[infoage-board] Fundraising Steps to win your first 10 new members.
- From: Fred Carl <fred-carl@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: infoage@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 30 Jun 2011 20:48:49 -0400
Hello All,
The success of our effort depends on all working toward a common goal. Now
our common goal is fund raising to enable our mission. In a successful company
everyone is a salesperson, regardless of official title. Visitors who enjoy
their time with us are very likely to join. Our greatest common strength is
our enthusiasm. If is infectious and it sells.
In our meeting last night agenda item 1 was a review of the steps in finding
new members and donations as recommended by a professional fundraiser. The
meeting before last you were tasked with listing 10 persons you would ask to
become members of InfoAge. Now you have the basic steps.
Thanks to the team that won the Community Development Block Grant (Larry T.,
Barbara R., Mike R., Claire F. and others) the asking is easier. Nels and team
keep the grounds looking great. The new walkways with the beautiful white
concrete and ADA improvements give the message it is safe to donate to InfoAge
- look at the progress. Feel the progress and let the enthusiasm build.
Go win new members!!
Thank you,
Fred
BUILDING THE BASE: HOW TO ASK FOR DONATIONS
1. Make a gift yourself.
2. Research your prospects.
a. How much do they care about your work?
b. How much money can they give?
3. Educate your prospects.
4. Practice.
5. Make the appointment. Ask in person.
6. Smile. Make eye contact. Listen.
7. Ask for a specific dollar amount.
8. Answer questions. Think.
9. Ask for the dollar amount again.
10. If you get a gift, send a note the same day, thanking the donor for the
donation.
11. If you do not get a gift, send a note the same day, thanking the donor for
his or her time and helpful suggestions.
BEFORE YOU ASK
There are three things you can do before you ask for money to make it easier
for you to ask and easier for the prospect to say yes:
1. Give a gift yourself.
2. Research your prospects.
3. Educate your prospects. Let's look at each of these.
ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS
First, give a gift of money yourself. If you are asking for big gifts, give a
big gift. If you are asking for planned gifts, name the group in your own will,
trust, or insurance policy.
Giving a gift yourself will guarantee your success as a fundraiser. You may be
tempted to say that you can wait until the end of the campaign and then give
your gift, but that will not work.
Givers become better askers, and askers become better givers. In the best
campaigns the leadership gives at the beginning, and then becomes even more
committed through the process of asking for money. Often your fundraisers may
be surprised and delighted when their prospects give larger amounts than they
gave themselves. Then the fundraisers may want to give more to keep up.
If you are asking your mother or your best friend, she may simply reply, "Well,
dear, how much did you give?" If you just mumble about your good intentions,
she will know this cause is not important to you. You may say very eloquently
that this is urgent, but if people do not see you giving your own money, they
will not believe you mean it.
Many charities now videotape sessions in which their volunteers practice asking
for money. Videotapes show that if the asker has not made a donation of his or
her own money, the asker's eyes will drop when he or she gets to the "close,"
the part that involves actually asking for the donation. So anyone can tell
from your body language whether or not you have given money yourself.
When your organization runs its first fundraising campaign, do your best to get
every volunteer and staff person working on the campaign to make a gift before
the campaign. You may get 100 percent participation, and if you do, that is
great. More likely a few people will make excuses and "wait" to make their
gift. Do the best you can to persuade everyone to give, but do not hold up the
campaign because of a few stingy people. Launch your campaign and keep track
very carefully of who gives at the beginning and who does not. Then keep track
of who gets the most donations. After a year or two you will have enough data
from your own people to show that the best fundraisers give their own gift
first. After five or ten years the connection between giving first and getting
the most will be so glaring that you can simply make it a criterion for serving
on the fundraising committee.
RESEARCH YOUR PROSPECTS
After making your own gift, the second thing that makes it
easier to ask is learning more about your prospects. If you are
asking your brother, you probably already know his commitments and his
financial status. If you are asking the stranger who moved in next door
yesterday, you will need to do more research.
You want to find out two things:
1. The prospect's commitment to your cause
2. The prospect's ability to give
Of these two, commitment is more important. This is why volunteers are such
good prospects for donations. You know they care about your cause.
To get started, work with the people you already know. After you have built a
base of believers, you can begin to research people based on their wealth. Of
course, the ideal thing is to find someone who loves the group and has a lot of
money.
Use this information to look for new prospects to ask for money. But always
begin with your own volunteers, board, and current donors before you ask
strangers, no matter how much money they have.
EDUCATE YOUR PROSPECTS
The last step before you ask for money is to educate your prospects. Sometimes
people are already sold on your cause because their children participate in the
program, or their parents have the disease, or they personally have a
self-interest. If so, asking is easy. If you have a brand-new cause, you may
need to educate your prospects.
In 1978 I was part of a group of nine people who started the first hospice in
Chicago, a special program of care for people who are dying and their
caregivers. The first question in every new group was always "What is a
hospice?" Some of those early, curious people have been our most stalwart
supporters for more than fifteen years.
If you are brand-new, get an older group to host your first presentations. When
Horizon Hospice was still operating from a card table in the president's
bedroom, we hosted events at a local church, university, hospital, and in
volunteers' living rooms.
If your program is already up and running, get people to witness the work you
do, meet the staff, and hear success stories from your constituents. Throw a
party in your building so people can see the neighborhood and meet the
leadership. Special events are a great way to attract new people for a fun time
while you sneak in a little program on your cause, too.
HOW TO ASK FOR MONEY
To ask for money, begin with your list of ten prospects for small gifts. Then
use the following system, which I have copied from sales training. Try out
these steps yourself, and then ask your fundraising committee to try them. Most
people find it easier than they thought.
EXPECT SUCCESS
Decide you will succeed. Before you do anything else, tell yourself that you
are going to raise the money so this great group can do terrific things.
SMILE
Trial lawyers teach witnesses to smile at the jury, because research shows that
juries believe a witness who smiles more than a witness who does not smile,
regardless of whether or not this person is telling the truth. (Of course, your
fundraisers will have the advantage of telling the truth, the whole truth, and
nothing but the truth at all times.)
As fundraisers, it is especially important for you to smile and to train your
volunteers to smile. You cannot control your emotions; you can control your
actions. You may feel apprehensive about asking for money, especially if you
are new or if you are asking for a large amount. But if you smile, make eye
contact, and act as though you are enjoying this transaction, the prospects
will think you are great-and you will too.
IDENTIFY YOURSELF
Say your name, the name of your group, and what it does. Never assume that your
prospect has read or will remember your literature. Always tell the prospect
right at the beginning who you are, who you are representing, and what that
group does.
EXPLAIN YOUR NEED
Yes, you should say you are there to talk about money. Explain your fundraising
strategy and why you need this contribution now.
THE CLOSE
The hardest part to learn is the close. The preceding come naturally, because
people tend to like to talk about the groups they like anyway. Actually saying,
"I want $20 from you now" can seem a lot harder. Here is how to close:
1. Say the dollar amount you want.
2. Say what it is for.
3. Say why you want this amount now.
4. Engage your prospect in discussion.
5. Repeat the dollar amount.
6. Stop talking, smile, and wait for the prospect to say yes.
Let's look at each of these steps.
Specify an Amount
First, you do need to ask for a specific dollar amount. People cannot respond
unless you tell them what you want (assuming this is your first request for
their first gift). If the prospects want to give less, they will say so. If
they want to give more, you can ask again and ask for more next time. But you
have to begin your conversation with a specific amount. No one can write a
check for "some" money.
Explain the Use
Say what the money is for. For your first request, it is easiest to ask the
prospect to pay dues and become a member. Then you are building the size and
political strength of the organization at the same time that you raise money.
If your organization does not have members who pay dues, simply define what the
money will buy. Be prepared with such a menu of what their money can buy. If
you have researched your prospect, you may be able to guess what he or she will
like the most. But people can always surprise you, so have two or three choices
ready. Include one choice that seems like a financial stretch, because some
donors will always choose the top category because "it's the best." For
example, the South African Refugee Scholarship Fund did receive a few gifts in
the $10,000 category, their top choice in the mailing. If a letter can get
$10,000, imagine what you can get live and in person.
Create a Deadline
Say why you need the money now. It is always easier to say "not now" rather
than "no." If there is a real urgent need or a real deadline, it will be easier
for your fundraisers to get the gift now. Schools create artificial deadlines
through homecomings and reunions. If your class is having its twenty-fifth or
fiftieth reunion, then the school can create an artificial deadline and ego
rewards for you to give a gift now. Any organization can celebrate a tenth,
twenty-fifth, fiftieth, or one hundredth anniversary and use the same tactic.
Another strategy for creating a deadline is a matching grant or challenge gift.
A major donor, corporation, or foundation agrees to match whatever donations
come in by a certain date. Then the fundraisers can urge prospects to make a
gift now because the money will be doubled by the match.
Involve the Other Person
Engage the prospect in discussion about your cause. What, if anything, does Mr.
Jones already know about it? Has he used any of your services? Does he
recognize the problem you are trying to solve? Does he have any questions?
Repeat Your Request
Ask for the dollar amount again. Bring the discussion back to the need for
money and, more important, what the money will buy. Say the dollar amount at
the beginning, the purpose, the urgency, then the dollar amount again.
Wait for an Answer
Finally, stop talking and wait for your prospect to say yes. For those of us
who love to talk, this is the hardest part. But it is the clearest message you
can send that you are serious, you want the money, and you want it now. If you
are not talking, the prospect has to talk, and probably will say yes.
Yes or No
If the prospect says yes, get the cash, check, credit card information, or
completed pledge card. Thank the new donor and give her any recognition
materials, such as a membership card, button, or decal. Emphasize how her gift
will help the group achieve its goals.
Ask for all the data needed for a new donor's record: name, addresses, phone
numbers, dollar amount, and special interests. Pass this on to the fundraising
director. If the donor wants to volunteer, pass on the name to the volunteer
coordinator.
Especially if the prospect says no, "kill him with kindness." Thank him for his
time and ask to leave your brochure and pledge card. If you leave a good
impression it will be easier for another fundraiser to ask again next year.
Whether you get a yes or a no, send a thank-you note to the prospect.
THANK-YOU NOTES
The thank-you note is the most important tool in fundraising. If you want small
givers to become major donors and new volunteers to develop into active
leaders, recognize every contribution with a prompt, sincere thank-you.
Ask your fundraising team to tell about the best thank-you they ever received
and how that made them feel. Then ask for examples of times when your people
worked hard or made a big gift and felt ignored. Make yourselves a list of dos
and don'ts from this discussion.
At the very least, each fundraiser can send a personal handwritten note after
every meeting with a prospect, thanking him or her for the time, good
suggestions, and new leads. Send another handwritten thank-you note when the
person you ask sends in a donation. Remember, you want people to join your
organization and give gifts for a lifetime. Every thank-you note makes the next
request and the next gift easier.
For major gifts, remember to thank the donor and anyone else who helped, such
as the lawyer, accountant, or appraiser. For corporate gifts, thank the
secretary who advocated your cause and the bookkeeper who helped you set up
your accounting system as well as the executive who arranged the contributions.
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