Program Management: Resource Development

Most Effective Fundraisers

Butts told a fundraising seminar group that included Join Together that special events should be viewed primarily as good public relations and an opportunity to gather names of future potential donors, not as a money maker itself. Generally speaking, says Butts, "you're going to lose money up front."

Face-to-face meetings with prospects are most effective if two representatives of the charity meet with a single donor -- especially if one of the representatives is someone the donor already knows. Meetings between a single representative and the prospect also are effective, however. The best approach: "Kick your ego to the side and let the cause walk in," advises Butts, who also recommends asking open-ended questions; respecting the time of the donor; and avoiding babbling by listening to the donor for the majority of the meeting.

The four steps to conducting a personal appeal are the Opening, where the representatives are introduced; Involving the donor in the conversation; the Presentation, where the program and its needs are explained; and the Ask, where the prospect is asked to make a donation.

After briefly explaining your program and mission and feeling out the donor's needs, "Ask [for the donation] and then shut up," says Butts. "Don't push, don't pressure, but do follow up and be persistent." Good donor stewardship includes following up on meetings within 48 hours as well as keeping donors informed about your activities. "If you don't treat your donors right, someone else will treat them better," Butts says.

In order of effectiveness, the best solicitation techniques after personal meetings include:

• Personal letters; best with a telephone call to follow up, but also effective without a follow-up call.
• Personal phone calls; best with a follow-up letter, but also effective without a letter.
• Personalized letter
• Impersonal letter (direct mail)
• Impersonal telephone (such as a phone-a-thon or telemarketing -- they work better if conducted by volunteers, notes Butts)
• Special events
• Door-to-door canvassing (not recommended, says Butts.)
• Media coverage or advertising

When using direct mail, says Butts, groups should not be afraid to send too many letters; Covenant House, for example, mailed to prospects and donors 14 times a year. However, she advises, not every mailing should be a solicitation -- groups should use tools like newsletters simply to keep donors informed about organizational activities and how their money is being spent. Butts notes that religious groups are the most successful fundraisers because they ask the most -- 52 times a year.

Other direct mail tips include:

• Pick your mailing list carefully; "75 percent of your success is in the list your chooses," she says.
• Make an emotional appeal in your fundraising letter. Direct mail donations are emotionally based, says Butts; show the reader the face of your group, not the facts. Tell a positive story.
• Examine the fund-raising letters you personally receive for good ideas that your group can emulate.
• "Assume that all donors wear bifocals and have arthritis," says Butts. In other words, be nice to the reader by avoiding small type and other formatting pitfalls.
• Be aware that direct mail entails high up-front costs, and that a direct mail campaign is considered a success if it gets even a one percent response.

Donna Butts, David G. Bauer Associates, Inc: (800) 836-0732
Date: 11/8/95