Face-to-face Fundraising

Do you ever feel like you are stuck in the office? All my fundraising friends tell me they “don’t have time” to get out there and visit donors. The problem is — you’re not going to raise any money in your office. You and I both know that you’ve just got to get in front of donors. I bet that this is the missing ingredient in implementing your major-gift plan. The No. 1 secret to raising lots of money is face time with donors.

Of course, face-to-face is the same as any other medium. To do it right, you have to test, review and modify — with “test” being the maxim. As with other media, face-to-face fundraising won’t work for everybody. But where it does work, it can work exceptionally well.

I've been raising funds for a long time, and I agonize more about making the phone call for the visit than I do the actual presentation to the prospect. As you pick up the phone, don't be concerned if you feel pangs of anxiety. I've found that without challenge, there's no achievement. To ease those palpitations and help ensure that you get to see the person, follow these 11 suggestions …

Here’s a secret you won’t hear from your boss or read in most fundraising books … most fundraisers get nervous when making asks in person. Even those grizzled development veterans at your office or leading fundraising seminars sometimes get nervous before a big ask. Once you have made dozens of asks per year for a couple of years, it will come as second nature. Until it does, here are four practical tips to help you feel more comfortable when making in-person asks for your nonprofit.

Rich Brown, a visiting clinical professor at New York University's George H. Heyman Center for Philanthropy and Fundraising, shared 26 conversation tips during his presentation, "Major Gifts: 15 Things You Absolutely Must Know," at the Association of Fundraising Professionals' Fundraising Day in New York last week.

In case you don’t know, troglodytes are hermits who live in caves. There are three ways I’ve found that folks in the development profession fit this description. Are you a cave dweller? If so, here’s how to get out more. Get out from behind your desk. Begin to embrace social media. Think outside the cave. 

In March 2007, then-FS Associate Editor Abny Santicola interviewed Rabbi Levi Shemtov, executive director of the West Bloomfield, Mich.-based Friendship Circle, to talk about that organization's fundraising success. In "I'm Not a Professional Fundraiser," the rabbi discussed how Friendship Circle focused on one-on-one relationships with donors to "take the ask out of fundraising."

Ted Hart speaks with Marc Pitman, founder of FundraisingCoach.com and member of the FundRaising Success Editorial Advisory Board, about his book, "Ask Without Fear," and fundraising.

Remember in "The Graduate" the one-word piece of advice given to Dustin Hoffman? Plastics. That was seen to be the wave of the future. Recently I gave another “P” word as my best piece of advice for nonprofit marketers and fundraisers. Personal. I received a lot of feedback, so I’d like to revisit this word and flesh out its multiple meanings — and how getting personal can help you achieve your fundraising and marketing goals.

Acknowledge to yourself that the hardest part of fundraising is getting the visit. Once you know this you’ll be less frustrated. There’s nothing wrong with you if you’re having a hard time getting through to someone. Everyone does. Persevere. Try different channels until you find one that works (phone, e-mail, text, snail mail, Facebook, etc.). We all have communication preferences.