cross or the UN, and doesn’t need a finished response plan to say, “We need your help right now.” Speed matters most in a crisis, so we urged the team to appeal at once. 

2. Follow a simple cadence: We gave them a day-by-day email framework: what to send, and when. The team could follow the plan instead of building it under pressure. 

3. Make the donor the hero: We shaped short, clear messages that cast the donor as the person making the difference and the organization as their guide. 

4. Keep donors close: As funds were used, the team sent updates showing exactly what the money had done, keeping momentum going. 

5. Widen the circle: We provided a list of foundation prospects and coached the team on cultivating individual donors and major-gift conversations. 

The Results 

• About half a year’s budget in one month: Within a single month, the organization raised roughly half of its annual budget, including both restricted emergency relief funding and unrestricted gifts. 

• Support from many directions: Funds came from a new grant, gifts from individual donors, and a supporter with a large audience who shared the appeal. 

• Emails that worked: Short, simple messages earned a strong return, including from people the team hadn’t expected to hear from. 

• Real impact on the ground: Roughly 1,000 people have been reached so far with clean water, food, and essential supplies. 

• Momentum that lasted: The team has opened new foundation conversations, is building a promising major-donor relationship, and has a year-end giving plan underway. 

“Having a simple cadence to follow made all the difference. When you’re as small as we are, you get in your head about all of this, and having a clear plan put us at ease.” 

Organization leader, small international relief nonprofit 

What’s Next 

The goal now is to keep the momentum without chasing every disaster. The organization is refining its donor messaging, preparing proposals for new foundations, and putting together a year-end campaign so the strongest month becomes the start of a stronger year. 

About The Kipos Group: We help nonprofits build private funding, from strategy and messaging to coaching and proposals, with a team of experienced practitioners who are still working inside mission-driven organizations.