Top 10 Fundraising Calling Tips

I am helping raise money for my son’s non-profit cooperative preschool this month and was surprised how relatively easy it was to get small businesses to commit to a donation or auction item. However, it can be quite time consuming to get the right person on the phone and do all the follow up phone calls. If I made it my full time job for a month, I have no doubt I would have raised a nice sum of money. However, trying to squeeze it in between my normally hectic day makes it more challenging. I offer some tips on how to streamline the process.

For those of you out there involved in fundraising, the best place to start calling is in your local community. Here are a few ideas when dialing for dollars. The principals are the same whether you are asking for a donation, looking for a job, or trying to raise money for your business.

Top Ten Tips for Asking for a Donation

1. During each call, imagine that you talking to a favorite friend you respect and admire that loves to support worthwhile causes such as the one you are supporting. They want to give you money, however you just need to clearly state why you need it and how they will be helping the community thrive by their donation. If you capture the feeling of familiarity then you will be much more relaxed and are likely to be smooth at that all important point when you for their donation commitment right there on the phone.

The person you are calling will be very receptive and will take the time to hear what you have to say if you are confident in your speech, are pleasant and friendly. Remember you are practically neighbors and they want to make a good impression so that they can get your business in the future.

2. Write a script on what you will say with a decision tree for each question you ask. Remember it often takes 7 times asking before you will get a yes. Be sure to ask some questions that they can reply yes to so they start feeling receptive.

3. Companies are always actively looking for positive ways to promote their business in the communities they reside. What better way than to sponsor a local non-profit in exchange not only to feel good about themselves, but also for valuable advertising offered by the charity. You are doing them a favor by allowing them to give you money and making it easier for them to reach out and touch someone. Wouldn't you be more likely to be customer of a business that was active in your community than one who wasn't.

4. You will want to reach the person who can make a decision about donations live on the phone. If you don't reach the decision maker find out who that is, what time they are usually available, and their direct line. Also ask the person who spoke with to mention to the decision maker that you will be calling directly this week.

5. Make sure that you have your call list right at your fingertips printed nicely out with room to write notes on who you talked to, what time/day, when to follow-up, and where to pick up the check.

6. Do not leave a message because people are very busy and it is unlikely that they will call you back (unless they know you personally - even then think about how long it takes you to get back to friends). If they don't answer on the first try, continue to call them for a few days throughout the day to see if they pick up. If not, since time is of the essence, just cross them of the list and move on to the next candidate.

7. Most small donations under $250 are closed on the telephone during the first call. You should plan to ask for a donation right on the spot once you have their attention. If they must have a copy of our materials before they can make a decision, the best way to get it to them is via email. You then ask if you can call them tomorrow after they had to time to look over the materials. Faxing is also a quick option.

8. Once you get their commitment to make a donation, ask them if you can stop by tomorrow and pick up the check. Do not delay picking up the money or auction item.

9. If you must send an email, fax or mail, before they make a decision, be sure to send prompty right after your call and then follow up the day after you know they received it when they will then be ripe to make a decision. Make sure you customize their email letter with their name and reference the conversation that you had during that day. Because spam filters are effective and weeding out email, it will be important to have a well titled subject line. I recommend: "XYZ Fundraiser: follow up materials from our conversation today.

10. Take a deep breath and smile before you pick up the phone each time and remind yourself of the points above. You are an excellent fundraiser and people are waiting to hear from you. Granted some people you call may say no, but that is okay, you can try to convert them to attending the event or just ask them if you can call them again next year. Just count each NO as one step closer to a YES, since it is a numbers game. You may hear 9 no's for each yes, but you did get that 1 yes. If you call 100 people, you might hear 90 no's but the good news is you will hear 10 yeses and will get closer to your goal.

Fundraising is a great way for moms who may have taken a few years out of the workforce to get back into the swing of things. It will help you get your feet wet talking to the business world and you will see how nice most people are if you stay relaxed and happy on the phone. People want to talk to happy people so keep smiling.

Take Ms.Money's 6 Steps to Getting a Job for ideas on exploring your work options. Ms.Money also has an excellent entrepreneurship section for those of you raising money to start a non-profit or for-profit business.