ISSUES

Asking for the money

Successful fundraising is based on 'organised common sense'.

Whatever your organisation's needs for buildings, equipment, programmes or endowments - the proven way to raise the funds required is to ask for them!

However, as you'll remember from our previous Issues papers, you first need to do your homework by conducting a Resources Study, which will:

• Identify and validate the specific sources of funding available to your organisation for your chosen project.
• Unearth the core of a fundraising team to give and get the funds needed at the required levels.

Then, some time and effort needs to be put into developing your fundraising 'story', taking into account the feedback you will have received from the Resources Study.

Remember, promotional material should be prepared that is specifically designed as a 'prop' to help in the context of a personal meeting, demonstrate your fundraising 'story', and ask for money.

In our experience, despite this preparation, your campaign can hit a major operational challenge - the fear factor.

Asking for money, even for the most urgent and attractive causes, does not come naturally to most people.

The fear factor

Indeed, volunteer surveys all over the world have reinforced the traditional cries of "I'm no good at fundraising!" or "I'll do anything but ask for money!”

Of course, what most people are expressing through such statements is a basic and understandable fear of being rejected by people they know: not so much the asking process itself.

But, given a few pointers in the right direction, most of us can conquer the fear factor and become star fundraisers.

Ten steps to successful fundraising

Asking for money is not an easy process but, we are confident that if you apply the following 'Ten Steps', which we have developed based on experience on over 1,000 campaigns, you will achieve your objectives.

In so doing, you will not only raise large sums, but also build a network of committed supporters for your organisation.

1. Know the story

Successful fundraising begins and ends with an attractive and urgent ‘Case Statement’ - the ‘story’ of why your organisation needs the money and what benefits the project will create for the community and the giver.

If your fundraisers can't easily remember the narrative flow of your Case Statement, stop! Rewrite the Case Statement!  Uncertainty and complexity are two of the major obstacles to successful fundraising.

The 'story' should lend itself to being easily and enthusiastically told - if necessary, without glossy brochures and PowerPoint presentations as props!

Remember to think through what parts of the 'story' will most interest the person being approached, carefully considering the questions that may well arise.

While each approach will be different, during a campaign it is often useful to prepare a selection of most frequently asked questions, and appropriate answers to each.  This will help in the presentation process.

2. The first prospective giver

You cannot ask someone to do something that you are not prepared to do yourself.  Successful askers are, first of all, thoughtful and proportionate givers.

Give some of your own money to your fundraising campaign.  This will reduce the fear of asking others and becomes a symbol of your own commitment to the project.

Once you have made your own gift, you will be able to talk with the authority of one who is already a ‘stakeholder’.  You will have backed your words with your own money.

3. Your next prospective giver

For your next approach, choose the person who is most likely to respond to your project in a positive way.

This will give you a chance to rehearse your presentation in the best possible circumstances.  And a successful response will give a great boost to your confidence.

4. See your prospective givers face-to-face

Face-to-face solicitation is ten times more effective than asking by telephone or mail.

By all means use a letter or telephone to make an appointment for visit your prospective giver, but don't ask for a response until you have the opportunity to tell your story in person.

Remember that fundraising brochures should be designed as person-to-person presentation tools.  Learn how to use them as props to tell your story -don't put them in the post!

5. Set your sights high

If you are going to raise large amounts of money you will need some big gifts.

So don't underestimate the prospective giver's generosity - always:

• Ask for a specific amount.
• Keep your sights high based on your own commitment and the financial need of the project.
• Use a 'Scale of Giving'.
• Think positively - be confident that your efforts will generate a generous response.

As a mark of respect, you have taken the time and trouble to personally visit your prospective giver.

Your confidence as a giver and your preparation work will ensure that what you have to say will be carefully considered, unlike so many other 'appeals' today.

6. Declare your own gift

The people whom you visit will nearly always ask - directly or indirectly - “What do you expect me to give?"  Tell them what you have given and why you have chosen to give that much.  They will be encouraged to follow your pacesetting example.

7. Illustrate tax effective giving

Recent tax changes have made it easier than ever to be generous to registered charities. Whether it is at the major gift level (with very positive changes to the treatment of gifts of publicly traded shares) or at grassroots giving levels (with the abolition of the minimum £250 Gift Aid limit), illustrate the tax benefits to your prospective givers.

Consider including a ‘Ways of Giving’ piece in your promotional material.  Not only have complicated Covenants been done away with but also, if you promote tax effective giving in the right way, the Inland Revenue should make the biggest contribution to your project!

8. Offer recognition

Naming rights, commemorative giving or dedicated giving are not everyone's cup of tea, but can be a significant sight-raiser for many givers.  Again, as part of your brochure, you should have some kind of user-friendly giving opportunities list.

9. Offer time to pay

Make it clear that you are able to receive gifts that are pledged over a period of time.  Your material should offer illustrations of how gifts might be broken down into annual, quarterly, monthly or even weekly instalments, including details of the tax benefits.

Sometimes, pledges can be signed that will have the first payment being made at the start of the next financial year.  In so doing, you will be giving people a way of being as generous as possible, allowing for their particular current cash flow demands.

10. Obtain the gift - then produce the paperwork

Leaving pledge letters or gift cards with prospective givers who want to "think about it" will generally result in poor levels of giving.

Only talk about or produce the paperwork once the giver has agreed to make a gift.

If you are unhappy with the way the approach is progressing, for any reason, leave the prospective giver to think about the story you have told - and arrange a follow up visit.

Putting the Ten Steps into action

Fundraising has become a multi-million pound industry.  Fundraising executives and volunteers can spend endless hours 'networking' at conferences and ploughing through vast libraries of quasi-academic texts to equip themselves with the latest trends in fundraising jargon.

Meanwhile, there's precious little asking for money going on!

Forget about that next ‘strategy review’ or convention and try putting the Ten Steps into action by:

• Assembling your fundraising team of staff, board members and volunteers for an ‘asking for the money’ workshop;
• Taking them through the Ten Steps;
• Running role plays of challenging but realistic asking situations; and,
• Challenging your fundraising team to list prospective givers and start asking for money.

Face up to the fundraising challenge

One of the most successful volunteer fundraising leaders we have ever worked with, was known to send post-it notes to fellow board members with the simple, challenging question: "How many asks have I made today?"

While we are not necessarily advocating that level of zeal, there are no magic wands in fundraising.

Successful fundraising campaigns do not hinge on glossy brochures, list brokerage, and name-only patronage, public launches, flashy web sites, celebrity endorsements and expensive fundraising events.

Dozens of ‘appeals’ across the UK are failing because of this fallacious approach to fundraising and the fact that there is too little asking for the money going on.

There are no short cuts.

The money has to be asked for.  And, consistently, across all kinds of fundraising programmes, the more personally you ask for the money - the better the response will be.

Summary: one step at a time

Take the fear out of asking by taking it one step at a time.

• Keep the ‘story’ simple.
• Rehearse the story.
• Keep the promotional tools user-friendly.
• Show your asking team how to use this material in person-to-person fundraising visits.
• Train your asking team in the 'Ten Steps'.
• Role-play each of the ‘Ten Steps’.

And then ask yourself, without fear:

Want to talk it through … ?

For an informal discussion about how to put the 'Ten Steps' into action, please contact Paul Molloy:

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