Are you raising money, engaging others in your community, or recruiting volunteers? If so, it's critical to create a sense of urgency around their positive response to help. The following steps will make all the difference in engaging others, whether you are recruiting for a one-time event or promoting an important cause:
In 2005, Project Partners was assisting an independent school district foundation. The goals were to improve their community profile and raise more money. Then Hurricanes Katrina and Rita devastated the Gulf Coast. In their wake, the board volunteers, foundation and ISD staff hesitated to run a school district employee contributions campaign because the district staff had already responded very generously to both a call for help for hurricane victims and the annual United Way campaign.
Because we provide PR services to our clients, I was recently asked if Project Partners had aided a local nonprofit which had been struggling with fundraising issues. This organization was receiving some media attention and it turned out that they had enlisted an agency with no fundraising expertise to help them out of their slump.
When working to obtain foundation and corporate financial support, building a relationship with the prospective grant maker is half of the work. This is essential, especially if you are applying online, which has become standard. If you haven't created a relationship, it is likely your application won't get more than a glance during the review process, no matter how good it is.
On occasion, passionate people who are looking to advance their cause call me for help. Most of the time, they are looking to "raise funds fast". Knowing that fundraising is a process, is based on relationships, and depends on annual giving cycles by funders, I give them this simple checklist to get them started.
