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You say fundraising, I say flirting
Posted in: Blog by Michael Pett on June 23, 2010
First of all, I would like to apologize for not writing a blog post last week. I’ve been super swamped here at work getting ready for Busk a Move this Saturday and a couple things have definitely fallen through the cracks. However, in honour of our upcoming fundraiser, I thought I’d write a quick post with some useful fundraising tips that I’ve learned over the years. These apply primarily to daylong fundraising events that have volunteers stationed at busy shopping locations. But…I’m sure they can also be applied to others. Enjoy!
My Fundraising Tips
Just ask. Wayne Gretzky once said, “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” The same applies for fundraising. You miss 100% of the donations you don’t ask for.
Make it personal. Don’t just shout at people as they walk by. It’s a lot more effective if you actually approach people and personally engage them. I mean, it’s pretty hard to say no when someone is right in your face. It makes you feel like a jerk. And nobody likes feeling like a jerk.
Know the facts. A lot of people you encounter won’t really care why you’re fundraising. They’ll just give you a donation and be on their way. However, some people will legitimately want to know where their money is going before they donate. So make sure you know the facts about the non-profit organization and its projects! You don’t need to be experts. But you at least need to be able to speak about it with a moderate level of passion and education.
Always keep bills in your donation can. This is a little trick I learned this past year when we were fundraising for ShAIDS of Grey. People naturally hate looking cheap. So before donating, they instinctively look at the donation can to assess how much other people have been donating. If they see loonies, they donate a loonie. If they see toonies, they donate a toonie. If they see bills…I think you get the point.
Be charismatic, silly, polite and aggressive—all in one. I’ll be the first to admit that fundraising is strange. It requires a very unique personality to be successful at it. And I have come to realize that this personality can be defined as a combination of those four characteristics. So even if you aren’t naturally any or all of these things, put on a mask and fake it for a day! Just pretend you’re a flight attendant or a server or something.
Turn on the charm. This is my favourite technique. Once you’ve mastered the personality, sugarcoat it with some charm! Honestly, flirting is pretty much a synonym for fundraising.
Perfect your pitch and pick-up lines. Building upon that idea, successful flirting involves good pick-up lines. So does fundraising. Think of a couple and try them out. Keep the ones that work and trash the ones that don’t.
Don’t be afraid of rejection. Likewise, confidence is a key component of both flirting and fundraising. Not everyone will be down to donate. That’s just the way it goes. You will be rejected. Probably more than once. Just brush that dirt off your shoulder and get back on the horse.
