The Key to Successful Fundraising Letters is Research! [fundraisingactivities]

The Key to Successful Fundraising Letters is Research! [fundraisingactivities]

Bernard Ross, Director of The Management Centre, presents findings from the company's Global Fundraising Research Project 2009, including the updated Global Fundraising Confidence Survey. The presentation was made at the close of the Global Fundraising Futures Seminar in London on 10 September 2009.

http://webtaj.com Bernard Ross presents findings of Global Fundraising Research Project #1

Meanwhile, Mitt Romney will be hold fundraisers in London and Jerusalem this week as part of an international itinerary, reports Global Research. The London event will coincide with the Romney's horse, Rafalca, taking part in dressage competitions at ... Obama, Romney Fundraising Abroad

Fundraising letters - asking for support from business - are often an important part of any fundraising campaign. Getting them right is crucial. The work that goes into a letter however should start long before you sit down in front of the computer.

The best strategy for small organisations is to carefully target their fundraising requests and the key to a good fundraising letter is research.

So what research should you do?

Find out about your own supporters. - Who are they? Where do they work? What contacts do they have? Keeping volunteer records with a simple question sheet for new volunteers to fill in is an easy way to collect and save this information. If this is not possible simply make sure that you really get to know your volunteers. Talk to them, ask them about what they do and the companies they work for.

Smaller companies are often great prospects for gifts in kind.

Your volunteers can be the key to making that contact. At the very least they can often find out the contact details of the person at their organisation you should be getting in touch with. A personal recommendation from a staff member with any request will also help it carry more weight.

Find out about the companies you think might help you. - Why do you think they are a good prospect? Have you seen them support other groups? Do they have anything about charitable giving or sponsorship on their website. With larger companies this information is often listed under Community, CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) or Sustainability. Do they have a Foundation (charitable giving department)? You may actually find guidelines for how to approach them for support on these web-pages.

Sometimes a simple phone call to reception will help you identify the right person to write a fundraising letter to.

It really does make a difference getting your letter to the right person so try not to skip this step.

Is it a local request? Some companies might only offer help to non profit causes in their immediate locality. This is especially true of smaller organisations who tend to focus very much on their local areas. Some larger organisations will split their charitable efforts between bigger causes but also have special funds etc for local charity groups and community sponsorships which are popular with their own workforce.

Use your research - Your research will help you tailor your fundraising requests. There is no point asking a small company for a major cash donation but they might be great for an annual raffle prize, sponsorship of cup for a challenge event or advertising in a newsletter.

Similarly a bit of research might reveal a company's charitable giving strategy that your organisation could fit to a tee for a nice big sponsorship package! (Well we can always hope!)

Having realistic expectations based on your research is an important part of the process. Tailor your request to the company you are approaching.

Keep a record - The final point to make about research is how to keep it. It really is worth setting up either a simple little database or recording information in a records book. This really doesn't have to be complicated. A simple excel sheet with contact details is the start. Add a few details about the company. Then simply record any correspondence. This will help you keep on top of your fundraising letters and company replies and prevent duplication of requests. It also means that your work can be used and added to by others.

So good fundraising letters begin with research and end with administration! - But you will find spending the time on this is the key to success.

Ready to start your research?

Neill Wilkins

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Question by Taylor: Fundraising ideas for high school kids to buy in school to donate money to breast cancer research? I'm in high school & I need a fundraiser idea to sell at school that kids in 9th through 12th grade would like to buy to donate money to breast cancer research. We can't sell any foods or candy because it's against school rules. I need something kids will like, for example last year we did pink hair extensions for girls & made alot of money. Thanks Best answer for Fundraising ideas for high school kids to buy in school to donate money to breast cancer research?:

Answer by jdahl
How about a pink cell phone sock? I have several of these and use them for my phone, iPod, headphones, make-up brushes, etc... You might even be able to get a company to donate them.

Answer by MyPhoneDied
The best thing I can think of for you is to go around frequently to your family members, co-workers, friends, neighbors and so on and collect as many used cell phones and ipods as possible and then visit: http://www.cellitused.com and sell the phones to this company. I think they even buy broken phones and ipods as well. If you send them phones every couple weeks then you can probably make $ 300 + a month, depending on how many you send them. It also looks good because you are trying to help the environment as well (good selling point when you are asking people for thier old phones). Most people just throw their used cell phones in a closet, drawer, or trash anyways. I hope this helps.

Answer by Book Sale Manager
Hello, Book sales may be a fund raising event of interest to you. The money can be used for club purposes and or donated to a literacy organization. All across the nation, many organizations hold book sales that feature cheap books that were either donated or removed from circulation of a library. Typically these sales sell books, CDs, magazines, and DvD's for rock bottom prices. This type of fundraiser helps generate much needed funds while promoting literacy in the community. One resource I have found online that gives a good overview on how to run one. http://www.associatedcontent.com/article… Being charity organizations, these nonprofit organizations often have limited resources to advertise and promote their sales. As such, many people are never made aware of the excellent deals they are missing within their own communities. That's where http://www.booksalemanager.com comes ins. We are attempting to bridge the gap between Organizations looking to more effectively advertise their sale, and people looking to find more places to get good deals on books and media. Organizations and other non-profit groups can freely advertise their sale on our site. People looking to find sales can use our powerful search tools to find these sales. They can search by state, zip code, sale size, and date ranged. Furthermore, people can create an account and save sales to their calendar to help them better track the sales they want to go to. Accounts also allow users to be notified if a new sale is listed in their area and send notifications to remind them of an upcoming sale. All these features help increase sales for the organization and promote a successful sale. I believe book sales are a great way to find bargain books and media while at the same time supporting the local organizations we all know and love. It's a total win-win. Thank you for your time and if you have any other questions, please let me know. Jessica Booksalemanager.com

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