Good advice ....... Five Tips for Collecting Pledges and Donations By Jeff Urban – April 26, 2011Posted in: Community Spring has sprung and so have all the walks, runs, swims, bike riding fundraising events. It is time to collect some pledges/donations and raise some money for some great causes. It is exciting to see all the people I know helping our community through various fund-raising activities. Our community needs people to do this. Each of you participating in fundraising events deserves a big thank you. However, it seems that social media has changed the landscape for collecting pledges and donations. It has obviously made it easier to get requests out to large groups of people. But it does seem to be diluting the requests and people are developing some bad habits. I have collected pledges and donations in the past. And like you, I receive many requests each year to pledge/donate. You would think that with all of the opportunities to collect and donate, people (and organizations) would be getting better at asking for money. Unfortunately, it seems to have gotten worse. If your causes are truly important to you – and if you would like to be successful with your fund-raising efforts year after year – I have some tips for you. I can’t say I have always followed these tips, but I do now. Here are five tips for collecting pledges and donations: 1. My name is not “Hey everybody” Really? The cause is that important to you that you are going to collect pledges/donations by sending an email to a distribution list or posting it on Facebook? Maybe your thought is, “It is simply a numbers game.” The more people you send it to, the more people will pledge. The flaw in this approach is if you are ever going to try to collect pledges in the future, you are going to have a percentage drop-off. People aren’t going to respond year after year to “Hey everybody” requests. Which means you need to increase the number of people you send it to each year in order to raise the same amount of money. I realize it is more work to ask people personally, but how important is the cause to you? How does it feel when you are personally asked? It tells me how important it is to you if I receive a personal ask. Do you know who gets a donation every time from me? The kid who rings my doorbell and asks me for a donation – I give every time. Think about it. Personal asks are more work. They take longer. And they are more effective. PERIOD. 2. Tell me a story “It’s a great cause.” “The organization sells itself.” Blah, blah, blah… This is Minnesota – the land of 10,000 non-profits. There are a lot of great causes. They all need money. Tell me a story. Tell me why this organization is near and dear to your heart. Why are you involved? What is your goal? What is the money being used for? Once again, personalize it. Increase my awareness. People give to people. Not to causes. 3. Remind me If I didn’t tell you, “Sorry, love to help, but I can’t at this time”, then send me a reminder. Like most of you, I receive hundreds of emails every single week. I have three email accounts, three Twitter accounts, a Facebook account , a LinkedIn account, etc. We are all inundated with information. Honestly, I probably forgot. Send me a reminder (HINT: Not ”Hey Everybody”). I would appreciate the reminder. I would feel bad if I wanted to make a donation, and I simply forgot. 4. Two words – “Thank You” How do you think I feel the next year when you come back and ask me to pledge again and I didn’t receive a thank you from last year’s donation? I am not looking for a handwritten note. After you receive the pledge, just send me a quick email, “Thanks Jeff!” I am amazed at how many people don’t do this. And don’t get me started on the “Thanks everybody!” tactic. Think of it like a business. You have a customer. If you want to increase the number of customers you have, start by taking care of the customers you do have. It is easier to increase the number of your customers, if you don’t have to replace the customers you are losing. Approach fundraising with the same long-term philosophy and approach. 5. So, What Happened? I don’t need a direct message telling me how it went, but I do want to hear about it. How was the experience? Did you reach your goal? Follow up. Why does this blog post have such a harsh tone? I want you to raise as much money as possible. The non-profits need your help. They need you to step up. If you haven’t been following some of these tips, start now.
Posted on: Mon, 31 Mar 2014 16:06:18 +0000
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