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19 Tips for Effective Fundraising with Letters
A study conducted by the Direct Marketing Association in 2003 indicated that the
average response rate for direct mail campaigns across all major industries was
2.61%. The response rate for nonprofit fundraisers was significantly higher,with
an average of 5.35%. The reported ranges included a low of 0.19%, a median of
3.07% and a high of 26.5%.
Given the staggering competition for charitable contributions and corporate
sponsorships, what can you do to increase your organization’s chances of being
on the high end of the spectrum? I have provided a list of tips that I have
found to be particularly helpful. Individual results will vary based upon a
number of factors, including organizational commitment to the campaign, the
number and quality of prospects, your organization’s reputation for providing
necessary services for the community, timing, etc.
1.
Before soliciting any funds, be sure your organization is registered with the
Attorney General’s Office
http://www.ag.state.il.us/charities/register_report.html to read about
registration requirements and to download the
necessary forms.
2. If you
work with a professional fundraiser, make sure s/he is also registered with the
Attorney General’s Office of your
state. You can contact the Attorney General’s Office to verify whether or not
the fundraising consultant is registered.
3. Identify a
revenue goal, and strategies to reach it.
4. Establish
a realistic budget and timeframe to organize and implement your campaign.
5. Engage
donors and prospects before you ask for money. Send annual reports and
newsletters, and invite them to special
events, etc.
6. Start your
solicitation with your organization’s board members. If your board members are
not engaged, it will be difficult
to garner excitement from other prospects. It will also be helpful to be able to
tell other prospects that you have 100%
participation from the board.
7. Develop a
list of prospects consisting of individuals and organizations that are likely to
support your cause. This should
include the organization’s board members and employees and their contacts;
current and former organizational clients;
organization vendors; community residents; organizational partners; civic
leaders who have shown an interest in your
organization’s issue; and corporations that sell products that would perceive
your clients as a desirable target audience.
This is a numbers game. The more prospects you have, the better.
8. If your
direct mail campaign will last a couple months or so, consider supplementing the
letter with reminder cards, notes
on your website, a signature in your e-mail transmittals, ads in neighborhood
newspapers or announcements in your
organization’s own newsletter.
9. Let the
reader know why you are writing within the first paragraph of the letter. In the
event s/he doesn’t read the entire
letter, you want him/her to read enough to consider your request, or pass it on
to the appropriate person in the
organization. Even if the reader decides not to give at this time, you will have
at least let him/her know about your
organization and its accomplishments.
10. Consider
using creative graphic design to engage the reader’s interest or to emphasize
key points.
11. Draw
connections between your organization’s mission, goals and values and the core
values of the individual prospect,
or the mission, goals and values of the prospect organization.
12. Indicate
how the gift will be in the mutual best interests of the organization and the
prospective donor. A tax deduction in
and of itself does not suffice.
13. Clearly
demonstrate your organization or program’s track record of success. If your
organization is a start up, cast your
vision for success. Express this in terms of numbers of clients served, impact
(positive change) on the community and
client (not the organization), percentage increases in growth, problems solved,
return on investment, etc.
14. Get
“behind the numbers” by providing anecdotal evidence of success (ie, human
interest stories). Provide pictures that
clearly demonstrate impact to clients or the community. Good examples include
before and after pictures, or candid shots
of a program in progress. (Remember to get signed releases if your subjects are
people)
15. Follow up
the letter with a phone call within a week of sending it out. Continue to call
the prospect until you get a
definitive “yes” or “no”. A word of caution: Do not make a nuisance of yourself.
16. If you
are working with a group of volunteers to make follow up phone calls, make sure
they have a prepared script or
speaking points so that your organization’s message is consistent. Educate them
on the campaign, your organization’s
mission and accomplishments so they may field questions.
17. If you
are receiving pledges, confirm any oral pledges in writing immediately. Include
an invoice to increase the likelihood
of collection.
18. Follow up
with a thank you letter within a week of receiving the gift.
19. Send
informal progress reports from time to time
About Valerie F. Leonard
Valerie F. Leonard is a Chicago-based community development consultant, with a
mission to strengthen the capacity of organizations to make a positive impact on
the communities they serve through technical assistance, specialized workshops,
resource and organizational development and project management. For further
information, you may call Ms. Leonard at 773-521-3137, visit
www.valeriefleonard.com or e-mail
her at
consulting@valeriefleonard.com.
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