| How do I raise more money? | If you've hit a plateau, ytou need more people asking for support on behalf of your cause. |
Fundraising is one of the most relentless activities in nonprofit life. Unless you are a thriving social enterprise or a government-funded institution, the important work you do doesn’t get to pay for itself.
The fact that you need to fundraise isn’t a good thing or a bad thing – it’s just the nature of our sector. Most independently-funded nonprofits need to be nurturing relationships, writing grant proposals, updating supporters, and seeking new funders all year round.
In the early days of a campaign or an organization, fundraising can be an exciting challenge. It’s a mystery, a puzzle that needs to be solved: You’re figuring out how to explain the importance of your work, who your supporters are, and each success teaches you something new.
After a while, there comes a plateau. You’re working as hard as you can, but you still need to raise more money. This is a different kind of puzzle.
If you plateau before you are raising enough money to do your work well, or if the effort to raise those funds is draining you and your team, then your approach isn’t sustainable. It’s common, and you’re not alone … but it’s not sustainable.
This is a state many nonprofit veterans call “the hamster wheel” — you are working as hard as you can but you aren’t getting anywhere new. When you’re in this position, you can’t grow by just doing more of the same. You don’t want to compromise the things that are working, and trying to draft more grant proposals or squeeze in one more event won’t solve the problem.
If you want better results, the good news is that the solution isn’t to do even more work. You don’t need to more; you need to do things differently.
The amount of money you raise often depends on the number of people you can ask for support. If you are relying on one or two people to do all the asking, your fundraising potential is limited to what they can accomplish with their limited time. You’re also limited to the personal and professional relationships those individuals can nurture.
When you plateau, it’s usually a sign that you’ve maxed out capacity. One person or one department can’t grow your revenue and donor base infinitely. You need a team of fundraising ambassadors.
Fundraising ambassadors could be board members, advisors, influencers, departmental staff, or partners. They don’t have to be wealthy or capable of donating themselves. They just need to know your organization’s work and be comfortable asking others to support the cause.
Empowering more people to ask for money might be a simple next step – it’s possible your board members have been waiting for this moment and are ready to roll up their sleeves.
Or, de-centralizing your fundraising efforts might represent a huge culture change for an organization. If this idea makes you nervous, don’t worry! We aren’t talking about letting volunteers and allies run away on you — empowerment gives more people tools and motivation to secure funds for priority projects and activities.
When you bring in fundraising ambassadors, your job shifts from being the one who does all the asking to one who supports others so they can do the asking. It’s a big step, but it’s life-changing.
A well-orchestrated fundraising strategy allows many different people to ask for financial support from individuals and organizations who align with your values. It allows an organization to achieve what one person or one small team cannot achieve alone, especially as priorities stack up.
With the right tools and encouragement, anyone who wants to help can fundraise. They don’t need to think of themselves as salespeople and they don’t need to have wealthy friends.
This is where you come in. Ambassadors need to be able to communicate the same things:
> why your organization’s work is important
> the amount of money needed
> where the funds will be spent
> how a donor can take the next step.
To prepare your new fundraising team for success, you are going to need to create a call-to-action script. A call action script ties your ambassadors’ personal motivation with the facts of your organization’s work; together, this information creates an effective pitch for support.
[See the end of the newsletter for specific instructions.]
Once your ambassadors know the organization’s needs, it’s time to send them out into the world to share your calls to action.
These ambassadors don’t have to be full-time fundraisers. If you’re hosting a gala, their role may be just to talk to as many guests as possible that evening. Perhaps board members can share the call-to-action a few times a year at appropriate social events. If they’re a loyal sponsor, they might help recruit others from their professional network.
For big asks or formal processes, the ambassador may simply open the door. You can get involved to close the deal. This is a great way to use everyone’s time and effectively.
If you feel like you’re doing everything you can and you still need to raise more funds, it’s time to expand your team.
Organizations that have been around for a long time have strong support networks. They don’t depend on one person to do it all. Instead, they leverage the power of a community to secure resources for the work ahead. If they can do it, so can you.
Q: How do I … raise more money?
A: Nonprofit fundraising best practices include recruiting ambassadors to reach more potential supporters. Use this Call to Action Script to give ambassadors the information they need to advocate for the cause.
A call-to-action script equips speakers with the information they need to ask for support for your organization. It can be written like a story, summarized in a series of bullet points, recorded, or shared orally — use whichever format will be most memorable for your ambassadors.
This doesn’t have to be a big planning project! Scripts only need to be a few sentences long. You can probably prepare one in the next 10 minutes if you need to. (Go ahead, I dare you – this sample will help!)
The first part of a call-to-action script is unique to every speaker. They’ll describe their relationship to the cause and the organization and explain why the work is important from their point of view.
All you need to do is give your ambassadors some prompts, such as:
I’ve been involved with this organization since ….
This cause is important to me because …
In the next few years, I believe we can accomplish …
Their answers don’t need to be long or the story elaborate: it just needs to be genuine. By sharing their personal motivation, your ambassador builds trust with the potential donor and establishes credibility.
The second part of the call-to-action script is the same for everyone:
For a fundraising call-to-action, you have three options: you can ask for money, ask for advice on how to raise more money, or ask for introductions to people who can help you raise money.
For the ask itself, when you ask for money, be specific. If you need to raise $30,000, your speaker should know that’s the goal. If annual memberships cost $25, your speaker should have that ready for the donor!
Your script maintains messaging, but every ambassador can put the information into their own natural words. All you need is to do is give them the facts so that they accurately describe the issue and the donor’s options.
The Organizer is a newsletter for people working to create equitable and sustainable communities. Whether you are part of a nonprofit, a charity, or a social enterprise, this newsletter is for you.
Each edition, we explore one aspect of social impact work. We answer a common “How do I …?” question, and we tell you about a tool that will help make your work a little easier. Subscribe for free at Entremission.com.