I take the strong and unwavering position that members of the board of trustees and other volunteers are the people who must raise all or most of the money for a non-profit organization.
These days far too many boards and eager-to-please development professionals are starting down the slippery slope of relying on staff to be the gift solicitors of first resort.
Following is an overview of how I would see the effectiveness of staff solicitations vs. solicitations made by volunteers.
• When a volunteer solicitor’s relationship to a prospect, relative to the solicitor’s level of giving, is the same or more than the prospect, the following qualities are shared:
1. Career Status
2. Economic Status
3. Social Position
4. Interest In The Organization
5. Mutual Respect
• When a staff member-solicitor is compared to a prospective donor, only the following qualities are usually shared:
1. Interest In The Organization
2. Mutual Respect
What do you say? Wouldn’t you rather have five out of five of the best chances for major gifts working for your organization – or only the two a staff member brings to the asking table?
The best solicitor is a member of the prospect’s peer group or the peer group to which the prospect aspires. The CEO of a company is far more likely to share career status, economic status, and social position with another business leader than the development director or even the executive director of a non-profit organization.
Ideally, prospective donors should be asked to give by someone likely to have a high degree of influence with them. Qualities to look for in a solicitor for a specific prospect include:
1. Past association with the prospect: The solicitor could be someone a prospect knows professionally, shares the same neighborhood with, or has in some other way had positive and meaningful contact.
2. Charisma: People who have a compelling presence and an infectious personality can influence both the willingness to give and the size of the gift.
3 Stature: People are flattered when someone they consider important asks them for a contribution.
4. Commitment: The higher the degree of devotion and dedication to an organization and its programs that a volunteer solicitor manifests, the more successful he or she will be in convincing others.
I have heard the argument made that a staff member’s commitment to an organization and the respect that he or she has earned in the community or in the eyes of the prospect is enough to overcome an absence of shared social, economic, and career points. Don’t you believe it!
Peer group influence and leverage are and always will be two of the best solicitation tools of fund-raising.
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Have a question or comment about the above posting?
You can Ask Tony.
There is also a lot of good fundraising information on his website:
Raise-Funds.com
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Have you seen
The Fundraising Series of ebooks ??
They’re easy to read, to the point, and cheap ($1.99 – $3.99) ☺
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Hank Lewis with Development Consultant Associates has over thirty years as a fundraising consultant and is a specialist in Board and Leadership Development, Capital Campaign, Bequest Program and Major Gifts.