6. Fundraising -
Research
There are a few
basic ways to do some research. The first step is
to visit your local library and look up groups similar to
yours in your area as well as in other
areas. Who supports them? The same groups of
people may support your group. If your non-profit
consists of a few volunteers, you can find out what sort
of people your non-profit appeals to by asking your
volunteers a few
questions:
- What tv shows do your watch? What
publications do you read? What radio station do you
listen to?
- Where did you hear about our
group?
- Where do you go for entertainment?
What other groups do you belong
to?
- What appealed to you about this
non-profit?
Even in a small
group, you will hear similar responses. These
answers are important clues about what your donors are
watching, where they are going, and what appeals to them.
You can further establish your target donors by
considering where people who believe in a cause or idea
would go or what they would see. Consider the
following ideas:
-
Pet
shelters are likely to be supported by people
who like animals. If they like animals,
they may read about them, own them, or visit
them. Advertising in pet journals, at
pet kennels or grooming centers, appealing to
owners outside pet stores or zoos are
likely places to find target donors or at
least people who love animals enough to
contribute some money to a cause
that supports
them.
-
Arts groups
are likely to be supported by people who like
the arts. Where are these people
found? At universities, art galleries,
theaters, art groups, book clubs, libraries,
cafes that hold poetry readings, arts
publications, bookstores, art stores, art
classes, and other like
places.
-
Non-profits
that have to do with children are likely to
appeal to families. Where would such
people be found? Parks, schools, PTA
meetings, churches, playgrounds, fairs, toy
stores, fairs, children's days at the zoo or
art gallery, parenting publications, and
other like places.
-
Non-profits
that have to do with community development
may seem to be a varied bunch, both those who
are worried about issues such as poverty or
issues such as housing regulations would tend
to congregate around town hall meetings, soup
kitchens, or other like places, depending on
their individual
concerns.
-
Non-profits
that have to do with the environment attract
people who are worried about the state of our
planet and resources. Where are such
people to be found? At natural health
food stores, environmental protests, town
hall meetings that have to do with preserving
parks, environmental stores, "green"
publications.
-
Non-profits
that have to do with International issues
attract people who are worried about
international policies and the state of the
larger world today. These people may be
considered about worldwide human rights,
about international policies and other
similar issues. These people may be
found reading the 'world' section of the
newspaper, attending protests to raise
information about human rights, and other
like events. People who either have
family overseas or who are from overseas
often have a built-in interest in
International
issues.
-
Non-profits
that have to do with education attract people
who are worried about education and
literacy. These people are to be found
at literacy centers, the library, schools,
PTA, meetings, and other like areas. If
your education mandate has to do with
children, then your target donors can be
found in similar places as the target donors
for non-profits that have to do with
children.
There is a pattern
here. People who are concerned about an issue are
likely to express their concern by spending their time at
specific places and they are likely to attend specific
events or read specific publications related to their
concern. If you want to target your audience of
donors, you should be asking yourself where potential
donors can be found and then target your fundraising to
some of these areas.
So, keep
asking yourself a few marketing
questions:
- Where can I find people who are
interested in the issue our non-profit is
furthering?
- What do people interested in
our concern read? Where do they go? What
groups do they belong to?
- What sort of person is so likely to be
interested in our groups' issue that they will be willing
to help our non-profit
financially?
- What companies in my area have
contributed to similar non-profit groups in the
past?
- What sort of fundraising effort would be
most likely to draw the people who are most likely to be
interested in out group's
mandate?
- Are there government agencies or
philanthropic agencies that tend to give money for causes
that are similar to our group's
mandate?
Targeting your
donors may seem to be only a way of narrowing down your
choices, as you are basically trying to attract only a
smaller percentage of people to your cause.
However, if your group only has limited resources (and
this is true for so many starting or small non-profits)
then targeting your donors by choosing to ask only those
donors who have an intersest in your cause can help you
get the best results possible in the shortest period of
time.
Think of it as
making educated guesses about who can help. The
idea is not to ask only those who are most likely to
help, but rather to focus on specific groups of people
before expanding out to other donors.
Once you have
targeted specific groups as donors, you may wish to
expand and seek help and support from donors that seem
less likely to be interested in your group's cause.
In some cases, you may be pleasantly surprised to find
unlikely donors who are willing to help you raise money
for your cause.
For example,
across North America, there are motorcycle enthusiasts
who regularly take part in a "teddy bear"
drive before Christmas in order to raise funds
and gifts for children who might not otherwise
receive gifts. Many people are surprised to
see tattooed biker enthusiasts carrying teddy bears
on their Harley Davidson's for charity, but this scene
happens every year.
How much time and
effort you spend trying to contact donors outside your
targeted donor group will depend on many factors,
including how volunteers you have for such campaigns and
it will depend on how much money you have been able to
raise through more targeted fundraising. If you
have been successful enough to raise all the
fundraising money you need through targeted donor
hunting, you may not need to expand your list of
donors too much, and instead of trying to find new
sources for money, you may want to direct your efforts to
fulfilling your group's mission.
If, on the other
hand, you find that you require more money and have had
smaller success with targeted donors (because, for
example, a group with a similar mandate has also been
fundraising in your area) then expanding your list of
potential donors may be one way to get more money for
your non-profit.
Next page: 7. Fundraising - Your
Donors' Needs
Practical
Fundraising Ebook - Table Of Contents
- Fundraising -
The Basics
- Fundraising -
Terminology
- Fundraising -
Money
-
Fundraising -
Where to Find Donors and How to Reach
Them
- Fundraising -
Targeting Your Donors
- Fundraising -
Research
- Fundraising -
Your Donors' Needs
- Fundraising -
Ideas
- Fundraising
- Donated Products
- Fundraising -
Bought Products
- Fundraising
- Marathons
- Fundraising -
Lotteries, raffles and
more
- Fundraising -
Fairs, Auctions and
Bazaars
- Fundraising -
Fun Events
- Fundraising - Drives
- Fundraising -
Services
- Fundraising
- Tips for Choosing a Fundraising
Idea
- Fundraising -
Your Plan
- Fundraising
- Your Team
- Fundraising -
Staying Organized
- Fundraising -
Communicating With Your
Donors
- Fundraising
- Advertising
- Fundraising
- Letters
- Fundraising -
Emails and more
- Fundraising
- Person to Person
- Fundraising
- Thank You Notes
- Fundraising
- Grant Proposals
- Fundraising
- Press Releases
- Fundraising
- With Computers
- Fundraising
- Secrets to
Success
- Fundraising -
Problems
- Fundraising
- Conclusions
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