How to Set Up a Lecture or Meeting with Supporters
Once you have a loyal band of supporters to help you with
your fund-raising efforts, you will need to meet with them
regularly to discuss problems and progress. Where and how
you do this will depend to a great extent on how many
people will be meeting together and what venue is available.
If you are working from an office, it might be simpler to
have everyone meet there - if there is enough room. Or you
may be able to borrow a presentation room from your
company. You can also book a lecture room at hotels or
centers designed for this, a community or church hall or
have them in your own home if necessary. The latter is not
ideal, especially if there is a large number of people, due
to the possibility of your home being in a hard to find
area, lack of parking space, and lack of room and
facilities.
Once you've decided on a venue and let everyone know the
place and time, there are several things to organize. If
you are using a computer screen for presentation and the
computer is provided, make sure that it is high enough for
those in the back rows to see. It needs to be at least five
foot high to make it above the seated height of most people.
Arrange the chairs with plenty of internal aisles. People
never seem to sit in the middle of a row, and if anyone
comes late or has to leave early they'll be climbing over
the others. Don't cram the chairs or the rows together if
there is plenty of room. Most people like their space.
If you need to use tables rather than a computer, try to
arrange them in a U shape with the chairs around the
outside edges. This will allow everyone to see the speaker
and have table space too.
Have plenty of material for the supporters to take home. No
one relies on memory these days. Record the minutes and
send them to all by email within a few days. It's not too
much to add an in-depth summary of the meeting and add it
to the minutes - along with the time and place of the next
meeting.
Make sure that you have access to a sound system and
microphone to save vocal strain. Even if the room is small,
once people start talking it will be hard to make yourself
heard, at least at first. If you can't have a mike, have a
bell or whistle - or at least tap a spoon against a glass -
to herald that you are about to speak.
How to Encourage Annual Giving from Your Supporters
Once you have good supporters, it's a great deal easier to
encourage them to give annually than start out all over
again looking for new supporters. For a start, they are now
familiar with your goals - even if you have to jog their
memories a little from time to time - and they know what to
expect. Your organization has obviously met with their
approval once, so it's not hard to keep that ball rolling.
It's a good idea to keep your supporters informed about
what you are doing throughout the year so that they won't
forget you. Then when it's time for another donation, you
can start off by thanking them for their patronage last
year. All companies enjoy a bit of free publicity and if
they can be seen to be doing good to the community they
will be happy to keep it up, so it's important to make sure
the community knows about their last donation.
You can do this at the time of the donation by publicly
thanking them. This could be in the form of a letter to the
editor of your local paper - then it won't cost you
anything. Or it could be in the form of a comment in your
advertising, wherever that appears; the paper, a website or
other online presence, and your flyers and brochures.
You could even send them a fancy, certificate-style letter
of thanks, commending them for their foresight and
generosity to your cause. This won't cost much with modern
technology to call on for designing and printout. Some
people give gifts to the supporter who donates or raises
the most money, but unless these are donated gifts, it will
take away from the total of your fundraising. On the other
hand, a box of gourmet chocolates or a nice bottle of wine
may be a nice touch and doesn't cost all that much.
So, having done the groundwork, it won't be very hard to
approach them again and ask for another donation. When a
supporter is thanked sincerely and constantly informed and
encouraged both verbally and with written material, it
makes them feel benevolent and happy to donate again -
especially when you are being sincere, rather than
obviously flattering them for a reason.
Making sure your supporters know exactly how their money
was spent is also important. They should be sent a copy of
the annual report plus any other material relevant. Include
graphics in your presentation wherever possible because
busy people can read the heading and look at the pictures
and know immediately what it is all about. This saves them
time and so keeps them happy.
How to Plan a Fundraising Event
All events take a great deal of planning and the fundraiser
is no exception. No matter whether you are organizing a
raffle, a car wash, a cookie drive, a walkathon or a major
event like a concert or dinner, organization is the key to
make all run smoothly.
Start early; the bigger the event the more time you will
need. Six months ahead is not too early to start organizing
some events. If you are raising money for a well-known
cause, get in touch with them, as they will have guidelines
to help make your task easier. They may also have certain
rules that you will be required to follow.
Decide on the type of fundraising you will do and whether
you will need help. If you will, select your team and make
sure all have tasks for which they are suited. The bigger
the event, the more helpers you are likely to need. You'll
need a committee and sub-committee for each facet such as
marketing, advertising, catering, bookkeeping, etc. Meet
frequently with your staff and volunteers so that you can
check on their progress and sort out any problems.
Ask for donations from family, friends and businesses to
cover your running costs and for the prizes if there are to
be any. Create a budget and a timeline for when things must
be done and see that everyone involved gets one. Book
venues and caterers well in advance.
See if there are state rules and regulations of which you
need to be aware. It won't help your cause to be associated
with breaking the law, even if you were ignorant of it,
which is not considered an excuse. Find out what insurance
you need. You may need to pay tax so check with an
accountant about the rules in your state. Always make sure
all monies are accounted for.
Make sure that your event does not clash with any other
popular event, and that it is seasonally appropriate. For
instance, don't hold an outdoors concert in a season known
for its storms or cold nights.
Have invitations printed and make sure there is plenty of
publicity about the event well before it is to be held.
Invite media representatives. Hire a photographer of your
own to record the event; don't depend on photos from the
media.
After the event, make sure you thank all concerned by
letter - don't forget the volunteers as well as the
sponsors. Include a brochure containing images of the event
in each thank-you letter. Have one last meeting with the
volunteers to see if you want to do it again next year and
sort out any problems you had. You may find better ways of
doing things.
More to come in Part 5...
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