Individual Donor Fundraising Campaign

Tips for Meetings (or phone calls that have been scheduled) with Donors & Prospects:

Opening:

  • Introduce yourself & thank them for taking the time to meet.
  • If in person, you’ll usually spend the first few minutes with settling in, ordering food or drink if you’re meeting at a café, etc.
  • Option: State purpose first – “As you know, I’d like to speak with you about making a contribution to ______but before we get to that I want to have a chance to hear from you and to tell you a bit about our current work”.
  • OR start with a question, eg, “before I give you an update on what ______is up to, I wanted to ask you what you already know about us, and what most interests you about our work.”

Middle:

  • This is the most fun part of any meeting. Think of it as an opportunity to have an interesting conversation about the issues you’re working on. Think of questions to ask the donor, many of whom (especially older or longer-term ones) will have a long history of supporting and/or working on the issues you address in your work.
  • This section of your meeting or call is the most organic, that is, it should flow from what interests or questions the donor has or the questions you ask of them. If they are not very forthcoming, you can always ask them if they’d like to hear about the accomplishments of the organization and your plans over the next year. And if things lag a bit after that, you can ask if they have any additional questions for you. Then move to the close.

Close:

  • Make the ask! Ways to phrase it (but use your own words) –“So I’m hoping you’ll renew your gift of $250 at this time. Would that work for you?” or “Is it possible for you to consider increasing your gift to $500 this year? As you can see, we’d like to be able to do ______in the coming year and your support will really help us make it happen.”
  • After they respond (whatever they say), thank them for their support and for taking the time to speak with you. Even if they say no (which is less likely once they’ve agreed to speak and/or meet with you), thank them for their time and whatever feedback they’ve given you.
  • Confirm how they’ll make the gift. “Would you like to write a check or pay by credit card?” (Take down CC info if appropriate.) If they say they’ll give later, give them a reply envelope and/or the link to your donate page and ask if they’ll be able to fulfill the pledge within the next week. (Unless they specify that they’ll be giving later in the year.)

After the Meeting or Call:

  • Write up any notes so you can keep track of anything you learn about the donor in your database.
  • If there’s anything they asked you about that you said you’d have to find out and get back to them, make sure to do that.
  • Send a thank you email as soon as possible, even if they haven’t sent in or made their contribution yet. It can be a good reminder to them to do that.

By Stephanie Roth,