Practical Fundraising - Fundraising

25. Fundraising - Person To Person

Telephone

Whenever you are using the telephone on behalf of your non-profit organization, you need to make sure that you identify yourself and the organization you are representing. Try to make your calls as effective as possible by not talking too loud or too quiet and by talking at a reasonable rate, not too fast so that you cannot be understood, but not so slowly that it takes you ten minutes to get to the point of your call. Of course, you need to be polite all the time, and need to try not to keep prospective donors waiting.

If you are going to be using the telephone a great deal, then you may want to practice taping your voice so you can hear how you sound to others. You may then be able to make a few adjustments so that perhaps you sound more pleasant, or a little clearer.

Person to person

Talking to a stranger can be one of the most challenging forms of communication for some people, especially those who are naturally shybut if you want to be successful at fundraising, then you need to become more comfortable with this.You need to make sure that each person in your group who deals with the public has good manners, whether this is a volunteer at your bazaar, a volunteer handling phone queries, or your marathon organizers. All of these people are dealing with donors or potential donors and good first impressions count.

For good person to person contact you need :

•Eye contact: Making occasional eye contact , but not staring, lets people know that you see them and that you are listening to them. It makes the people you are talking to feel more comfortable.

•Manners: Being polite and kind helps put people at ease and lets them to focus on what you are saying, not on how you are saying it.

•Body language: good body language means that you are standing in a pleasant non-aggressive manner, so that you put the person you are talking to about your fundraising project at ease Try not to over use your hands when you are talking, as this will cause your listener to pay more attention to your hands than to the mesage you are giving. •A smile. Smiling gives a listener the message that they are liked and accepted. It also makes you seem less threatening.

•Distance: you don't want to stand so close to a person that they feel threatened by your presence, nor do you want to be so far away that they cannot easily hear what y0u are saying.

•Expression: a happy smiling face is more likely to get a donation than a scowling bored one.

•Voice: A pleasant voice that is easy to hear and understand is more likely to be listened to, and if your cause is a good one, then you are more likely to receive a donation.

•Speaking style: a relaxed person, relating well to a listener, will put this person at ease so they will be more receptive to your organization, its goals and your fundraising methods A lively speaking style, with a suitable joke, or even a comment on the weather will make you seem more like a person who should be listened to.

•Appearance: a clean-cut and pleasant appearance is still most likely to result in "yes" responses to fundraising. Scruffy people tend to look more dangerous or frightening, so make sure all your volunteers lookm presentable.

If you can appeal to people by communicating with them, you are more likely to succeed as a fundraiser.

It does not take much to acquire people skills that can help you to fundraise. Practice talking, smiling, and making eye contact in the mirror. You may feel a little foolish doing this, but it will help you. Or you could video tape yourself and see what areas of personal communication you need to improve. If you want to take communicating further you can always join a toastmaster club. You will get help and tips on your presentations and practice.

Useful resources

25. Fundraising - Person To Person

Practical Fundraising Ebook - Table Of Contents