Go to content Go to navigation Go to search

June 30, 2008

The Wrong Way to Find New Donors

To find new donors, many charities periodically ask board members to share their personal mailing lists or professional contacts. The organization then creates a solicitation letter, and each board member signs all copies sent to his or her contacts.

That’s a big mistake, says Simone Joyaux, a fund-raising consultant and a co-author of Keep Your Donors: The Guide to Better Communications and Stronger Relationships (John Wiley & Sons).

In fact, rounding up board members’ contacts for a mass solicitation amounts to “trespassing on personal and professional relationships” of those trustees, she writes in the book. “Promise that you won’t!”

“Have you ever asked your board members how they feel about asking their friends and colleagues to give money simply because they are friends and colleagues?” Ms. Joyaux continues. “I’ve asked thousands of board members: Mostly they feel uncomfortable.”

What’s more, Ms. Joyaux writes, such appeals generally bring in only a few token gifts that are not motivated by any real interest in the charity’s mission; instead, they are spurred by a desire to do a favor for a friend or colleague and are usually not repeated.

Far better, Ms. Joyaux argues, is asking board members to refer only those people who might have a genuine interest in the charity’s work. The organization, she writes, should then make an effort to learn more about those individuals’ interests and inform them about its work—all of which should be done before any solicitation is made.

— Holly Hall

Monday June 30, 2008 | Permalink

Comments

1. interesting

   — Carolyn Kotlarski    Jul 1, 01:44 PM    #

2. DUH!

   — Melisa    Jul 1, 02:23 PM    #

3. This makes sense, but if you’re able to offer the supporters’ friends something of value besides the satisfaction of giving, no one would feel put out. For example, they could be asked to enroll in a consumer savings program for $50 per year, from which they could actually save hundreds of dollars a year on various shopping needs, by which a $10 donation is made on their behalf to the charity that referred them – like at www.shoppingforimpact.org. That would be a true win-win.

   — Dan Kalis    Jul 1, 02:34 PM    #

4. Finally, someone who understands that fundraising is about motivation, not gimmicks.

   — Jeff Steele    Jul 1, 03:00 PM    #

5. It’s presumptuous to think that some Board contacts may be interested and some won’t, before they’ve had a chance to learn about the organization and its work.

   A better idea is to ask Board members to invite their friends, neighbors, and colleagues to the organization’s next event. Or better yet, hold special, more intimate gatherings of friends and colleagues. Have the events be purely educational with no outright appeal to give. However, use the opportunity to express the current needs of the organization. Then let the guests decide if it is a cause and an outfit worthy of their giving.

   You may not get any immediate gifts from this activity, but the influencers in your organization will have helped to put more of their friends on the road to cultivation.

   — Kevin D. Feldman    Jul 1, 03:05 PM    #

6. I work for a small nonprofit. It’s true that some board members feel uncomfortable asking friends, family, and colleagues. Others are proud to do it—after all, they are not asking for money for themselves but rather for a cause that they believe passionately in and that they hope the people who care about them will also care about. Some of our largest gifts have come from friends & family of board members or staff members who have a general interest in our cause but probably would NOT have sought out the opportunity to donate to this cause if solicited by someone who did not know them.

   As a donor myself, I always give money to friends and family who ask me to donate to a cause, even if it’s not a cause I would ever donate to when left to my own devices. I don’t have thousands of dollars to spare so maybe you’re not interested in me—but I do give gifts to friends’ causes that are substantial for me .

   Again—I work for a small nonprofit and at this stage of the game, a “large” gift from an individual is $250-$500.

   Finally—we do not view a mail appeal as an isolated giving opportunity. We ask all board members and staff members to always keep our organization in mind and to talk about it with their friends, family, and associates… share the website… share the newsletter… invite them to fun and informational events. In other words, help people learn about our cause year-round and people donate at different times.

   — Betsy    Jul 1, 10:20 PM    #

7. I agree with Betsy, comment #6. Board members should be proud to share about the work of the foundation on whose board they serve. We do not do shot-gun approach mailers to prospect for new donors.

   — Susan    Jul 7, 01:14 PM    #

8. I would have to definitely agree with the last series of comments and disagree with Simone re: her concern for “token gifts”. I think if an agency treats a small gift just as that, a token gift, then it will become just that. It is the stewardship, further cultivation and relationship building that become the obvious next steps to ensure that the gift is not a simply a “token”. I would also agree with Betsy in that we’ve had many,many gifts come in from friends and family of board members and, while they were giving to support that fellow board member who happens to be on the board of our organization, in the long-run, they ended up staying on as donors.

   — Ken Grunke    Jul 15, 10:04 AM    #

Commenting is closed for this article.

Previous: Baby Boomers Blamed for Fund-Raising Drops
Next: Direct-Mail Returns Continue to Slide

---

Copyright © 2008 The Chronicle of Philanthropy