Raising Money on the Phone

Many groups shy away from using the phone for fundraising because they are afraid of alienating donors. They don’t want to be put in the same boat as those annoying dinnertime telemarketers, but the truth is that most people don’t mind being contacted on the phone by charities they already know. And the fact also is that the telephone is the best way to renew lapsed donors and clear the deadwood out of your direct mail house list.

Most non-profits who conduct direct mail campaigns have people on their list who haven’t made a donation in a long time. This doesn’t mean, however, that they will never give you another gift, but it probably means they have moved and the current resident is just throwing your packages in the trash. Or it might mean that they’ve passed on and should be removed from your list. Maybe they’ve just lost interest in your cause. Perhaps you’ve done something they don’t approve of or they’re suffering from a misperception based on an inaccurate news story.

Clearing Things Up
There are many possible reasons for someone to stop giving and the easiest way to determine the truth is to call and ask what’s up. If you do, you will most likely make money by reactivating several donors and save money by no longer sending mail to people who aren’t interested in you anymore. What’s more, you will get a better idea of what some people think of the work you are doing. If there’s a general misperception about your work floating around, it’s best to find out what it is and clear it up.

This is an excerpt from Issue 49 of Fundraising 101. The entire issue can be downloaded as a pdf file for CDN $7.95 by going to http://www.lostcitypress.net/fundraising 101.html.