Improve your fundraising results: eight top tips

Some of the most important things in fundraising don’t feel like fundraising.

You’d be forgiven for thinking that fundraising is all about asking for money.

But a good fundraiser knows that that’s actually only a small part of the job. The real time-consuming stuff, and the really important stuff, are the things that happen before and after the asks. In fact, if you get really good at the ‘in between’ stuff, you start to see that your asks become easier and your results improve.

And yet we neglect these things.

Why?

Because they don’t feel like fundraising.

But it’s a false economy. Making a bunch of cold calls and asking for money or gifts in kind feels like fundraising. Posting social media post after social media post, asking for a donation feels like fundraising. Organising a big gala ball or a Golf Classic even feels like fundraising because of all of the little transactions along the way.

But are they the best use of your time?

The best fundraisers I know carve time in their schedule for fundraising that doesn’t feel like fundraising. And if you want to see your results improve then perhaps ask less and do the following eight things more:

1. Conversations with staff and beneficiaries

We have nothing if we don’t have stories that demonstrate the work of our non-profits. Someone once said to me that a fundraiser not collecting stories is like a sports writer not going to watch sport. So it’s important we make time to sit down with staff and beneficiaries (if possible) to ask them questions and build our story bank.

2. ‘Thank you’ letters and calls

By now we should all be subscribed to the ‘ask, thank, report’ mentality, but how many times do we dismiss a ‘thank you’ letter as a simple receipt? Actually, a ‘thank you’ is one of our most important (and my favourite) fundraising tools. The better the ‘thank you’, the more likely you are to get further support. It shouldn’t just be read and then binned… It should be so amazing that the reader tells their friends and family.

3. Ask questions

Asking supporters questions is a great way to find out more about your followers and help them feel engaged. And actually, it’s a great bit of content when you can’t think of or don’t have time to write something new. Haven’t mailed your mailing list for a while? Try emailing them, “Hey! Just wondering if I can ask why you signed up in the first place?”

4. Prospect research and cultivation

The more we know about our potential corporates and major donors, the better our ask. Let’s move away from writing our standard proposal and printing hundreds of copies. Instead, let’s take time to learn as much as possible and build that relationship to the point where our proposal is pretty much just a personalised confirmation.

5. Teach volunteers to fundraise

Your volunteers raise more when you teach them how to fundraise. They don’t sit at home thinking about fundraising, they don’t know what to suggest to their employer, they don’t know what to email to their family, and they don’t know what wording to use on their Facebook. A bit of encouragement and guidance goes a long way and is proven to help them raise more – certainly worth the time it takes to make a quick phone call.

6. Network

Yes, it sucks and you’ll probably feel really anxious at first. But networking doesn’t have to be a nightmare. It’s actually a great opportunity to meet people who share your values. People whose goals you can help achieve. And people who can help you. It’s no secret… The more people you know and the more people that want to help you, the easier fundraising (and life) is. So let’s get out there and start listening.

7. Learn from other fundraisers

There’s only so much you can learn from fundraising courses and books. In fact, with some fundraising qualifications you don’t actually learn anything. No… Most of our learnings come from other fundraisers. Why make the same mistake your peer made two years ago? Fundraisers are notoriously generous with their time and support, and for the price of a cup of hot chocolate you can pick the brains of some of the world’s best.

8. Self-care

Fundraising is a tough job. One of the toughest. It’s mentally exhausting and emotionally draining. And it’s limitless… You can always be doing more. And your boss, your Board and your donors will take as much as you give them. The only person that can clock you off is you. So schedule time for self-care, switch off your phone and do something that makes you forget about fundraising.