Content Courtesy of Megan Stokes, Toxics Action Center
From the BPA Workshop: Finding the Major Donors in Your Membership

Heartening Facts

• 30% of Americans say they have disposable income
• 70% of Americans make donations
• Over a billion dollars donated each year in the U.S.
• 80% of those donations are from people who make $60,000 or less

Helpful Thoughts

• Don’t focus only on the wealthy. Many middle class folks will stretch and offer $1000
• Once people renew 2-3 times, they often give for the rest of their lives
• The wealthy can give more than they do

Why is Individual Giving Important?

• Limitless people, limited foundations (diversify!)
• Networks
• People more likely to steward
• People who steward want to give
• People can be loyal
• More stable because there are so many people
• Prove to foundations you have other income
• Educate community about your work

Principles of Fundraising

• Ask and ask again.
• Fundraising builds power and political commitment (if you have a lot of members, politicians take you seriously).
• Fundraise from your core out– ask committed donors and volunteers first.
• The more personal, the better (the best is face-to-face, next best is phone).
• Fundraising gives people an opportunity, e.g. Neighbors want the park to look nicer and this is how they make it happen.
• Integrate fundraising into your work, e.g. silent auctions or pass the hat as part of a big event.
• Thank your contributors!

Setting Goals

Campaign Goal

• E.g. Building a nursery garden in Waltham, keeping the trellis lighted at Christopher Columbus Park.
• Think about how to describe the vision and the goal that will make the donor want to give.

Fundraising Goal

• Linked back to your campaign goal, e.g. “It takes $2500 to send entire staff to Vermont to make a final push to shut down a power plant. We are asking 100 people. Can you contribute $25?”
• Be very transparent to donors.

Why People Will Give

• Consider the orgs and causes you give to. Why do you give to them? Why do others?
• Why would people contribute to your group? Why would they support your cause? What will your group offer that makes them feel great?

Making a Prospect List
Who can you approach for money?

• Public
• Family, friends, colleagues (handwritten letters)
• Businesses
• Foundations
• Park users
• Government
• Municipal agencies

Fundraising Tactics
(Consider effort, time, and return rate trade-offs)

• Major Donor visits
• Special events/benefits
• Silent auction
• A-thons
• Free drawing
• House party
• Events
• Sales (e.g. shirts, books)
• Pass the hat at a big event

Make a Plan

• Include a diverse array of tactics
• Include lots of people in the effort (board, members, all staff)
• Be realistic with resources and time
• Layer fundraising into your program work
• Make sure your tactics will get to your goal

How To of Major Donor Fundraising
1. Build a list of who to ask

• Membership
• Specifically people who’ve donated $35+ or $100+, depending on the group.
• Business owners
• Philanthropists
• To find them, look at annual reports and websites for groups similar to yours and see who donates or look at non-profits’ 990s, property owners in the neighborhood, political donations.
• Referrals
• Petition signers/Sign-in lists

2. Getting the Meeting

• Get an introduction (if the person is not in your membership)
• Send an “I’m going to call you” letter
• Call, call, call’
• Tips: Call in blocks of 3 hours; call at different times of day, Sunday evenings before 9pm is often best, 8am-9pm is ok. Look up people’s work numbers. Don’t leave messages.
• Be pleasantly persistent. Don’t expect them to say yes right away. 50% will ultimately say yes.
• Offer a personal reason to come, e.g. we would like your feedback about our work
• Ask for a specific time, but be flexible e.g. “Is Tuesday at 6 ok? No? My schedule is flexible. How about Tuesday at 7pm or Wednesday at 6pm?”
• Confirm the details
• Ask for directions to their house (they will feel more invested in the meeting if you ask)
• Make them get a pen to write down our name and when you’ll meet

3. Prepping for the visit

• What to wear: dress like you know what to do with $5,000
• Who to bring (e.g. activists, other members)
• What to bring (visuals, e.g. maps, reports, brochure etc.)
• Practice telling stories
• Practice the Ask (“I would like to ask you for _____)
• Confirm the Meeting (email, call, note)
• I’m excited to see you, share our victories, talk about your support, get your input on our next campaign

4. Holding the Meeting

• Location: their house, their office, coffee shop
• Ideally 40 minutes
• Half of the meeting: build the relationship-Find out what they care about, what they think about your group.
• Tell Stories: Not a list of what you want to do. Have a plot, a setting, a villain, a hero, rich detail. Should include a past victory and a project you are working on
• E.g. Our park was one of the favorite recreation spots in Boston when it was first built, then it fell into disrepair, now we are trying to restore it to its former glory so the community can have a place to gather and something to be proud of.
• Make the ask and shoot for the moon (e.g. $1,500. May depend on the group).
• Ask for a referral who might be interested in supporting the work

5. The Ask

• Practice, practice, practice
• Get all questions answered
• Make it campaign and donor specific
• Do it; then be quiet! (Listen carefully)
• Get the check in your hand or at least a pledge card

6. Follow Up

• Set a specific follow up plan
• Thank you notes right away, even if they don’t give money right away.
• If they have not given the check yet, call, email and phone.

7. Cultivation: Make sure members are connected to your work

• If there’s a newspaper article about your work, mail it to them
• Newsletter
• Events
• New donor packet
• House party (where the host and host committee invite friends)
• Personal letter with annual report
• Holiday card
• Call people every now and then
• Recommend a book or movie
• Special event invitation
• Ask them to come to donor meetings
• Ask them to invite friends to events
• Meetings with VIPs
• Thank bank—Get activists and volunteers to give thanks after a victory

Questions
Q: How to get other staff involved?

A: Make sure that it’s part of the plan that staff participate and ask program staff if donors should be invited to events

 

Q: How to frame park work?

A: Frame ongoing work in terms of victories—X number of trees planted, X number of volunteers involved, X project completed.
Q: How to recognize donors?

A: Annual reports of other orgs, local papers

 

Q: How to deal with the situation when work overlaps with other non-profits, same constituency

A: Identify your niche. There are plenty of donors to go around

 

Fundraising Blogs
A small Change www.asmallchange.net
Fundraising is Beautiful www.fundraisingisbeautiful.com
The Agitator www.theagitator.net