One of the biggest points to remember in fundraising is that people give their hard earned money to a charity because they were asked! It’s plain and simple. Every major group does this from the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) to the ASPCA. Even churches do this when they pass around a collection plate.
People tend to be wrapped up in their day to day lives, thinking about making dinner, a big project at work, going over homework with their kids or planning a vacation. Our lives are filled to the brim with events and details, and we all have electronic communications that never let us rest for a minute. People aren’t being callous, they are just busy focusing on their own lives. As rescuers and fundraisers, you need to be the one to step forward and remind people of the problems around them and ASK them for their help in solving the problem.
One quote I reflect on frequently is by G. K. Chesteron, a British writer. He said:
“It isn’t that they can’t see the solution. It is that they can’t see the problem.‖G. K. Chesterton (1874-1936), British writer
Wake people up from their daily lives, show them the problems in the community, present the solutions and ASK for their support in making a difference.
Think about it….
If you walked into a church service, and no one passed around a collection plate, would you leave money in the pew or at the altar later on?
If you passed a homeless person on the street, would you automatically reach into your wallet for a $5 bill to hand to them?
Would you automatically assume that you need to chaperone a high school dance for your teen? Were you asked?
Remember, if YOU aren’t asking your donors and community members for a donation to help your cause, someone else will! Money should not be considered as a finite amount. People will give to more than one cause, especially if they feel connected to them. Many charities noted their donation levels remained the same after the tsunami and Hurricane Katrina aid programs received heavy donations. People give MORE when they are asked for more.
Your group must BE the group that asks. Don’t feel shy about it. We all like to brag about our wonderful animals. We should be like proud parents with brag books and photo albums showing off the faces of the adoptables in our rescues. It’s for our animals that we talk to people about donations, sponsorships, donation requests, and in-kind donations.
MAKE THE ASK!
Thanks for this great post on fundraising ideas for churches, I was searching for something along the lines of this and in the top 20 results at google, yours was the most informed and well presented. I was wondering, do you think Easy Fund Raising Ideas would make a great topic for a future post here? Or did you do that already?