Not every donor is necessarily going to come to you – for larger donations and sponsorships, you’ll have to pitch your charity. Here’s how.
Every successful charity has a few major donors or sponsors that give them the lion’s share of their funds. If you want to count yours among that number, you’re going to have to practice courting those donors. Doing so is very different from pitching to the average person, however.
There are a number of things you’ll want to do – and things you’ll want to avoid – that wouldn’t even come into play with regular donation drives.
Do: Learn To Listen
We’ve all met that one guy at a party who drones incessantly about himself without letting anyone else get a word in edgewise. We all know how annoying that is, right? Do you want to be the pitch meeting equivalent of that guy?
If not, don’t spend your entire time talking about your charity. Communication is a two-way street. Make an effort to engage your prospective sponsor.
Don’t: Focus Solely On Your Charity’s Needs
Ideally, you’re here to raise money for your cause. That’s a given – and I guarantee your donor or sponsor knows that already.
You want to take into account what you can do for your donor – not what they can do for you. With that in mind, listen to your prospect talk about what they are looking for. Are they a Corporate Social Responsibility executive looking to assist your charity in running a joint event, or simply a philanthropist who wants to spread some of their hard-earned wealth?
The needs of your donor can and should change your pitch to them.
Do: Strive To Understand Your Donor’s Industries
Do you understand the industry in which your donor works? Are you aware of the current trends they face and current events which might make your charity a great choice for them? The more knowledgeable you are about your donor, the better. If you’re able to show them you have an understanding of their challenges and victories, they’re going to be much more engaged with you.
Don’t: Focus on Problems
Most donors don’t need you to spend half an hour going over the problems your charity is trying to solve. They’re usually smart enough to work out those details on their own. Instead, what you should focus on is your solution to those problems – on precisely what your charity is doing to better the world.
Do: Tell A Story
You’ve doubtless heard that all the most successful marketers are skilled storytellers. Rather than giving a boring presentation, they’re able to tell an engaging, interesting narrative about their brand’s beginnings, goals, and values. Those skills are every bit as valuable in a pitch meeting as they are in a marketing campaign.
Don’t treat your meeting with your sponsor as a presentation. Instead, treat it as you telling them the story of your cause and your charitable organization. Treat it as you telling them how with their help, you can save the world.
Don’t: Use Jargon
Jargon has its place in every industry. For those in the know, it’s useful shorthand to help us avoid having to spell out abstract concepts every time they come up in conversation. Here’s the thing, though – your sponsors aren’t necessarily going to be in the know.
Jargon that might be understandable and obvious to you will come across to them as obtuse and confusing at best, condescending at worst. Your best bet is to avoid spouting buzzwords altogether. If there are any high-level concepts you need to bring up, figure out how to explain them in layman’s terms.
Do: Be Professional, Patient, and Persistent
Pitching to a sponsor or major donor is a much more protracted, prolonged affair than pitching to an ordinary consumer. Rather than simply making a pitch and raking in some money, you should look at this as a courtship. Your relationship with a sponsor doesn’t start in the pitch room – rather, it starts with you warming them up to the idea of a pitch (more on that in a moment).
For every interaction you engage in, consider how you come across. Be quick, responsive, and clear in all your communiques. And don’t be afraid to follow-up if you don’t receive a reply initially.
Don’t: Pester People
As an addendum to the above: most of the organizations and individuals you’ll target with your efforts are extremely busy people. Trying to contact them every day, several times a day is just going to get on their nerves – it won’t make them likelier to support your cause. Ideally, you’ll want to give it a day between each of your attempts to contact them.
And if they don’t respond by the third attempt, just assume they aren’t interested. It’s not the end of the world – there are plenty of other donors out there you can reach out to, instead.
Do: Keep Your Pitch Simple
You don’t need to reinvent the wheel or try to explain quantum physics with your donation pitch. Keep it down to a simple message: who you are, what you do, why you do it, and how the person you’re speaking to can help. That’s all you need to say – quick, easy, and to-the-point.
Most corporations and major investors are so used to dealing with people who beat around the bush and try to sell them nonsense that they’ll likely appreciate the candor.
Don’t: Do “Cold” Asks
Here’s where it gets really complicated. You can’t just reach out and ask for a huge donation straight out of the blue (well, you can – your attempt will probably fail, though). Instead, you need to warm up your donor to the idea of working with you.
Engage with them on social media. Attend their public events. Offer them opportunities to get involved within your own organizations, and treat them as colleagues rather than potential donation funds.
Do: Prepare Adequately
Before you meet with a prospective donor, you need to ensure you’re fully prepared. What kind of questions will they ask? Who will do the talking? What pitch will you give, and how will you adjust that pitch on the fly to their responses?
They’ll be able to tell if you go in and try to wing it – so don’t.
Don’t: Forget Why You’re Asking In The First Place
Last but certainly not least, it’s easy to lose sight of the reason behind all this amidst all the schmoozing. Never forget who you are, or why you do what you do. You’re here to change the world for the better – and everything you do should ultimately be in the pursuit of that goal.
Great advice. It’s always about the donor and his or her needs, not the organization’s wants and desires.
Good donor-centric advice. We also like to offer a “menu” of capital projects to donors. Modern philanthropists are sophisticated and want options rather than being pigeon holed into one campaign. Give them options!
Storytelling has become increasingly important to match donor affinity with organizational fundraising opportunities.
Great advice! Thanks.
We are currently reviewing past donors and hope to reconnect with several of them to support our current projects.
Nice tips! We have development officers that may fit into at least one of these don’ts. I have forwarded on to them.
Thanks for the article!
Great list! Fundraising is so much more than cold calling.
Great tips. Thanks!
Always a good review 🙂
Really helpful article – thank you!
Really good advice.
Listen the ask. The first rule you’re taught in fundraising. No matter how many years go by, it’s still the most important way to start! Thanks!
Very helpful article. Thank you!
You nailed this one. The biggest mistake I see in fundraising is not listening. Take time to listen to your donor. Take time to listen to the need. Take time to relate your conversation to the need of your donor and your organization.
The listening piece applies to everything, right?!?!
This is great, I feel like sometimes it is easy to forget the small things like not using jargon.
Great reminder – especially this time of year.
Telling personal stories are really effective where people can easily connect. Great article and thanks for sharing!
Nice tips!
Excellent tips. Thanks!
Thank you for the good advice!
Good stuff!
Excellent points especially on cold asks!
EVERY volunteer fundraiser should read this article!
Using Jargon–one of my pet peeves!
Thank you for the reminders…and some new advice!
These are great tips to keep in mind. Thank you for sharing.
Great tips!
This is nice. Would love to hear something new and innovative when it comes to MG approach – is there anything or is tried and true the only way for those deep-pocket donors?
Great reminders. I have great respect for those who do this successfully!
Excellent reminders! Listening is a skill that I find a lot of people lack so this is great advice.
Great tips!
Great tips, especially as we look to grow our individual giving program!
Passing this along to our gift officers, thank you!
great tips!
Thanks for sharing. Listening to people is a great skill set unfortunately not many posses.