Understanding Projects and Tasks
Learn how Projects organize your fundraising work and how Tasks break down the work into manageable pieces.
Key Concept
Projects are the big picture - your fundraising events, campaigns, or initiatives. Tasks are the individual pieces of work that need to be done to make a Project successful.
Projects are Your Fundraising Initiatives
A Project represents a complete fundraising effort - like a gala, a grant application, or an ongoing donation campaign.
Projects help you organize all the related work, budget items, partners, and activities in one place. Each Project has its own budget, tasks, partners, and timeline.
Tasks are Action Items
Tasks are the specific things that need to be done to complete a Project. Think of them as your to-do list items.
Tasks can be assigned to team members, given due dates, and tracked through different statuses as work progresses. They help break down large Projects into manageable pieces.
How Projects and Tasks Work Together
Projects and Tasks have a hierarchical relationship that mirrors how you actually plan and execute fundraising work:
- One Project contains many Tasks: A fundraising gala Project might have Tasks like "Book venue", "Send sponsor invitations", "Order catering", etc.
- Tasks belong to one Project: Each Task is associated with a specific Project, helping you organize work by initiative.
- Tasks are independent: Tasks don't have dependencies on each other - you can work on them in any order that makes sense for your team.
Project Templates
To help you get started quickly, Memml includes project templates with pre-configured tasks, budget items, and sample data for common fundraising scenarios.
Using Templates
Templates provide a starting point with realistic examples of what a complete project might look like.
When you create a new Project, you can choose to start from a template or create from scratch. Templates include sample tasks, budget items, and partners that you can customize or remove as needed.
This helps you see best practices and get started faster, especially if you're new to fundraising project management.
Tip
Even if you start from a template, you can modify everything - add or remove tasks, change budget items, or adjust timelines. Templates are just a helpful starting point.
Task Management
Tasks help you track work and keep your team organized:
Task Assignment
Each Task can be assigned to one team member who is responsible for completing it.
Assigning Tasks helps clarify ownership and makes it clear who is responsible for each piece of work. Team members can see all Tasks assigned to them across all Projects.
Due Dates
Tasks can have due dates to help you track deadlines and ensure work is completed on time.
Due dates help you prioritize work and ensure that critical Tasks are completed before they impact your Project timeline. You can view Tasks by due date to see what's coming up.
Task Status
Tasks move through different statuses as work progresses - from not started, to in progress, to completed.
Task statuses help you see at a glance what's been done and what still needs attention. You can view Tasks in a Kanban board format to visualize progress.
Common Scenarios
Scenario: Annual Gala
Planning a fundraising gala event.
Create a Project: "2024 Annual Gala" with a start date and end date encompassing the planning period.
Add Tasks: Create Tasks like "Secure venue", "Send save-the-dates", "Book caterer", "Finalize guest list", etc.
Assign Tasks: Assign each Task to the team member responsible for that work.
Track Progress: Update Task statuses as work is completed to see how the Project is progressing.
Scenario: Grant Application
Applying for a community grant.
Create a Project: "Community Impact Grant 2024" with the grant deadline as the end date.
Add Tasks: Create Tasks like "Research grant requirements", "Draft proposal", "Gather supporting documents", "Submit application", etc.
Set Due Dates: Set due dates for each Task to ensure the application is completed before the deadline.
Important Note
All Projects and Tasks are specific to your organization. You cannot see or access Projects and Tasks from other organizations, ensuring your work remains private and secure.