First Step Towards Gaining Supporters & Raising Money
In fundraising the best standard to follow to nurture supporters is to contact the individual seven times a year without asking for money. The most important aspect to keep supporters, expand the supporter base, grow donors and volunteers and have a successful fundraising campaign is being consistent; gather as much information about the potential supporter and recording it. Listed below are many suggestions for opportunities to communicate. Pick seven or come up with your own.
· January 1 New Year’s Day
· Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (3rd Monday of January)
· February 14 Valentine’s Day
· February 18 Presidents Day (3rd Monday of February)
· April 21 Patriot’s Day (3rd Monday of April)
· May 11 Mother’s Day (2nd Sunday of May)
· May 26 Memorial Day (last Monday of May)
· June 14 Flag Day
· June 15 Father’s Day (3rd Sunday of June)
· July 4 Independence Day
· September 1 Labor Day (first Monday of September)
· September 2 First day of Ramadan (Islamic, movable based on Lunar calendar)
· September 11 Patriots Day
· September 30 - October 1 Rosh Hashanah (Jewish; movable, based on Jewish calendar)
· October 9 Yom Kippur (Jewish, movable, 9 days after first day of Rosh Hashanah)
· October 13 Columbus Day (2nd Monday of October)
· October 14 First day of Sukkot (Jewish; movable, 14 days after Rosh Hashanah)
· October 20 Last Day of Sukkoth (Jewish)
· October 31 Halloween
· November 11 Veterans Day
· November 27 Thanksgiving (4th Thursday of November)
· December 22 First day of Hanukkah (Jewish; movable, based on Jewish calendar)
· December 25 Christmas (Christian)
· December 26 First day of Kwanzaa
· December 31 New Year’s Eve
· Newsletter
· Donors/Volunteers/Friends Birthday
8th Contact used to ask for financial support:
· Annual fundraising event
· Annual campaign
June 28th, 2008 at 4:58 pm
One pattern I see among the stories I work with at Ashoka in their Citizen Base Initiative is that successful ‘fundraisers’ involve their audience or stakeholders at a deeper level than mere 7 points of contact. So, you get this group in South Africa that wants to address the issue of unemployment and thinks to gather used tools and teach skills to these unemployed day laborers but instead of holding a ‘tool drive’ or asking for donations to purchase tools they had the unemployed person pick up the donated tool personally from the home of the willing in-kind donor. That personal connection forged a relationship that led to willing volunteers and financial donors beyond the simple in-kind donation.
There are numerous ways to have a point of contact beyond a mailing. Simple marketing such as a request to blog about their organization if they had a good experience volunteering or willingness to wear a t-shirt or band of support. Those physical actions inspire commitment more so that a mailing.