Fight the Right Action Kit Effective Fundraising Against the Right Part 1 of 2 ----- by Linda Lee Welch, Fundraising Director, Campaign for a Hate-Free Oregon ----- The Religious Right has used oppression against gay men and lesbians very effectively as a fundraising tool. This article is intended to give you some insight on how to turn the tables and raise the large sums of money needed to counter their distortions and lies. Effective fundraising accomplishes several objectives: >> It raises the money needed to wage a campaign >> It broadens your base of support by building a variety of constituencies >> It helps organize and focus your community's opposition >> It promotes visibility for your issue It is essential to have high expectations for your fundraising goals and realistic means of attaining those goals. In the sections that follow we'll look at major donor development, direct mail, events and foundation/organization support. The most important factor in fundraising is having a plan. Many organizations and campaigns spend little time developing a concrete, realistic, attainable plan. When there is no plan or when goals are unrealistic, it's easy for those responsible for fundraising to get sidetracked on other issues or to feel overwhelmed by the immensity of the job. In developing a plan, consider the following: GET ORGANIZED! Gather together a small committee to brainstorm in preparation for developing the fundraising plan. This committee needs to be informed on the campaign plan, especially the campaign message. Members should be people who know how to access money for your community. These are not necessarily the people who will carry out the plan, but they will provide access to people and ideas that will be invaluable. Include people from the following communities: gay and lesbian; business; religious; labor; arts; chamber s of commerce; people of color; etc. Invite large business owners, development directors, philanthropists, etc. Remember that you are building a broad-based constituency as well as raising money. Too often we try to raise all the money and votes we need from within the gay and lesbian community. Ten percent of the population just can't provide the financial support or the 50%-plus-one vote needed to win the election! Business and community leaders have a vested interest in defeating the religious right. Being against bigotry is good for business. Not all of them will accept your invitation to participate, but asking begins to raise their position on the issue. When people in these communities commit their time and financial resources, you are helping build a coalition of support which will insure defeat of your opponents. Before your first meeting, know the following: How much money will the campaign need? What will you do if you raise all the money you want and what will you do if your fundraising efforts are not successful? Know the priorities. The people on this committee will want to know that YOU know what you are doing and the money they help raise will go to a campaign they will feel positive about supporting. Ask people for their advice and opinions. This is a brainstorming session. Don't be afraid to ask how they can help. Maybe they can provide a mailing list, a generous contribution, or will lend their name to a mailing or an event invitation. MAKE A PLAN! Develop a first draft of your fundraising plan using the information provided in the brainstorming meeting. From that meeting you will know what kind of support to count on from various constituencies and how to best access their financial contributions. Decide which sub-committees you will need to carry out your plan. Some effective ones are: House Parties, Business, Major Donor, Organizations/Foundations, Special Events, Direct Mail. Each sub-committee may choose to break down even further, i.e. Business having an Attorneys Group and a Physicians Group. The sub-committee may consist of one person or more depending on the quantity of work. When you find a capable chair, let them decide how many other people they need to carry out their task. Next set a fundraising goal with each subcommittee. BE CONSERVATIVE! The most empowering feeling for a fundraising committee is to feel successful. Not reaching the goal can be very disheartening and make people uneasy about making further commitments. Set up a budget for each committee and estimate how much money will be needed to make your goal. Do a cash flow time-line. The expenses for House Parties, Major Donor Solicitation, and securing funding from Foundations and Organizations are minimal and can be taken care of early on in the campaign, while big events and direct mail often require large sums of money to generate cash coming in. WHERE'S THE EASY MONEY? Who will give the first dollars, or will make loans to the campaign to get started? Are there organizations who can make sizable gifts quickly? Brainstorm a list of potential donors (preferably people who will influence others to give) who will give their contributions at the beginning of the campaign. The hardest time to raise money in a campaign is at the beginning. While your opponent is busy gathering signatures and building a campaign base, our supporters usually take a "wait and see" attitude and don't want to put out money until the campaign "heats up." Take this into account in developing your fundraising plan. Create opportunities for people to give to the campaign early on - monthly pledges, rallies, events, house parties, button and bumper sticker sales are all good ways to raise money and involve people in the early development of the campaign. Donors will often want to become further involved in your efforts. They may be great fundraisers, community organizers, or have just the right contact to get an important endorsement. Treat people like they matter whether they give to your campaign or not. Return phone calls. Often large donations are the result of taking just a few minutes of your time to talk with someone who thinks they want to contribute but needs to be reassured about something. Create opportunities for giving at all levels for every constituency you can imagine. Remember that the Religious Right built their empire with $5 and $10 contributions sent in response to religious radio and TV programs. Be honest. If your state requires you to report names and addresses of donors, don't tell a potential contributor he/she can give anonymously. Sometimes you can make arrangements with a large foundation to accept these gifts. A donor can designate a large gift to the foundation anonymously, with the money to go to the campaign. The foundation, often taking a small processing percentage, acts as an intermediary and channels the money to your campaign. HAVE FUN! Now that you have your fundraising plan and a few early dollars to generate more moneyÉhave fun! It is likely that the campaign will be stressful, difficult, perhaps frightening and probably depressing at times. Find ways to have fun with the work you do. Thank people. Let them know they're appreciated. Find ways to take care of yourself. The work you are doing makes a difference for all of us. Major Donor Development The definition of a "major donor" varies among organizations and campaigns. For some $50 is considered a major gift while others consider $5000 the minimum amount required to be listed as a major donor. In setting your own standard, consider what amounts people have given for similar projects or campaigns in your community. If there is a list of donors from a prior campaign, start with that and analyze what percentage of people gave gifts above $100, $500, $1000, etc. This will give you a start in setting goals for your major donor campaign. Setting up an effective major donor committee is the most critical piece of your major donor campaign. While it is possible for people to make successful "cold calls" on prospective donors, it is more effective to have donors solicited by someone they know. Peer to peer fundraising is the most effective, so it's important to invite people onto your committee who know people with money. It is also very effective to have people with sales experience on your committee, whether or not they have wealthy contact s. The work to be done by your major donor committee includes: >> Setting a realistic, attainable goal and timeline >> Developing a major donor prospect list >> Production of the presentation packet >> Establishing the "pitch" >> Making the calls GOAL SETTING Many major donor committees make the mistake of setting unattainable goals and then become overwhelmed. It's much more empowering for your committee to set a goal they can realistically meet and exceed than to perceive that they have had a huge failure. In addition to a dollar goal, it's important to recognize the value of building supportive constituencies both within and outside of the gay and lesbian community. Securing a financial contribution may only be part of your solicitation. An additional goal may be to have donors commit to securing contributions from five other people or funds to match their gift. Or, a call to a major donor prospect may not result in a financial gift, but in a phone banking location to be used by your field staff. Be alert for other possibilities from your prospects. THE PROSPECT LIST The chair or staff for this committee should bring to the first meeting a list of all prospective donors known to the campaign. This list can be compiled from past campaign contributions on similar issues, major donors from progressive organizations, table sponsors from dinners for progressive organizations and candidates, and others suggested by the staff and steering committee. Ask each member of the committee to send you their list of prospective donors prior to the meeting so that you can merge all the names into one list. One way to organize this is to create a computer database including fields for prospective donors' names, addresses, telephone number, giving history (codes for other campaigns, candidates, etc.) , target donation requested for this campaign, name of solicitor and result of call. (You can do all of this with an index card system, but if you have access to a computer it's much easier!) At your first meeting, provide a printout listing the following columns: >> Names of the prospects >> Giving history code >> Target donation >> Solicitor Make enough copies for each of your committee members. Give the committee 15-20 minutes to review the list and put their names by the people they feel comfortable soliciting and the amount to ask, if they know. Then review the list name by name and have people indicate if they have signed up for that prospect and the target amount. Record this on a master list. When a prospect has more than one potential solicitor quickly determine who has the better connection or if this should be a joint call. If a prospect has no potential solicitors, mark the name and return to that individual later. At the end of this process have committee members count how many prospects they have taken. Have each person prioritize five calls to be made within a specific period of time (the shorter the better!) and commit to making five more calls by a second deadline. When people take too many prospects they often end up doing few, if any, of the calls because they feel overwhelmed by the task. Again, help people set attainable goals so they will feel successful. Take the information back to your computer or card system and add the solicitors' names and target amounts. Give each solicitor a list of their prospects with all the information you have compiled: name, address, telephone number, giving history, etc. Make follow up calls to each of your solicitors midway to their first deadline. This phone call will often be the reminder they need to get their calls done! THE PRESENTATION PACKET Major donor fundraising is sales in its highest form! You do a presentation, noting the Features, Benefits, and Advantages of contributing to your cause, overcome their Objections and Close the Sale! You are presenting a product to a consumer Ñ an opportunity to be a part of a social change movement. It's your responsibility to show how the donor will be affected by participation in your campaign. By the end of your presentation the donor should see this as his/her campaign and be fully invested in ensuring its success. Your presentation packet should contain: >> Information on your organization: how it was formed, who is on the >> board or steering committee, mission statement or goal, one page >> presentation sheets highlighting the need for contributions and how the >> money will be spent. >> Campaign literature, buttons, bumper stickers >> A sheet describing giving levels and what can be accomplished with each >> gift >> A PLEDGE ENVELOPE! Make it easy for the prospective donor to find out: >> Who you are >> Why you want their money >> Why they should give their money to you rather than some other cause >> What you'll do with the money >> Who to write the check to and where to mail it! THE PITCH Have your committee participate in a brainstorming session on why a prospective donor should contribute to your campaign. Establish the key selling points, identify possible objections and persuasive responses, how to actually ask for the contribution and how to thank the prospect regardless of the outcome. Do role plays so that people get used to hearing "NO!" Encourage committee members to be as outrageous as possible in both their requests and their responses so that they can experience a full range of potential scenarios. MAKING THE CALLS The most effective way to solicit most donors is in a face to face meeting. Most people do not respond to a mail request and it's much easier for people to say no on the telephone than in person. When it is not possible to secure a meeting with a prospective donor, call and ask to set up a time for a telephone meeting indicating that you would like to talk about his/her potential contribution to the campaign. This respects the donor's time and allows time for the donor to consider how he/she would like to be involved. It is most important to set a strict timeline for yourself. Make your calls for appointments, follow up on phone calls that are not returned, go prepared to your appointment (knowing what amount you would like the donor to contribute to your campaign), and follow up with a thank you note regardless of the outcome of your meeting. Remember that a donor seldom gives everything possible in the first contribution. On the other hand, it's most annoying for a major donor to receive weekly requests for additional contributions. Choose your timing of requests judiciously. Be sure that you have followed up the first request with a personal thank you note and wherever possible some "inside" information about what's happening on the campaign that was made possible or enhanced because of your donor's contribution. (You were able to purchase time on a particular radio station, printed door hangers, etc.) More than an any other kind of fundraising, developing and nurturing a relationship with your donors is necessary. These are the people who will be able to assist the campaign if, in its final stages, additional funds are urgently needed. ----- To request the complete Fight the Right Action Kit, call NGLTF at 202-332-6483, TTY 202-332-6219. .